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Hardik Patel: Face of Gujarat caste protests A 22-year-old Indian has become the face of massive caste protests which have shut down Ahmedabad, the main city in Prime Minister Narendra Modi's home state of Gujarat. The BBC's Geeta Pandey meets Hardik Patel. Two months ago, no-one outside Gujarat had heard his name, but today Hardik Patel is making headlines across India. With his controversial demand that the Patels - or the Patidar caste - be given better access to jobs and education through the quota system, he has acquired millions of supporters in a very short span of time. On Tuesday, at least 300,000 supporters walked miles to get to the sprawling GMDC ground in the centre of the city to hear him talk about the "injustices heaped on Patels". In his hour-long speech, he invoked India's independence heroes Mahatma Gandhi and Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel, took a dig at Mr Modi and berated Gujarat Chief Minister Anandiben Patel. "It's a fight for our rights. If they grant our demand, we will accept it with humility, but if we don't get our right, we will snatch it by force," he said. Braving the scorching heat, the massive crowds cheered him on, clapping and responding to his questions with raised fists. At first glance, there is nothing to distinguish Mr Patel from his teeming supporters. The 22-year-old commerce graduate, dressed in a full-sleeve shirt and trousers, is small built and unassuming. But he is a brilliant speaker, and has won millions with his fiery oratory. And although Mr Patel says he has no interest in entering politics, his supporters are starting to compare him with the prime minister, who is also seen as a self-made leader and is appreciated for his lively speeches. Mr Patel tells me he was born in the town of Viramgam near Ahmedabad. His father runs a small business selling water pumps and he lives at home with his parents and a younger sister. "My sister completed her high school last year and scored very high marks. But she couldn't get a scholarship, whereas students from the castes that are part of the quota system got it with much lower marks." He began his public career in 2011 when he set up a social organisation to fight "harassment of women and poor farmers" and the idea to demand quotas for Patels in jobs and colleges came to him just a few months ago. "I was chatting with a few friends and everyone was talking about how even the meritorious amongst us fail to get into colleges or government jobs." In recent weeks, his supporters have put out a YouTube video where he is seen posing with a rifle on his shoulder and among his influences, he counts fellow Gujaratis Mahatma Gandhi and Sardar Patel. He says he is particularly inspired by Patel and his war cry is "Jai Sardaar" (hail Sardar) and many at his rallies appear wearing Sardar Patel's masks. When he addressed his first rally on 6 July, it was attended by 12,000 people. His second drew about 50,000. And then last week, reports said 450,000 people had turned up to hear him in Surat. On Tuesday, Mr Patel claimed nearly a million people were present at his Ahmedabad rally, although police said they had counted about 300,000 supporters with help from security drones. His sudden rise to prominence has taken the authorities by surprise - the Gujarat chief minister, herself a Patel, has ruled out their demand for quotas, but she has named a group of ministers to talk to Hardik Patel. The talks so far have failed to yield any results. Patels, who comprise about 20% of the state's population, control India's thriving diamond cutting and polishing industry and are among the most prosperous businessmen and farmers in Gujarat. As a community they are politically powerful. They are also thriving on foreign shores where they are known for their enterprise and business acumen - there are more than a quarter of a million Patels in the UK and about 200,000 in the US. But Mr Patel says it's a myth that all Patels are rich. "Only five to 10% of Patels are prosperous, that doesn't make the entire community rich. If you visit a village home in the Saurashra region, you'll see people don't have enough to eat. There are so many poor people. And if you look at the farmers who have killed themselves in the past 10 years, the largest numbers are from among the Patels," he says. With resentment against the quota system growing, and with his largely young supporters getting increasingly restless, Mr Patel has issued a veiled threat to the authorities. "India and Gujarat are the land of revolutionaries. We believe in peace and love and follow in the footsteps of Gandhi and Sardar Patel. But we are also inspired by revolutionaries like Chandra Shekhar Azad and Bhagat Singh and if need be, we will not hesitate to take the path of violence," he told me, adding that he is in it for the long haul. "This is not a 100-metre race, it's a marathon. We will call off our agitation only after the demands of Gujarat's 18 million Patels are accepted," he says.
