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Holding out: the Patel reservation stir is down, but not out

Rathin Das | Updated on: 18 September 2015, 17:54 IST
QUICK PILL

Losing steam

  • The Patels\' agitation for reservation seems to have fizzled out
  • Hardik Patel has called off the reverse Dandi march twice already
  • Talks with the chief minister haven\'t yielded anything tangible

Holding ground

  • In smaller towns and rural areas, Patels are keeping the stir alive
  • Women are storming BJP meeting to pick candidates for civic polls
  • Patels are lining up at banks to withdraw their money

On the face of it, the Patels' agitation for reservation seems to have fizzled out.

Hardik Patel's Patidar Anaamat Andolan Samiti, which is leading the fight, has twice called off its "reverse Dandi march" after being denied permission by the state.

The Samiti's much-hyped talks with Chief Minister Anandiben Patel too did not yield anything except a promise by the state to decide on their demands within 10 days. The demands included suspension of police personnel who used force during Hardik's 25 August rally and release of the protesters held.

All this gives an impression that the state has largely contained the agitation, and that's indeed the case at the leadership level.

On the ground though, the anger is simmering and the Patels are making a show of it through symbolic protests.

Keeping the beat up

In at least half a dozen towns from Morbi and Halvad in Saurashtra to Himmatnagar in north Gujarat, functionaries of the ruling BJP are facing the ire of the community's women and youth.

Beating steel plates and vessels, they have been storming the party's meetings to pick candidates for the upcoming civic body elections. A sudden protest by Patel women and youth even forced BJP national vice president Purushottam Rupala to leave a function recently.

Patels' message to the BJP: we have helped you with money but if you mess with us, forget about it

Some Patels have also asked local BJP offices to vacate the premises rented out to them.

Such open display of antagonism against the BJP by the very community that was instrumental in bringing it to power is, to say the least, quite significant.

Flexing the financial muscle

More significant, perhaps, is the Patels' symbolic display of their economic might. Heeding the leadership's call, a large number of Patels are queuing up at state-run banks to withdraw their money.

The move, purportedly meant to weaken the banks, won't have any real impact given that very little of the community's riches go into the regular financial system.

The total amount taken out reportedly isn't just about Rs 20 lakh -- less than what a young Patel has to spend to "procure" immigration papers for illegally travelling to the US.

The move does, however, send a message to the ruling BJP: we have helped you with our money but if you mess with us, you can forget about it.

Patels in the US will protest outside the UN headquarters when Narendra Modi visits on 25 September

And the Patels do have wealth, a great deal of it in fact, even if it's not parked in the banks. Much of their wealth, informed people say, is invested in huge chunks of land awaiting clearance for non-agricultural use. Once the clearance comes, the land is sold at a premium for commercial or industrial use.

Another big chunk of the Patels' money reportedly keeps circulating through Rajkot, Surat, Ahmedabad and Mumbai as "unaccounted" business loans and repayments. Some also goes into the stock market.

Lending a foreign hand

Now, even the powerful Patel community in the United States has also joined in the struggle of their brethren.

They are staging a protest outside the UN headquarters in New York on 25 September when Prime Minister Narendra Modi arrives for the annual meeting of the General Assembly.

Another protest is planned in San Jose, Silicon Valley, where some Indian organisation are hosting a mega reception for Modi on 27 September.

If nothing else, these expressions of protest are ensuring that the agitation doesn't die out anytime soon.

First published: 17 September 2015, 18:41 IST