Meet Hardik Patel, the B.Com graduate who has brought Gujarat to a standstill

Hardik Patel: B Com Graduate; Belongs to a middle-class Patidar family from Viramgam, near Ahmedabad; Helped his father run a small submersible-pumps business.
His Politics: His Claim: Patidars or Patels are getting a raw deal because of the existing reservation regime. Therefore, Patels should be accorded OBC status. Mobilized Patidar masses to demand reservations in the OBC quota

Formed Patidar Anamat Andolan Samiti (PAAS), which has become a uniting force for Patels, in July.

Was Earlier the president of the Viramgam unit of the Sardar Patel Group, a leading Patidar youth body.



Meet The Patels: The term Patel derives from the word Patidar, or the holder of patis, or land parcels, under the village tenureship system. Patidars were allocated uncultivated land in the Petlad taluka by the rulers of Gujarat in the pre-Mughal era. Many of these people were at fi rst called "Patlikhs", which eventually evolved into the surname Patel, now common in other states as well (Rajasthan, AP, Karnataka, Maharashtra, Chhattisgarh and in some eastern part of MP)

Global Patels: Patels Outnumber all other Gujaratis in the US, the UK, and New Zealand.

Gujaratis who migrated during the British rule to British East Africa (Kenya and Uganda) would sometimes adopt the surname 'Patel' & this surname was then subsequently passed onto their descendants (who now mainly reside outside Kenya & Uganda)

Patel Motels: Many Indians who came to the US in the 1960s and 1970s bought undervalued or dilapidated properties, turning them into businesses. As many as 60% of mid-sized motels and hotel properties all over the US are owned by people of Indian origin. Of this nearly one-third bear the surname Patel.