The Nirdhar Maha Morcha was organised by a coalition of several community leaders under the banner of Sakal Matang Samaj. The protest, meant to be a show of strength, threw south Mumbai traffic out of gear. Protestors said they would not leave Mumbai till the state government issues a government resolution, allowing the sub-classification. The Matang community said the Supreme Court had in 2024 allowed states to do sub-classification of Scheduled Castes and Tribes to ensure that marginalised castes and communities get reservation benefits.
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Matangs have claimed that castes like Mahars and Chambhars, who are higher up in the hierarchy, have cornered the majority of the reserved government jobs and educational seats. They quoted Justice Anant Badar Committee, which had stated that Matangs were more marginalised than other SC groups.
BJP-led Maharashtra government is in a quandary as almost all the Dalit outfits in the state are led by Mahars or Neo Buddhists who are opposed to the Matang community demand. These Dalit outfits, led by the Mahar leadership, have done their own counter-mobilisation, claiming that the government wants to pit SC communities against each other to divide them. Mahars constitute 60% of the SC population in the state while Chambhars constitute 10%. While CM Devendra Fadnavis met Matang leaders on Tuesday, he said the government wanted to do a sub-classification but through consensus.
