A “silent march” will be taken out in the city on October 25 as part of the state-wide mobilisation by Marathas for their demands such as reservation in jobs and education, but the Kunbis, a dominant community in the Vidarbha region, have been excluded from the agitation. With cracks developing between the two factions of the community, the Sakal Maratha Samaj, which is organising the silent march in the city, have excluded the Kunbis.

It will be a silent march and we will follow all norms such as being non-political and maintaining cleanliness. The community ha been adhering to these norms in different cities, the organisers told reporters here Saturday.

According to sources, the clubbing and naming the banner as Maratha-Kunbi Samaj March is apparently the point of discord between the two factions. There is one section of Marathas (essentially the warrior clan) which has nothing to do with the Kunbis, which is an agricultural community, they said.

The Maratha-Kunbi is a mix typical to Vidarbha region where the two seem to have assimilated.

Over six decades ago, this happened with the initiatives of stalwarts such as late Panjabrao Deshmukh, the agriculture minister in the then Jawaharlal Nehru Cabinet.