Skip to main content

Gujarat OBCs warn BJP govt: Don't heed Patidar demand for reservation, lest you will be thrown out of power

By Hitesh Chavda
If things move the way they are moving, Prime Minister Narendra Modi's Gujarat is heading for a major confrontation between upper caste reservationists and other backward castes (OBCs). This seemed clear enough from the well-represented OBC rally in Ahmedabad on Sunday, which warned the Patidars, wanting an OBC status, that their demand would not be taken “lightly”.
Held amidst loud slogans of "OBC zindabad, Dalit zindabad, Adivasi zindabad", the OBC leaders, mainly numerically strong Thakores, told the participants in the rally that " if Patidars come in their way they would not keep quiet” but “hit back.”
Claiming to have the support of Dalits and Adivasis in their fight to keep their OBC reservation status, which is 27 per cent in Gujarat, a senior OBC leader said, “Let him come and live a few days in Gujarat. He would know that his Gujarat has changed.”
“The OBCs are only following Dr BR Ambedkar”, he claimed, announcing, “We will go with our mission to districts and talukas.” Equating the condition of OBCs with that of the Dalits, he said, “Just like Dalits, we are not allowed equal housing rights. Like Dalits, we are also looked down upon.”
Alpesh Thakore, who was the chief organizer of the rally, in which around 15,000 OBCs participated, warned the BJP government that if it allows Patidars with OBC status, they should be prepared to face the worst. “In the forthcoming 2017 assembly elections, we will ensure that they do not return to power”, he added.
The OBC rally comes just two days ahead of the Patidars’ reservation rally, scheduled for August 25. Already, the OBCs have formed dozens of Save Reservation Committees across Gujarat in order to counter the Patidars’ tough demand for OBC status.
Last Friday, the Patidars held a reservation rally in Vadodara where over one lakh are reported to have participated. Earlier, Patidars held well-attended rallies with the participation of three lakh people in Surat and one lakh people in Patan.
According to OBC leaders, the Patidars constitute only 12 per cent of the population in Gujarat, and have always been upper castes and cannot be included in other category under any circumstances or any pressure.
“We will not allow our quota for OBCs to be cut for any other community,” said Alpesh Thakor, leader of the Save Reservation Committee. “The situation is volatile and will spill into clashes if the government does not intervene and control it,” he added.
In Gujarat, there are over 146 castes, including over a dozen Muslim castes, which have been recognized as OBCs. Well-known Dalit rights activist Martin Macwan believes, the way things are moving in Gujarat, things would move in a violent confrontation. “This is what I am afraid of”, he said, adding, “Unfortunately, people have increasingly begun thinking in terms of caste, which is very dangerous.”
Other experts say, the current agitation might turn into a violent OBC-upper caste clashes, as they happened during the Congress rule of Madhavsinh Solanki, who introduced reservation benefits for OBCs based on recommendations of Bakshii commission, which recognised 81 communities as socially and economically backward. Subsequently, others governments kept adding more communities in the list.
Solanki, who came to power riding on an alliance between Kshatriyas, Harijans, Adivasis sone as many as 149 of 182 assembly seats in the state assembly, highest ever. Among Kshatriyas he included both upper caste Rajputs and OBC Thakores, a community to which he belonged, and which are descendents of the foot soldiers in the pre-independence era, and Kolis, a fishing community along the coastline.
According to National Sample Survey Organization data, OBCs, who also include several other smaller communities as well, forms about 40 per cent of Gujarat’s population.

Comments

TRENDING

Insider plot to kill Deendayal Upadhyay? What RSS pracharak Balraj Madhok said

By Shamsul Islam*  Balraj Madhok's died on May 2, 2016 ending an era of old guards of Hindutva politics. A senior RSS pracharak till his death was paid handsome tributes by the RSS leaders including PM Modi, himself a senior pracharak, for being a "stalwart leader of Jan Sangh. Balraj Madhok ji's ideological commitment was strong and clarity of thought immense. He was selflessly devoted to the nation and society. I had the good fortune of interacting with Balraj Madhok ji on many occasions". The RSS also issued a formal condolence message signed by the Supremo Mohan Bhagwat on behalf of all swayamsevaks, referring to his contribution of commitment to nation and society. He was a leading RSS pracharak on whom his organization relied for initiating prominent Hindutva projects. But today nobody in the RSS-BJP top hierarchy remembers/talks about Madhok as he was an insider chronicler of the immense degeneration which was spreading as an epidemic in the high echelons of th

Central pollution watchdog sees red in Union ministry labelling waste to energy green

By Chythenyen Devika Kulasekaran*  “Destructors”, “incinerators” and “waste-to-energy (WTE) incineration” all mean the same thing – indiscriminate burning of garbage! Having a history of about one and a half centuries, WTE incinerators have seen several reboots over the 19th, 20th and 21st centuries. 

