SARATHI, formed to aid Marathas, exists only on paper

Mumbai: Chief minister Devendra Fadnavis’ announcement of establishing SARATHI (Shahu Research and Training Institute), an institution for Maratha students on the lines of BARTI (Babasaheb Ambedkar Research and Technical Institution), exists only on paper after eight months. Mr Fadnavis had made the announcement during the Nagpur winter session of the Assembly in December 2016 to placate the agitating Maratha community that was protesting across the state.

The government formed a two-member committee on January 3, 2017 to further study and finalise the plan for SARATHI. The committee comprised historian Dr Sadanand More and former director of BARTI, D.R. Parihar. But eight months after its formation, the committee has not met even once. The committee has not even got an office, which was supposed to be in Pune, and staff. When contacted, social justice minister Rajkumar Badole assured that he would look into the issue on priority.

Mr Fadnavis had made the formation of SARATHI while replying to an Assembly discussion in December 2016. It was announced that the new institution would be planned on the lines of BARTI. When Mr Fadnavis made this announcement, members of the Maratha community were marching on roads all over the state. The government had come up with many schemes to placate the marchers, and SARATHI was one of them.

The government was supposed to give an office and staff to the committee in Pune. However, these have not been finalised so far, as a result of which the committee has not been able to meet even once since its formation.

Asked about the delay in the process, Mr Badole agreed there have been lapses. “I will find out what exactly has happened to the scheme. But, work for Maratha students is going on through BARTI and there is no hurdle. There were permissions pending with the finance department in this case. But it will be done very soon,” he said.

Addressing demands

The Maratha agitation of 2016 saw a large number of college-going students marching on roads across the state. This was a clear indication of their anger. SARATHI was conceived to work for the benefit of these students. One of the key demands of the maratha agitation was educational schemes for the Maratha community. While agitators demanded reservation in political office, their major demand was reservation in jobs and education.