Skip to main content

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

Alpesh Thakore
By Our Representative
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 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

sanjay said…
BJP leader should learn from this new commers.Liquor prohibition is jock with people of gujarat.Liquor trafficing in rail train without any hegitation.Parelol economy grow in south gujarat due to liquor business.BJP leaders,workers,mla,mp shut down their eyes,mind and heart against it thats why Alpesh Thalor,Hardik type people risen.Peoples are more wise then them.Pls awaeken yourself or ready for defeat.
Anonymous said…
As far as i know there are 196 countries in this world and No other country apart from India has caste based reservation system !! WOW

Benefits and reservations across the globe are given to either the weaker sect, based on their social status and not by VOTE banks.....

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.

'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.

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).

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".

Invincible, Modi 'taller' than BJP, RSS: An opportunity for Congress beyond 2024?

By NS Venkataraman*  With the announcement of poll schedule for the 2024 parliamentary election, there is palpable excitement and expectation amongst the countrymen  about the shape of things to happen in India after the  results of the election would be announced. There is also speculation abroad about the future course of developments in India.