Discover and read the best of Twitter Threads about #backwardclasses
Most recents (2)
Caste-based #reservations are always a subject of debate but the #quotasystem is much older than most people think. The first reservations on economic grounds were introduced in #India as early as 1902. 1/11 
On 26th July 1902, an order was issued by the ruler of the princely state of #Kolhapur. It said that 50% of all vacancies in offices/government jobs will be filled by the #backwardclasses. This order sent shockwaves across British-India. 2/11
And he royal who introduced this revolutionary change was Kolhapur’s visionary ruler Chhatrapati Shahu Maharaj. 3/11
Many of us are aware of the many contributions of Chhatrapati Shahu Maharaj of #Kolhapur to social reform, including the introduction of #reservation in government jobs for #backwardclasses in 1902. But #DidYouKnow what triggered this drastic step? 1/4
While performing religious rituals in the Panchganga River in October 1899, he noticed that the priests were not chanting mantras from the Vedas, but from the Puranas. The explanation given to him by the palace priests left him aghast! 2/4
They explained that only #Brahmins had the right to perform ‘Vedokta’ rituals and since Marathas were ‘Shudras’, they could perform rituals only from the Puranas. 3/4
