Dhangars release flocks of sheep, block highway in Akola over ST quota demand

Nagpur/Akola: With state elections round the corner, members of the Dhangar (shepherd) community put on a show of strength and raised the reservation issue once again. Highways and roads were blocked in districts of western Vidarbha, with the biggest impact seen in Akola. Dhangars have been demanding reservation under the Scheduled Tribes (ST) quota.
The Mumbai-Kolkata highway was blocked as the Dhangars set free their flocks of sheep and goats, disrupting traffic for hours.Various outfits of the community have come together, holding protests across the districts of Vidarbha as well as the rest of the state, said sources involved in the agitation.
In Maharashtra, Dhangars currently come under the nomadic tribes (NT) quota. Their demand for more than a decade has been to be included as STs, which ensures a larger quota. They contend that the word Dhangad in the schedule of tribes in the Constitution is a typographical error and should be read as Dhangar. No such tribe as Dhangad exists and it's nothing but Dhangar, they argue. The high court, however, has dismissed a petition on these grounds earlier this year.
Six activists of Dhangar outfits are on a hunger strike since a fortnight at Pandharpur. Political leaders, including a representative of chief minister Eknath Shinde, have paid them visits, with assurances.
One of those on hunger strike, Deepak Borhade, told TOI that he had received a communication from the CM that he would resolve the issue in 15 days. However, the hunger strikers insisted that it should not take more than eight days. "The eight-day deadline ends on Tuesday. All the state needs to do is issue a govt resolution recognising Dhangar as Dhangad and start extending the reservation," he said. The protests will be intensified if the demands are not met, he said.
"There is no single leader behind the current protests. It has become a faceless struggle now. In Vidarbha, Dhangars have major presence in Amravati, Buldhana, Akola, and Yavatmal districts, and can be found in Wardha and Chandrapur too," said Saurabh Hatkar of Mendpal Putra Army, a Dhangar organisation. Protests were held in almost all the districts, he said.
In Akola, the protest caused a major disruption to traffic on Mumbai-Kolkata national highway. Local police intervened, and normalcy was restored.
In neighbouring Buldhana district, protests were also held in towns like Buldhana, Shegaon, Jalgaon Jamod, and Sindkhed Raja. Roadblocks were set up, and memorandums were submitted, emphasising the community's long-standing demand for ST reservation.
In 2013, a year before BJP came to power, Dr Vikas Mahatme, an ophthalmologist, emerged as a singular Dhangar leader. A year after that, he had taken on the BJP govt that had come to power. The leadership of the current protest is decentralised, say activists.