Maharashtra: After Marathas, Dhangar community members stage protests demanding quota

MUMBAI: After the Marathas, the Dhangar (shepherd) community members in Maharashtra today staged protests seeking quota in jobs and education and blocked roads in some places during the largely peaceful agitation.

Leaders of the community, which is seeking quota under the scheduled tribes category, said the Tata Institute of Social Sciences (TISS), which is preparing a report relating to reservation for the community, must come out with it by August 26.

They warned that the protest would be intensified if the report is not submitted to the government by that date.

Led by various organisations, including the Dhangar Sangharsh Samiti Maharashtra Rajya (DSSMR), the community staged protests in parts of Mumbai, Western Maharashtra, North Maharashtra and Vidarbha.

Roads were blocked at some places in Ahmednagar district.

Congress MLA Bhausaheb Kamble also joined the protesters in Ahmednagar district.

Members of the Dhangar community, now listed as Vimukt Jati and Nomadic Tribes (VJNT), staged a sit-in protest outside the district collector's office in Kolhapur, police said.

In Vasai in Palghar district, local Dhangars staged a sit-in, while in Alibaug they took out a protest march.

Similar protests were carried out in Latur, Parbhani and Jalna districts of Marathwada region.

"The protests we staged today were peaceful. In other states, Dhangars are referred to as Dhangad. In Maharashtra, none is listed as Dhangad, but Dhangars," Rajya Sabha MP Vikas Mahatme, who represents the Dhangar Sangharsh Samiti Maharashtra Rajya, said.

"Dhangar or Dhangad, both are same. The government should treat both as one," he said.

Mahatme said his organisation has already discussed the community's issues with the government, which he said is positive on the matter.

"But no priority is given to fulfilling our demands. There has to be a certain time frame within which the demand is to be fulfilled. We will wait till August 26 for the TISS report to be submitted. Or else, we will intensify our protest after discussions with community members," he said.

Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis had in his televised address on August 6 said the report would be submitted to the government by the end of August.

Dhangars form roughly nine per cent of Maharashtra's around 13 crore population.

A youth from Dhangar community in Parbhani district allegedly committed suicide yesterday over the governments delay in granting reservation to the community, police said.