Explained: Why Are Gujarat Kshatriyas Demanding Withdrawal Of This Senior BJP Leader's Candidature ?

A statement made in a public event against the rulers of erstwhile princely states in India has landed senior Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader and Union Minister For Fisheries and Dairy Parshottam Rupala in trouble.

Referring to his speech delivered at an event on March 22, Kshatriya organisations across Gujarat, mainly those of the Rajputs, have been demanding BJP to withdraw his candidature from the Rajkot seat for the upcoming Lok Sabha polls.

At an event organised by a Dalit community in Rajkot, Rupala while recognising the role of individuals from Dalit communities in the Indian freedom struggle, criticised the rulers of princely states for colluding with the British colonial administration. As per reports, he also said, “Apart from bowing their heads down and dining with the colonisers, Indian princes at times even married their daughters with the British.”

After the video containing snippets from his controversial speech went viral, Rupala apologised to the Kshatriya groups demanding action against him. In a video statement the senior BJP leader said that he had no intention to disrespect any community and that he only had referred to a few elements who had helped further the colonial rule in India. However, several Kshatriya outfits from Rajkot to Ahmedabad have refused to accept Rupala’s apologies.

“We reject his apology because it lacked sincerity. His words may change after the election. If Rupala is not replaced, we will ensure he loses in the polls. Our issue is not with the BJP, they can pick another candidate,” said Virbhadrasinh, a community leader to Hindustan Times.

Kshatriya-Patidar Rivalry

While politicians across party lines making controversial statements on caste lines is not new, Rupala- who is a Kadva Patidar, making a statement against the ruling elite of the past has accentuated tensions swiftly owing to a history of rivalry between the Kshatriya groups and Patidars in Gujarat.

Unlike Rajasthan or Maharashtra where the Kshatriya status is largely limited to Rajputs and Marathas, the warrior-ruler identity is claimed by many groups in Gujarat ranging from Rajputs to tribal groups like Kolis and even Bhils.

Patidars, a land tilling agrarian caste, too had asserted Kshatriya-hood in the early half of 20th century. However, the Gujarat Kshatriya Sabha formed in 1948 owing to the initiative of Rajput landlords, chose to include tribal groups like Kolis and Bhils with warrior lineage rather than including Patidars who were immediately below Rajputs in terms of social hierarchy.

Ever since then, both Rajputs and Patidars, have struggled against each other to uphold their respective dominance in politics. This was seen more notably in the early 1980s when Congress leader Madhavsinh Solanki, hailing from a Kshatriya lineage-claiming Koli clan, attempted to stitch together a socio-political coalition comprising Kshatriya, Harijan, Adivasi and Muslims (popularly known as KHAM). This was done by sidelining the more numerous and politically influential Patidars. Solanki's experiment worked in INC’s favour as the party won 149 out of 182 seats in Gujarat state assembly elections of 1985.

Although INC’s KHAM coalition was later broken down by BJP’s Hindutva agenda in the 1990s, rivalry between Rajputs and Patidar groups continued to simmer in silence, with occasional clashes reported in rural countryside of the Saurashtra region.

Rajkot, which the senior BJP leader Rupala intends to represent is part of the same region. This is also one of the reasons why Rupala training guns at the rulers of the princely state in the past has been immediately construed by the Kshatriya Rajputs as an attempt by the Kadva Patidar leader to tarnish their community’s image.

Echos of Congress campaign

Notably, senior BJP leader Rupala terming Indian royalty having had’ roti-beti’ relations with the British has enraged Kshatriyas in the state, more so considering that Congress leader Rahul Gandhi had made a similar statement at a party rally in December last year.

Referring to the rulers of the princely states as ‘collaborators’ of the colonial regime, Gandhi said, “People think the freedom struggle was only against Britishers, no, it was also against the kings and rulers. Congress fought against that partnership (between Indian kings and British colonisers) for the people of the country.”