A week ago most people would have looked askance if the name of Hardik Patel were mentioned. After Tuesday's rally in Ahmedabad, Gujarat which drew half-a-million members of the Patel community, this 21-year-old youth has literally forced his way into India's consciousness. Who is he and what does he represent? Hardik is the convenor of the Patidar Anamat Andolan Samiti which is demanding OBC status for the Patel community. The demand runs contrary to popular belief that the community is not only very enterprising but quite well-off. Hardik has held more than 100 meetings across Gujarat to explain that in reality the community, which comprises over 12 per cent of Gujarat's population, needs support and this can come only in the form of reservation. It's a one point demand and the support that this young man has welled up has made Gujarat Chief Minister Anandiben Patel sit up and listen. Even while rejecting the demand, the chief minister has set up a committee to study it. The size of the rally is likely to give Prime Minister Narendra Modi a sleepless night or two, more so because Hardik is being touted as the 'new Modi'. The demand by the Patels for reservation could also spur less privileged upper castes in the rest of the country into making a similar demand. As for now the Patels have made a bold and loud statement which is difficult to ignore.
