Pre-Independence-Era Gazettes Hogged Limelight During Maratha Quota Protest

Two pre-independence-era gazettes, one of the issued by the rulers of the erstwhile Hyderabad state, were focus of the latest phase of Maratha quota protest in Mumbai led by activist Manoj Jarange.

On Tuesday, Mr Jarange declared victory and ended his five-day-old fast after the Maharashtra government's cabinet sub-committee on Maratha quota accepted most of his demands, including implementation of Hyderabad and Satara gazettes.

But what are gazettes? To understand India better, the British conducted a study, including census, the districts better in 1881. The gazettes had detailed information about the region's geography, flora fauna, even people residing in it including their religions, castes, sub-castes. The purpose behind having this encyclopedia was to help them in their daily governance, Arunchandra Pathak, former executive editor of the gazette department of Maharashtra government, told PTI.

Among the records made in various districts of Maharashtra, not only Kunbi-Marathas, but goldsmiths, carpenters, Dhangars, Hetkaris, various sub-castes of Brahmins, Muslims, Jews have been recorded by the British government on a completely scientific basis and without any discrimination, said former bureaucrat and writer Vishwas Patil.

Moreover, certain assumptions have also been made after a very scientific in-depth study of how many women and men were married, noted Patil.

What is Hyderabad Gazette? Marathwada, in present-day central Maharashtra, was a part of the erstwhile Hyderabad state under Nizam. More than a year after India's independence, Hyderabad state got its independence from Nizam's rule in 1948. The Marathi-speaking provinces of Marathwada became a part of the Bombay province on November 1, 1956, and then Maharashtra, when it became a state on May 1, 1960.

Patil said since Hyderabad was a princely state, it had its own gazette. It is known as Nizam Dominion.

A Government Resolution issued on September 2 states that Nizam identified Kunbis as Kapus and the gazettes of 1921 and 1931, they have been identified as Kapus/Kunbis whose main occupation was farming.

"Not in the records of a single district across Maharashtra, but in many places, the British government has often recorded the clear records of Kunbi ie the Maratha community, which lives on agriculture and animal husbandry, they are professional peasants," Patil explained.

What is Satara Gazette? Like Hyderabad, Satara (in present-day western Maharashtra) , too, was a princely state. Patil said the Satara gazette states Marathas as Kunbi-Marathas.

In Satara district, 5,83, 569 people were recorded as Kunbis, excluding three princely states in Phaltan, Sangli and Miraj tehsils at the time of the census.  

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