Overview

• The state issued a government resolution accepting the Nizam-era Hyderabad Gazette as the basis to recognise eligible Marathwada Marathas as Kunbi for OBC benefits.
• Only applicants who can prove Kunbi, Kunbi‑Maratha or Maratha‑Kunbi ancestry will get caste certificates after scrutiny by locally appointed committees and the Shinde panel.
• Verification will rely on home inquiries and family, kinship and land records, a process complicated by missing documents and surname gaps dating to pre‑1970 record-keeping.
• The cabinet sub-committee said decisions could take one to two months and pledged to examine the Satara Gazette within a month to guide cases from western Maharashtra.
• The government promised to withdraw protest cases by end-September and offer financial aid to affected families, as activist Manoj Jarange Patil ended his hunger strike; OBC groups flagged quota dilution risks and legal challenges are expected under the 2021 Supreme Court precedent.