MUMBAI, Nov. 28 -- Almost a decade after Marathas began their fight for a reservation quota in government jobs, a few of the community's leaders and outfits have decided to encourage the youth to turn to entrepreneurship rather than struggle for dwindling government jobs. To this end, a two-day Maratha Business Conclave 2025 will be held at Nehru Centre on Friday with Maratha quota activist Manoj Jarange-Patil as the chief guest. Over 5,000 community members, entrepreneurs and former and serving bureaucrats are expected to attend the conclave, which will see business exhibitions, seminars, networking sessions and felicitation of Maratha entrepreneurs. The aim is to deliberate on innovative business ideas, partnership opportunities and guidance by established entrepreneurs from the community. The conclave has been organised by the Maratha Businessmen Forum (MBF). "After struggling for years for reservation, we thought it was time to push Maratha youngsters towards the path of entrepreneurship," said Arun Pawar, president of the MBF. "We are not against or for reservation, but it has brought a bad name to the community. It involves a lot of confrontation and struggle, besides which the number of government jobs is dwindling. This is the right time to drive the community youth towards business. The conclave is to enhance the prospects of those who are already in business and to hand-hold youth who want to try their hand at it." Marathas traditionally belong to the farming community. They dominated most of the state for a long time, but failed to reinvent themselves when the economy changed and income from agriculture dwindled. Maratha youngsters are keen on government jobs but often lag behind in terms of the education and skills needed for jobs in the new economy. Pawar, former chief commissioner of income tax, said that the focus of the conclave would be hand-holding upcoming Maratha entrepreneurs. "They face many challenges such as getting clearance of approvals, relaxation of taxes, including GST, red-tapism and harassment at local levels," he said. "Assistance in overcoming these issues as well as guidance on government funding will help them a lot. For instance, the Annasaheb Patil Backward Financial Development Corporation provides Maratha businessmen with interest-free loans of up to Rs 15 lakh. Guidance on such schemes could help the community youth enter the field." Coordinators from the Sakal Maratha Samaj, the umbrella body of Maratha organisations, have joined hands for the conclave. "This is an attempt to change the focus of Maratha youngsters," said Virendra Pawar, one of the coordinators. "When we guided them to politics they followed politics, and when they were called to join the reservation agitation, they responded positively. This is now an attempt to drive them to the business sector. We are sure the community has the capacity to do well in business too." The Maratha community intensified its reservation agitation in August 2016 after pushing for this right from the late 1980s. In the next one year, as many as 58 silent marches were organised across the state by community members and their organisations which assembled under the banner of the Sakal Maratha Samaj. The baton was passed on in September 2023 to Manoj Jarange-Patil, who will be the chief guest at the conclave....