Two lakh strong OBC rally in Ahmedabad "warns" Gujarat govt: Ignore us at your peril

Alpesh Thakore

About two lakh people, manly OBCs, gathered at Ahmedabad’s sprawling GMDC grounds – the same spot where the Patels held their massive show four months ago – in a rare display of unity under the banner of Other Backward Class, Scheduled Caste and Scheduled Tribe (OSS) Ekta Manch, telling the BJP government in Gujarat that it could not ignore them.
Even as telling the state rulers that they had “failed to do enough” for backward sections, caught under the scourge of illicit liquor and deprivation, what was supposed to be a Vyasan Mukti (addiction free) rally, which converted into an OBC show of strength.
The leader of the show was OSS Ekta Manch convener Alpesh Thakore, who claim at the rally that it was not a political move but only aimed at bringing together “deprived sections of Gujarat on a single platform for their rights.”
Sending out a strong message to the state BJP government under Anandiben Patel, leaders at the OSS Ekta Manch suggested, they, like Patels, were also is an important vote bank, can cannot be ignored.
The rally was interpreted as a parallel to create a political space for OBCs, while like Patels, who, held their rally on August 25, 2015, demanding reservation quota in government jobs. The rally triggered the first massive electoral setback to the BJP in at the local body elections in year in Gujarat.
Already, the OSS Ekta Manch is being described as a counter to the high-caste Patel community organization, Patidar Anamat Andkolan Samiti. Its leader, Alpesh Thakore, is in his 30s. Patel caste leader Hardik Patel is in his 20s.
“No doubt, this is a rally to fight addiction, but it is also for empowering and uniting people, who have long been neglected in Gujarat”, Thakore said, adding, “Though we are dispersed, without any support structure, one should remember that if the OBCs, especially Thakores, open their third eye, it could be lethal.”

“This rally in the prelude”, Alpesh Thakore, whose Thakore Ekta Sena is active among Gujarat’s rural hinterlands, declared. Former foot-soldiers during the British rule who consider themselves Kshatriyas, Thakores are the biggest of all the OBC groups in Gujarat.
The rally, in which majority of participants was Thakores, found its support from sections of other OBC communities as well, especially Kolis, and was joined by representatives of Dalit and tribals.
Analysts say, through this rally, Alpesh Thakore is seeking to occupy the same space among OBCs which Hardik Patel created among Patels. “A new socio-political order appears to be emerging in Gujarat, a voice that political parties in Gujarat can ill-afford to ignore”, opines Gujarat-based sociologist Vidyut Joshi.
Predicts social scientist Achyut Yagnik, both young leaders have a long way to go, as they have still not been sullied by personal political ambitions, and their support base is genuine.
“We are not with either of the two political parties, BJP or Congress, we wish progress for OBCs,” said Alpesh Thakore during his little more than half-an-hour speech. He read out a paper containing a pledge, which he took from the audience: That they would fight for de-addiction and come together to create a socio-economic power, which successive rulers did not care about.
“If we are able to create a social space by developing health and education facilities among OBCs, backing it up with de-addiction, no one will be able to ignore us”, Thakore said, adding, “This is important, if are not to allow any political party in Gujarat to ignore us. It is a clarion call… This is my message to Gujarat’s politicians…”, even as drawing a huge applause.

Comments

When Pakistanis whispered: ‘end military rule’ — A Moscow memoir

During the recent anti-terror operation inside Pakistan by the Government of India, called Operation Sindoor — a name some feminists consider patently patriarchal, even though it’s officially described as a tribute to the wives of the 26 husbands killed in the terrorist strike — I was reminded of my Moscow stint, which lasted for seven long years, from 1986 to 1993.

Ahmedabad's civic chaos: Drainage woes, waterlogging, and the illusion of Olympic dreams

In response to my blog on overflowing gutter lines at several spots in Ahmedabad's Vejalpur, a heavily populated area, a close acquaintance informed me that it's not just the middle-class housing societies that are affected by the nuisance. Preeti Das, who lives in a posh locality in what is fashionably called the SoBo area, tells me, "Things are worse in our society, Applewood."

Tracking a lost link: Soviet-era legacy of Gujarati translator Atul Sawani

The other day, I received a message from a well-known activist, Raju Dipti, who runs an NGO called Jeevan Teerth in Koba village, near Gujarat’s capital, Gandhinagar. He was seeking the contact information of Atul Sawani, a translator of Russian books—mainly political and economic—into Gujarati for Progress Publishers during the Soviet era. He wanted to collect and hand over scanned soft copies, or if possible, hard copies, of Soviet books translated into Gujarati to Arvind Gupta, who currently lives in Pune and is undertaking the herculean task of collecting and making public soft copies of Soviet books that are no longer available in the market, both in English and Indian languages.

RP Gupta a scapegoat to help Govt of India manage fallout of Adani case in US court?

RP Gupta, a retired 1987-batch IAS officer from the Gujarat cadre, has found himself at the center of a growing controversy. During my tenure as the Times of India correspondent in Gandhinagar (1997–2012), I often interacted with him. He struck me as a straightforward officer, though I never quite understood why he was never appointed to what are supposed to be top-tier departments like industries, energy and petrochemicals, finance, or revenue.

Environmental report raises alarm: Sabarmati one of four rivers with nonylphenol contamination

A new report by Toxics Link , an Indian environmental research and advocacy organisation based in New Delhi, in collaboration with the Environmental Defense Fund , a global non-profit headquartered in New York, has raised the alarm that Sabarmati is one of five rivers across India found to contain unacceptable levels of nonylphenol (NP), a chemical linked to "exposure to carcinogenic outcomes, including prostate cancer in men and breast cancer in women."

PharmEasy: The only online medical store which revises prices upwards after confirming the order

For senior citizens — especially those without a family support system — ordering medicines online can be a great relief. Shruti and I have been doing this for the last couple of years, and with considerable success. We upload a prescription, receive a verification call from a doctor, and within two or three days, the medicines are delivered to our doorstep.

A conman, a demolition man: How 'prominent' scribes are defending Pritish Nandy

How to defend Pritish Nandy? That’s the big question some of his so-called fans seem to ponder, especially amidst sharp criticism of his alleged insensitivity during his journalistic career. One such incident involved the theft and publication of the birth certificate of Masaba Gupta, daughter of actor Neena Gupta, in the Illustrated Weekly of India, which Nandy was editing at the time. He reportedly did this to uncover the identity of Masaba’s father.

Revisiting Gijubhai: Pioneer of child-centric education and the caste debate

It was Krishna Kumar, the well-known educationist, who I believe first introduced me to the name — Gijubhai Badheka (1885–1939). Hailing from Bhavnagar, known as the cultural capital of the Saurashtra region of Gujarat, Gijubhai, Kumar told me during my student days, made significant contributions to the field of pedagogy — something that hasn't received much attention from India's education mandarins. At that time, Kumar was my tutorial teacher at Kirorimal College, Delhi University.

A sector under siege? War and real estate: Navigating uncertainty in India's expanding market

I was a little surprised when I received an email alert from a top real estate consultant, Anarock Group , titled "Exploring War’s Effects on Indian Real Estate—When Conflict Meets Concrete," authored by its regional director and head of research, Dr. Prashant Thakur. I had thought that the business would wholeheartedly support what is considered a strong response to the dastardly terrorist attack in Pahalgam, Operation Sindoor.

Search This Blog