In
India, the Other Backward Castes (OBC) status is
an affirmative action which provides reserved quotas in education and government jobs.
In Gujarat, 27% seats are reserved for OBC, 7% for Scheduled
Castes and 14% for Scheduled
Tribes totaling 48% of all seats.
In
1981, the Government of Gujarat headed by Indian National Congress (INC) chief
minister Madhavsinh Solanki, introduced the reservation
for socially and economically backward castes (SEBC) based on recommendations
of Bakshi Commission. It resulted in anti-reservation agitation across the
state which spilled over in riots resulting in more than hundred deaths.
Solanki resigned in 1985 but later returned to power winning 149 out of
182 assembly seats. He was supported
by Kshatriya, Harijan, Adivasi and Muslims; called collectively as KHAM
theory. It resulted in other communities including Patidars losing the
political influence which later alienated the INC. The SEBC (later OBC) list
initially had 81 communities which expanded to 146 communities by 2014.
The
agitation took inspiration from the agitation by Gujjar community in Rajasthan which
ended in May 2015.
The
youths of Patidar community, who are also identified with their surname Patel, started
public demonstrations across Gujarat starting July 2015. They were supported by
Sardar Patel Sevadal, an organisation for community service. The youth seek
Other Backward Class status for community to get reservation in government jobs
and education. The youth formed Patidar Anamat Andolan Samiti (PAAS) for
the purpose headed by Hardik Patel. The organisation termed itself as an
apolitical organisation. The other major community organisations which are
participation in the agitation include Sardar Patel Group (SPG) headed by Lalji
Patel, Sardar Patel Seva Dal, Patidar Sankalan Samiti and Patidar Arakshan
Samiti. Four major Patidar organisation denied their involvement in
agitation though later Khodaldham Trust offered to meditate between the
youth and the government.
The
public demonstration was held in Mansa on
22 July. The demonstration in Visnagar on
23 July 2015 turned violent when some agitators torched some vehicles and
vandalised office of Bharatiya Janata Party MLA, Rishikesh Patel. The
demonstrations were held in Vijapur on 28 July followed by in Mehsana. The
police booked 152 persons for violating prohibitory orders for holding the
demonstration.
The next major demonstrations will be
organised in Ahmedabad on 25 August at GMDC ground.
BJP
MLA of Dhari, Nalin Kotdiya declared his support to the agitation. The
social media helped to spread the protest quickly across the state.
The
Politics & its Implications…(Live Mint Report)
With
the powerful and dominant Patel community’s demand for reservation in
government jobs becoming louder, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) government in
Gujarat led by chief minister Anandiben Patel, may have to tread a bit
carefully before the local body elections slated for October.
Earlier
this week, the Gujarat government issued a notification, making voting
compulsory in the forthcoming municipal and panchayat polls becoming the first
state in the country to do so. Local body polls for 253 municipalities, 208
taluka panchayats, 26 district panchayats and six municipal corporations will
be held in October this year.
Out
of about 120 BJP MLAs in Gujarat, 40 are from the Patel community, including
Saurabh Patel, Nitin Patel, Purshottam Rupala and the chief minister herself.
The
community, under a recently floated outfit called Patidar Anamat Andolan
Samiti, has been vociferously demanding the status of other backward class
(OBC) and benefits of reservation under it in government jobs.
However, a
Supreme Court’s guideline states that there shouldn’t
be more than 50%
reservation in any state, said a senior BJP official, on conditions of
anonymity. Gujarat has already reached that mark, he added.
The
leader said that the government’s recruitment drive for permanent posts last
year, in which several Patels felt left out, had led to the demand.
The
group has held 15 rallies since June, and the agitation is likely to intensify
with plans to hold 52 more such rallies in the next 10 days. “On 22 August, we
will hold a massive rally on the Sabarmati riverfront in Ahmedabad wherein we
expect about 20 lakh people to join our fight. Our children are left out during
admission in colleges despite securing high marks due to reservation. We want
to end this inequality for our community,” said Hardik Patel, member of the
Patidar Samiti.
The
outfit has so far enrolled about 14 lakh Patidar or Patel members. Hardik
claims the outfit has no political affiliations.
However,
last week, an agitating mob of Patels ransacked the office of Visnagar’s BJP
MLA Rishikesh Patel’s office, considered to be very close to the chief
minister.
A Times
of India report on 26 July said that Prime Minister Narendra Modi and
BJP national president Amit Shah have sought a report from the state government
on the Patidar community’s rallies, and on the violence that took place at the
Visnagar rally.
According
to the BJP leader quoted earlier, the Patel agitation could impact the party’s
vote bank in some rural areas. However, he was confident that the movement will
fizzle out soon.
Another
BJP leader said that if the movement was apolitical, as it seems to be, then
the government has to be cautious that it does not become another Navnirman
Movement.
The
Navnirman Movement was initiated in 1974-75 when college students protested
against hike in their food mess bill. It snowballed into a state-wide movement,
first against high prices and then against corruption, forcing then chief
minister Chimanbhai Patel, who belonged to the Congress party, to resign.
“There
is little basis for the Patel community’s sudden demand. They are prosperous,
hold powerful positions both in the government and private sectors, have family
members settled overseas and dominate the agriculture and co-operative sector.
It is still not clear if BJP’s internal politics is at play. There is
definitely something more than what meets the eye,” said Achyut Yagnik, a
political observer.
Congress
spokesperson Manish Doshi said the party was not supporting the Patel
community’s demand. “Patels who are the backbone of the development model of
Gujarat which the BJP is projecting are today asking for reservation. They held
a dominant position in various industries be it pharma, diamond or textile. It
means something is not right with BJP’s development model. For about 20 years
BJP is ruling Gujarat and Patels form their major vote bank. It is for the BJP
to come up with an explanation as to what went wrong,” he said.
Former
Gujarat chief minister Madhavsinh Solanki swept the state assembly elections in
1985 with his Kshatriya Harijan Adivasi Muslim (KHAM) combination in 1985
side-lining the Patel community. Following this, the Patels became a strong
base for the BJP.
While
Patel leaders claim that they form about 25% of the voters in Gujarat, Yagnik
says they constitute about 14%. The Patidar community comprises Lehuva, Kadva
and Anjana Patels.
The
Anjana Patels who form a very small part of the Patel community and reside
mainly in north Gujarat fall in the reservation category, said Yagnik.
Another
BJP member said that many in the party were not happy about the way senior
Patel leaders were side-lined after Anandiben Patel was handed over the reins
of Gujarat in 2014 by Modi.
In
2012, former chief minister Keshubhai Patel left BJP to form a new outfit
called Gujarat Parivartan Party ahead of the assembly elections. He is credited
with building the BJP’s Patel vote bank in Gujarat. However, the newly formed
party managed to bag only three out of the 182 assembly seats. Later, he ironed
out differences with BJP leaders and re-joined the party.
Live
Mint Report
