Skip to main content

Division in US Patidar ranks? A section of Patels declare they will "support" Modi visit in September-end

By Our Representative
In a fresh development, a section of the Patidar community living in the USA has declared its “wholehearted welcome” to Prime Minister Narendra Modi during his upcoming visit to the USA. Suggesting that the community is now intensely divided, the development comes less than 48 hours after a top community leader, Alpesh Patel, sought police permission for a rally against Modi near UN headquarters on September 25.
Following the rally in New York, where Modi will visit for the UN General Assembly's meeting, another rally has been planned on September 27 at the SAP Center in San Jose, another Modi stop on the trip. Alpesh Patel is coordinator of the Sardar Patel Group USA-Canada, and has already collecting social media support for his rally. He claims around 5,000 Patels will protest against Modi at the UN.
Opposing the decision to protest, Baldev Thakor, President of the Mayo Hotels, in a parallel statement has been quoted as saying that “as members of the overseas Patidar community, we condemn the exercise in political mud-slinging and we do not want to be a part of it.” Claiming to be a Patel leader, Thakor adds, “We wholeheartedly support Modi's initiatives to take the country to greater heights."
Thakor's group “believes that the agitations in India and now in US are politically motivated”, claiming, “These protests do not represent the voice of the entire Patidar (Patel) community. Another community leader, Danny Patel, President and CEO or PeachState Hospitality, has been quoted as saying that “We Patels in the US are not taking any sides. Our intention is to make everybody aware that not every Patidar is against Modi.”
“There are about 150,000 Patidars living in the United States and the people who support the rally against Prime Minister Modi at United Nations are a minuscule number who are misrepresenting the community”, the statement says, quoting yet another community leader, Ravi Patel of Sree Hotels as saying that “Modi is coming here to further a bigger vision that he holds for India and instead of supporting his vision some people are trying to thwart his vision for petty political gains which the majority of us feel is not right.”
Narendra Modi, Indian Prime Minister is visiting the United States between 23rd. and 28th. September. During his visit, he is expected to meet tech giants, entrepreneurs in the Bay area to promote the Digital India campaign and address a 20,000 strong Indo American community in San Jose, California. He is also expected to speak at the United Nations.
Patidar community in the US consists of the Leuva Patidar Samaj of USA, Charotar Patidar Samaj of USA, Kadwa Patidar Samaj of North America, and the Patel Samaj of Mehsana. The statement, significantly, has been posted on the social media by Paramita Bhatt, who has long been associated with the Art of Living outfit of spiritual leader Sri Sri Ravishankar in the US.
The statement comes close on the heels of the Overseas Friends of BJP (OFBJP) claiming that only a “minuscule group of Patels are opposing the US visit of Modi", refuting reports that about 1,000 Patels met in Edison, New Jersey, on September 9 and made a decision to boycott Modi's US programmes. "Only about 30-40 people met during that meeting," the OFBJP claimed.

Comments

TRENDING

Avoidable Narmada floods: Modi birthday fete caused long wait for release of dam waters

Counterview Desk  Top advocacy group, South Asia Network on Dams, Rivers and People (SANDRP), has accused the Sardar Sarovar dam operators for once again acting in an "unaccountable" manner, bringing "avoidable floods in downstream Gujarat."  In a detailed analysis, SANDRP has said that the water level at the Golden Bridge in Bharuch approached the highest flood level on September 17, 2023, but these "could have been significantly lower and much less disastrous" both for the upstream and downstream areas of the dam, if the authorities had taken action earlier based on available actionable information.

Junk food push causing severe public health crisis of obesity, diabetes in India: Report

By Rajiv Shah  A new report , “The Junk Push: Rising Consumption of Ultra-processed foods in India- Policy, Politics and Reality”, public health experts, consumers groups, lawyers, youth and patient groups, has called upon the Government of India to check the soaring consumption of High Fat Sugar or Salt (HFSS) foods or ultra-processed foods (UPF), popularly called junk food.

From 'Naatu-Naatu' to 'Nipah-Nipah': Dancing to the tune of western pipers?

By Dr Amitav Banerjee, MD*  Some critics have commented that the ecstatic response of most Indians to the Oscar for the racy Indian song, “Naatu-Naatu” from the film, “RRR” reeks of sheer racism, insulting visuals and a colonial hangover. It was perhaps these ingredients that impressed the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, one critic says.

Astonishing? Violating its own policy, Barclays 'refinanced' Adani Group's $8 billion bonds

By Rajiv Shah  A new report released by two global NGOs, BankTrack and the Toxic Bonds Network, has claimed to have come up with “a disquieting truth”: that Barclays, a financial heavyweight with a “controversial” track record, is deeply entrenched in a “disturbing” alliance with “the Indian conglomerate and coal miner Adani Group.”

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".

Savarkar 'criminally betrayed' Netaji and his INA by siding with the British rulers

By Shamsul Islam* RSS-BJP rulers of India have been trying to show off as great fans of Netaji. But Indians must know what role ideological parents of today's RSS/BJP played against Netaji and Indian National Army (INA). The Hindu Mahasabha and RSS which always had prominent lawyers on their rolls made no attempt to defend the INA accused at Red Fort trials.

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. 

Asset managers hold '2.8 times more equity' in fossil fuel cos than in green investments

By Deepanwita Gita Niyogi*  The world’s largest asset managers are far off track to meet the  2050 net zero commitments , a new study  released by InfluenceMap , a London-based think tank working on climate change and sustainability, says. Released on August 1, the Asset Managers and Climate Change 2023 report by FinanceMap, a work stream of InfluenceMap, finds that the world’s largest asset managers have not improved on their climate performance in the past two years.

'State-sanctioned terror': Stop drone attack on Adivasis, urge over 80 world academics

Counterview Desk  A joint statement, “Indigenous Peoples’ Un-Freedoms and Our Academic Freedom: A Call for Solidarity”, endorsed by over 80 signatories, including international academics, activists and civil society organizations, as well as diasporic Indian academics and researchers, working with Adivasi (indigenous) communities in India, has made an urgent appeal to prevent future drone bomb attacks by the Indian state on Adivasi villages.

Victim of 'hazardous' jobs, Delhi sanitary workers get two thirds of minimum wages

By Sanjeev Kumar*  Recently, the Dalit Adivasi Shakti Adhikar Manch (DASAM) organized a Training of Trainers (ToT) Workshop for sewer workers and waste pickers from all across Delhi NCR. The workshop focused on bringing sanitation workers from different parts of Delhi to train them for organization building and to discuss their issues of minimum wage, contractual labour, regular jobs and social security.