Marathas, Muslims to get education, job quotas in Maharashtra

Mumbai: The Maratha and Muslim communities in Maharashtra will now get reservations in jobs and education in government and semi-government sectors with immediate effect, Chief Minister Prithviraj Chavan announced here on Wednesday. While the politically influential Marathas have been given 16 percent reservations, the minority Muslim community has been granted five percent quotas in government jobs and educational institutions, he said.
“The Marathas shall be treated as educationally and socially backward section. A 16 percent quota has been given to them. The five percent reservations for Muslims is based on the criteria of economic and social backwardness and not on religion,” Chavan told media persons this evening. The decisions have been implemented with immediate effect and would not affect the existing 52 percent reservations for various other groups and communities. With this, the total reservations in education and government jobs for various groups in the state will now stand at 73 percent, leaving the rest for the open categories. Dismissing contentions that the decision was politically motivated in view of the forthcoming Maharashtra assembly elections, Chavan said that the process for these had started 10 years ago. Moreover, there were recommendations from the Sachar Committee and Rangnath Mishra Commission pertaining to the economic, academic and social backwardness of the Muslim community, he said.