First-of-its-kind? 'Eco-friendly, low cost' sewage treatment system installed in Gujarat

Counterview Desk Following the installation of the Unconventional Decentralized Multi-Stage Reactor (UDMSR) for sewage treatment, a note on what is claimed to be the  first-of-its-kind technology said, the treated sewage from this system “can be directly utilized for agricultural purposes”, even as proving to be a “saviour in the times of water crisis.”

A Hindu alternative to Valentine's Day? 'Shiv-Parvati was first love marriage in Universe'

By Rajiv Shah*   The other day, I was searching on Google a quote on Maha Shivratri which I wanted to send to someone, a confirmed Shiv Bhakt, quite close to me -- with an underlying message to act positively instead of being negative. On top of the search, I chanced upon an article in, imagine!, a Nashik Corporation site which offered me something very unusual. 

Indo-Bangla border: Farmers facing 'illegal obstacles' in harvesting, transporting yields

  Counterview Desk  In a representation to the chairperson, National Human Rights Commission, human rights defender Kirity Roy, who is secretary, Banglar Manabadhikar Suraksha Mancha (MASUM), has said that Border Security Force (BSF) personnel are creating "illegal obstacles" for farmers seeking to harvest their ripened yields and transport them to the market in village Jhaukuthi of Cooch Behar district.

Wasteland, a colonial legacy, being used to 'give away' vast tracts to Ratnagiri refinery

By Fouziya Tehzeeb* William D’Souza, a 55-year old farmer from Kuthethur, Mangalore, was busy mixing cattle feed when we arrived at his doorsteps. Around 25 km from the bustling city of Mangalore, Kuthethur is a lush green village with thick vegetation. On the way to William’s house the idyllic view gets blocked by the flares and smoke arising from the Mangalore Refinery and Petrochemicals Limited (MRPL).

'Flawed' argument: Gandhi had minimal role, naval mutinies alone led to Independence

Counterview Desk Reacting to a Counterview  story , "Rewiring history? Bose, not Gandhi, was real Father of Nation: British PM Attlee 'cited'" (January 26, 2016), an avid reader has forwarded  reaction  in the form of a  link , which carries the article "Did Atlee say Gandhi had minimal role in Independence? #FactCheck", published in the site satyagrahis.in. The satyagraha.in article seeks to debunk the view, reported in the Counterview story, taken by retired army officer GD Bakshi in his book, “Bose: An Indian Samurai”, which claims that Gandhiji had a minimal role to play in India's freedom struggle, and that it was Netaji who played the crucial role. We reproduce the satyagraha.in article here. Text: Nowadays it is said by many MK Gandhi critics that Clement Atlee made a statement in which he said Gandhi has ‘minimal’ role in India's independence and gave credit to naval mutinies and with this statement, they concluded the whole freedom struggle.

CAA disregards India's inclusive plural ethos, 'betrays' ideals of freedom struggle: PUCL

Counterview Desk    "Outraged" at the move of the Central government to implement the Citizenship Amendment Act, 2019 (CAA 2019) weeks before the election, the top rights group, People's Union for Civil Liberties (PUCL), has demanded that the law be repealed. 

Buddhist shrines were 'massively destroyed' by Brahmanical rulers: Historian DN Jha

Nalanda mahavihara By Our Representative Prominent historian DN Jha, an expert in India's ancient and medieval past, in his new book , "Against the Grain: Notes on Identity, Intolerance and History", in a sharp critique of "Hindutva ideologues", who look at the ancient period of Indian history as "a golden age marked by social harmony, devoid of any religious violence", has said, "Demolition and desecration of rival religious establishments, and the appropriation of their idols, was not uncommon in India before the advent of Islam".

Sections of BSF, BGB personnel 'directly or indirectly' involved in cross border smuggling

By Kirity Roy*  The Border Security Force (BSF) of India and the Border Guard Bangladesh (BGB) of Bangladesh met for 54th Director General level meeting at Dhaka, Bangladesh, on 5th to 9th March, 2024 to discuss on minimizing killings at border area, illegal intrusion, trafficking of drugs and other narcotics, smuggling of arms and ammunitions and other crimes at bordering areas. Further, the summit had an agenda to discuss on overall development in 150 yards area at both sides of the border and design an activity plan for the same.