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मोदीलाई चुनौती दिने २२ वर्षीय युवा को हुन्? भारतीय प्रधानमन्त्री नरेन्द्र मोदीको गृह राज्य गुजरातमा आठ जनाको ज्यान जाने गरी भएको दुई दिनको जातीय हिंसा पश्चात अझै तनाव जारी छ। प्रभावशाली ठानिने पटेल समुदायले सरकारी रोजगारीमा कोटाको माग गर्दै थालिएको प्रदर्शनमा प्रहरी र स्थानीय समुदायसंग झडप भएपछि शान्ति बहाल गर्न त्यहाँ सेना परिचालन गरिएको छ भने ठाउँठाउँमा कर्फ्यु लगाइएको छ। चुस्त आर्थिक प्रगति गरिरहेको भनिएको पश्चिमी भारतीय राज्य गुजरातमा एक्कासी आन्दोलन भड्किएपछि त्यसको नेतृत्व कसले गरिरहेको छ भनेर धेरैमाझ उत्सुकता जागेको छ। ‘टाउको दुखाइ’ केवल २२ वर्षको उमेरमा गुजरात सरकारको टाउको दुखाइ बनेका हार्दिक पटेललाई दुई महिना अघिसम्म कसैले चिनेको थिएन। पटेल समुदायका लागि रोजगारी वा शिक्षामा कोटामार्फत थप पहुँच दिनुपर्ने विवादास्पद मागका कारण उनले छोटो समयमै दशौं लाख समर्थक कमाएका छन्। पटेल समुदायमाथि भएका ‘अन्याय’ बारे प्रखर वक्ता हार्दिकको भाषण सुन्न दुई दिन अगाडि अहमदाबादको जीएमडीसी मैदानमा कैयौं माइल हिंडेर ३ लाख समर्थक पुगेका थिए। त्यो जमातमा धेरै त युवा रहेको बताइन्छ। कोटाको झगडा त्यसोभए गुजरात सरकारलाई मुश्कीलमा पारिदिने यी हार्दिक पटेल वास्तवमा को हुन्? हार्दिकको जन्म अहमदाबाद नजिकैको विरामगाम भन्ने शहरमा भएको थियो। उनको पिताको पानी तान्ने पम्प बेच्न सानोतिनो व्यापार छ। उनी आफ्ना आमाबुबा र बहिनीसंग बस्छन्। बीबीसी सम्वाददाता गीता पाण्डेसंग कुराकानी गर्दै उनले आफ्नी बहिनीले गत वर्ष स्कूलमा निकै राम्रो अंक ल्याएर उत्तीर्ण भएको तर छात्रवृत्ति नपाएको जबकि उनको भन्दा कम अंक ल्याएपनि अन्य जातिकाले कोटाका कारण पाएको बताए। हार्दिकले सन् २०११ मा महिला तथा गरीब किसानविरुद्ध हुने उत्पीडनसंग लड्न एक सामाजिक संगठन खडा गरेर शुरु गरे। पटेल समुदायका लागि काम र शिक्षामा कोटाको माग गर्ने विचार भने उनमा केही महिना अघि मात्रै उत्पन्न भयो। वाणिज्यशास्त्रका स्नातक हार्दिकको अगुवाइमा गत ४० दिनदेखि गुजरातमा आन्दोलन तथा विरोध प्रदर्शन भइराखेका छन्। ‘मिथ्या’ आँकडा गुजरातको जनसंख्याको बीस प्रतिशत हिस्सा पटेल समुदायको छ। यो समुदाय हिराको व्यापारमा अग्रणी छ। त्यस्तै सम्पन्न किसान तथा व्यापारी मध्येमा उनीहरु गनिन्छन्। उनीहरु राजनैतिक रुपमा एक शक्तिशाली समुदाय हुन्। भारतबाहिर पनि पटेल समुदायले व्यापार व्यवसायमा सफलता पाएका छन्। तर हार्दिक पटेल भन्छन् सबै पटेल धनी छन् भन्ने कुरा मिथ्या हो। उनी भन्छन् केवल पाँच देखि १० प्रतिशत पटेल धनी छन्। “खान नपाउने कैयौं छन्। गत १० वर्षको आँकडाले आत्महत्या गर्न वाध्य किसानहरुमध्ये सबभन्दा धेरै पटेल समुदाय भएको देखाउँछ,” उनले भने। कोटा प्रणाली विरुद्ध आक्रोश बढ्दै जाँदा अनि आफ्ना खासगरी युवा समर्थकहरु आन्दोलित बन्दै गर्दा, हार्दिकले अधिकारीहरु विरुद्ध चेतावनी दिन थालेका छन्। ‘क्रान्तिकारीहरुको भूमि’ आफ्नो राज्य गुजरातमा शान्ति र प्रेमप्रति अगाध आस्था रहेको अनि महात्मा गान्धी तथा सरदार पटेलको पाईला पछ्याएको उनको भनाइ छ। तर शान्तिको मार्गबाट माग सम्बोधन नभए हिंसाको बाटो समेत हिंड्न आफुहरु तयार रहेको उनले बताएका छन्। उनी भन्छन् यो आन्दोलन कुनै सय मीटरको दौड होइन बरु म्याराथन हो। गुजरातका पौने दुई करोड पटेल समुदायका माग पूरा नभएसम्म आन्दोलन जारी राख्ने उनले बताएका छन्।