How Patidars Found Merit In Reservation

All along, the Patels of Gujarat had stood in opposition to caste quotas. That did not work, so they have started demanding OBC status.

- Ushinor Majumdar

Last year in August, when Hardik Patel first marshalled Patidars to fight for reservation under the Other Backward Classes (OBC) quota, the agitation was vilified as a ruse to frustrate the government into reviewing and finishing off reservation. A year later, the Patidars have not turned tail; in fact, they have started joining hands with other intermediate castes eyeing reservation. Pundits, therefore, are scrying to understand why Patidars, who decades ago fought to end reservations, are jostling for a share of the quota pie.

It’s partly rooted in identity, partly eco­nomics. Some cite jealousy towards castes in the OBC list that now hold bureaucratic clout, the frustration of being pushed to the fag end of the shrinking queue for jobs, or a desire for a new kind of mobility to reclaim their dominant position in society that has been “upset by reservation”. Some still argue it is designed to end reservation quota to the backward classes.

The name Patidars (literally titleholders) refers to landowners who were originally of the Kanbi caste, claimed to be descendants of the north Indian Kurmis. Sociologists say they were part of the Shudra varna. The British system of collecting fixed revenue from communities empowered the Patidars, giving them control over finance and also turning some of them into moneylenders. This power let them assume the title of Patel, meaning village headman.

The four sub­groups of Patidars are the Kadva and Leuva Patels —both are agitating for reservation—and the Kachia Patels (vegetable sellers) and Anjana Patels (who claim descent from Kshatriyas and Jats), both of whom are part of the OBC list.