Patels in US divided over protest against Prime Minister Narendra Modi

WASHINGTON: As if monitoring Sikh separatists, Leftist radicals, and Islamic rage-boys was not enough on the plate, India's spooks and security personnel now have to keep an eye on Patel malcontents, who have brought India's caste politics to American shores, during Prime Minister Narendra Modi's visit to the United States this week.

Hundreds, perhaps thousands of Patels, Gujarat's dominant landed community, who are also a byword for immigrant enterprise, are expected to gather in New York City and California's Bay Area to demonstrate against the Prime Minister for his lack of support for their demand to scrub caste-based reservation, belying the impression that he has the unqualified support of the overseas Indians, particularly Gujaratis.

A small group of Patels is scheduled to begin a march on Monday from Selma to Montgomery in Alabama in a replay of a well-word American route to highlight racial injustice. In this case though, the Patels say they are protesting against police excess against their community in Gujarat and the discrimination they are facing in India.

A larger demonstration is expected in New York City when Prime Minister Modi arrives there mid-week to address the United Nations. Alpesh Patel, who is one of the organizers rallying people under the banner of Sardar Patel Sena, said they had obtained the required permits from law-enforcement authorities and he expected more than a thousand people to gather for the demonstration.

However, not all Patels in the US are on board the agitation. The Leuva Patidar Samaj (LPS), which claims to be the largest Patel organization in the US with a membership of over 25,000, said they supported the Prime Minister and his visit, and were not part of the demonstration. "We see no point in bringing our issues in India to US shores," said Sunil Patel, an LPS office-bearer in Tennessee.

Patels constitute the single largest Indian immigrant group outside India, at least where last names are concerned. The US census in 2000 counted nearly 150,000 Patels.

In fact, long before they became synonymous with business franchise success, the great American playwright and screen writer David Mamet, recognized the hard-nosed business practices of Patels in his Pulitzer Prize winning 1984 play Glengarry Glen Ross, which was subsequently made into a movie.

In a controversial scene that was later deleted, Al Pacino eviscerates Kevin Spacey for believing that a Patel will pony up money, roaring that if "Shiva handed him a million dollars, told him to sign the deal, he wouldn't sign. And Vishnu, too into the bargain." Some 30 years after he wrote that, Patels have acquired the reputation of being savvy businessmen.

Patels have also won acclaim in broader areas outside business, including in academia, science, medicine, law, entertainment, and even in administration (Dick Cheney's chief policy advisor was Neil Patel and the World Bank has several Patels who have served in senior positions; they also head universities and tech companies).

Ironically, even as the Patel discontent is surfacing in the US, Americans, who are probably more familiar with this last name than any other Indian name (save perhaps Singh), are enjoying a laugh-a-minute documentary called "Meet the Patels" on a subject that is as common and as Indian as the Patels themselves - arranged marriage.