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What Is The Solution?

What Is The Solution?

Life in Gujarat virtually came to a standstill after a rally and mega-meeting by the Patel community in Gujarat turned violent. Curfew was clamped in various parts of Ahmedabad. 

The Patel community is demanding a quota under the OBC category and warned of serious consequences if its demands are not met.

Although the CM of Gujarat has clearly stated that the community cannot be included in the OBC category and appealed to them to maintain peace and come forward for negotiations, the community is unrelenting.

Every Tom, Dick and Harry in India knows that this is the easiest route to political power, popularity, money or whatever.

Just look at the person who is heading the agitation of the Patels. His name is Hardik Patel. A 22-year-old BCom graduate who helped his father run a small submersible-pumps business in rural Ahmedabad,

Hardik Patel is the convener of Patidar Anamat Andolan Samiti (PAAS). Hardik, who graduated with less than 50% marks from Ahmedabad's Sahajanand College, comes from an average middle-class Patidar family from Viramgam, near Ahmedabad.

His father is engaged in farming. Two months ago nobody had heard of Hardik Patel. Now he is well known as the man who has galvanized Patidar masses in a Gujarat-wide movement to demand reservations in the OBC quota.  

Hardik's rise has baffled everyone, especially the political establishment. And further dirtying the waters is Nitish Kumar of Bihar. Describing Hardik as the new youth leader, Nitish said the demands put by him are justified.

"My best wishes to Hardik Patel. His demand is justified and reservation should be given to Patels," Nitish said.

What nobody seems bothered about is the fact that a 22- year old young man has chosen OBC quota for his community as his priority, an age at which one would have expected him to have other interests. There seems to be no solution to such kinds of agitations.

Tomorrow, another caste will take to the streets or another category of people will demand a separate state along regional lines, whereas the root cause is just the political ambitions of a single individual.

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