In opposition to Patel reservation

My name is Hardik Kevadiya, i am Patel too.

I am a son of diamond merchant, doing a job in IT company. Do i have a option, not to be a part of this laughable ANAMAT ANDOLAN. I dont want to be a part of OBC quota, who the hell is Hardik Patel (i must say a conman) to deside on behalf of all the Patels.

As the Patels gathered for their maha-rally in Ahmedabad, under almost house arrest as the Patels arriving in their fancy cars rally for a right to be “backward”. All roads nearby were closed for traffic." The irony of what appears to be a very affluent community gathering in the thousands demanding reservations has left most of the communities outside scratching their heads.

A report on Quartz sums up what it dubs the “Caste Conundrum” in its very headline. The affluent Patel clan owns a quarter of US motels. In India, it wants to be called “backward”.

A 2012 book about the US motel industry reckons there are some 22,000 hotels and motels owned by Indians in the US, together valued at $128 billion. 70% of these are owned by Gujaratis. Three-quarters of those are Patels. And it does not particularly help the Patels’ cause as victims when one of the rally-goers, one Suryakant Patel tells, “He had to sell his land to educate his son, who could not get admission in medical college here. he had to send his sone to the US to study computer science.”

Patel had access to modernity and capital for a century and a half. Almost every person in central Gujarat, where Patels dominate, has family members in the US and UK.”

The Los Angeles Times headlines its story “Patels are a success story from India to the US. Why do they want affirmative action?”

But do we really?

It’s interesting to really listen to what Hardik Patel, the 22 year old conman who seems to be spearheading the agitation has to say.

“Either the government grants us reservation or discontinues the entire concept of reservation. These is no other option.”

Our focus has been largely on the first half of his statement trying to fathom why such a well-to-do community should be demanding reservation. But it is really the second half of his “either-or” statement that is likely to catch fire.

In the name of demanding reservations is Hardik Patel really spearheading an anti-reservation movement?

What he has said is that he’s OK with reservations as long as they are linked to economic status not caste. This is an idea that finds great resonance in modern India where many feel the job pie has not grown the way the reservation pool has.

That sentiment comes through clearly from Haribhai Patel who came to the Mahakranti rally. He tells the one of the news paper:

“His son did diploma in engineering, but couldn’t get a good job. He now runs his own shop but the earning is not good enough. If he had belonged to OBC category, things would have been different.”

And then the clincher.

“I believe that the time has come to give reservation on the basis of economic condition rather than caste.”

It’s not a new idea or a new grouse. The BJP too had put "aarthik aadhar par" reservations in its manifesto way back in 1996. The United States has also struggled with the notion of economic affirmative action that would benefit poor whites as opposed to race-based quotas which have been challenged in court.

Focusing on the Patels’ affluence, their diamond and textile businesses and farmlands, misreads the reality of that resentment which is not related to what they have but what they feel their children are shut out from.

The Patedars or Patels of Gujarat or Patels constitute barely 15 per cent of the state's population according to the 1931 caste census (the stats from the recent caste census have yet to be released by the government) but since its formation in 1960, the community has wielded a disproportionate amount of political and financial power. That's why our demand for inclusion in the OBC category appears surprising.

One reason the Patels want to be OBCs, i believes is to get our children into medical and engineering colleges or institutions providing technical education which could make it easier for us to migrate abroad, as well as find jobs locally. The fact that we are poorly represented in these sectors is because the Patels have traditionally chosen to go into business at a young age, instead of pursuing higher studies. Now we are looking for a change.

Per government rules, minimum wages - 2015 is Rs. 7,238.40 and this is for Unskilled people.

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