The 12,000 postcards from shepherds that flooded the chief minister’s office in October 2022 made the name of Saurabh Hatkar, who spent months last year travelling to the interiors of Maharashtra to give a voice to shepherds, known to most ministers in the state. On Friday, Saurabh claimed that newly sworn-in Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar accepted his demand to increase the number of OBC seats to 75, countering his initial demand of 100 for study abroad student scholarships. Saurabh, 29, says Pawar has promised to introduce this in the cabinet in the next three to four days.

He claimed that Pawar commiserated with his concerns that in spite of the OBC segment having the largest population with 400 castes, they have only 50 seats, which is the least compared to the Marathas and ST segments that have 75 seats each.

With NCP leader Chhagan Bhujbal

Meanwhile, Saurabh’s fight against the 1927 Indian Forest Act which he calls ‘colonial and archaic’ as it prevents shepherds from grazing in forest land continues. He claims the grazing does good to the forest as opposed to the forest department’s ‘overgrazing’ accusation, whose parameters are unfair.

The young man who was born in his house with no medical help in rural Buldhana has identified the things that hold his community back, including a lack of education, superstitions, patriarchy and child marriage. He wants to better their lives through what he learns at The University of Edinburgh where he has secured admission for a PhD programme.

“By showing my nomadic community that I’m going to Scotland, I can reduce the inferiority complex they have as they hold ‘going abroad’ at a very high standard and only people who live in so-called higher social locations and who know English can achieve it. If someone like them goes, it will help change this perception,” Saurabh said.

Demands that Pawar is yet to consider: Saurabh claims that the Kunvi caste enjoys benefits from both, the seats reserved for the Marathas and the OBCs. His demand was to limit their seats only to the ones kept for Marathas known as Sarathi Sayajirao Gaikwad. He also wants that the additional applications for PhD scholarships by SC/ST and OBC students, which have not been accepted, to be entertained through funds reserved for other schemes. The Dy CM will also consider naming the OBC scholarship after Mahatma Savitribai Jyotibai Phule. 

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