The agitation by the Patidars, popularly known as the Patels, in Gujarat will have far-reaching implications for India, even if their stir ends in a week. The clues can be found in the movie, Namak Haraam, in which an industrialist (Amitabh Bachchan) gets his close friend (Rajesh Khanna) to spy on his company's labour union, but the friend soon aligns with the union's mission and plans a strike.
The Patels helped the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) come to power in the state several years ago; now the same community has gone against it. There is no point in trying to find the reasons for their protests, but for sure, the faith the BJP had in this community has been shaken. This is a Black Swan-like situation no one foresaw although it was happening in the very state where Prime Minister Narendra Modi conceived the Gujarat Model of development during his term as chief minister.
I remember how Indira Gandhi returned to power in 1980 when the Janata Party could not manage by itself. Obviously, history repeats itself.
Chandrashekhar G Ranade Virginia
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