Maratha brigade showed signs of their strength as we witnessed men and women occupied the best part of the roads of the city. Both young and old participated in the rally and this is first of its kind to bring out the Maratha spirit in the best way possible. The peculiarity of the meet as no speeches were delivered at the CST but the motorbike borne participants took a u turn after paying respect to Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj banner. Almost all the protesters followed the code of conduct laid down by the organisers and it was a runaway success to express their demand in a most peaceful manner. Unity in diversity was witnessed as women brigade took up the task of delivering a message in a planned way.
Maratha Kranti Muk Morcha was a significant as over two lakhs Marathas showed their strength in a big rally organised at Pune. Even Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis is in favour of the movement and the show of strength touched a new high in the heart of Pune city. After holding protests in various districts of Maharashtra, members of the Maratha community held a silent march to press for their demands. Six girls submitted a memorandum and a charter of demands to the Pune District collector. A good beginning has been made and may come good with Maratha’s getting their due after a period of time as working out the modalities will take some time to decide. With several Maratha organisation lending support to the protests, the community has also formed a panel of judicial experts to help strengthen the state’s case for Maratha reservation in the Bombay High Court.
(The views expressed by the author in the article are his/her own.)
