Similar Yet Different — What Marathas Of Maharashtra Can Learn From The Patidars Of Gujarat

The twentieth century in India was a period of not just the nationalist fervour to break free from colonialism, but also that of a social churn.

While nationalists took advantage of the spread of printing technology by starting newspapers, several caste groupings also started their periodicals.

There were two such periodicals — ‘Patidar Hitecchu’ and ‘Patel Bandhu’ — devoted to the cause of uplifting Patidars, a Gujarati-speaking dominant agrarian caste in the erstwhile Bombay Presidency.

In one such issue of ‘Patel Bandhu’ in 1913, its editor Kalyanji Mehta declared — “Not just us — Marathas of Maharashtra, Vokkaligas of Mysore, Reddis of Andhra, Naidus of Madras, are all Patidars,” indicating their common agrarian roots.

Apart from the many things Patidars and Marathas share in common historically, both had come out on the streets demanding their inclusion in the Other Backward Class (OBC) category a few years back.

The common argument heard from the protest marches launched by the Patidar Anamat Aandolan Samiti (PAAS) and Samyukta Maratha Kranti Morcha (SMKM) in 2015-2018 period was: “We were well off back then. But in the present, owing to diminishing returns from farming and lack of jobs, we too are backward. Thus, reservation is our right and we will have it.”

While Patidars in Gujarat seemed to have been placated with the promulgation of 10 per cent reservation for the Economically Weaker Sections (EWS) in 2019, Marathas are back on the streets again demanding blanket inclusion in the OBC category for more than eight months now.

With Marathas refusing to back off, this phenomenon of two dominant castes from neighbouring states, hailing from similar 'agrarian-warrior lineage' claiming social grouping, but differing in their approaches, makes a compelling case for their comparative analysis more than ever now.

Ascent Of The Patidar

Kingship and the aristocracy arising from the Kshatriya varna have not only been the dominant ruling class historically but have also been the ‘bhupatis’ or the landlords in its literal sense.

Most of the arable land in the present-day Gujarat was either owned by the kings of the Rajput caste in Saurashtra or by the Koli chieftains of southern Gujarat.

The tenant class who tilled the lands for their absentee landlords and also owned a few tracts in rare cases were known in the region as ‘Kanbis’ or ‘Bhabhas’.

In terms of the varna hierarchy, the Kanbis, including their major sub-groupings such as Levas and Kadvas, were considered to be of the Shudra varna.

However, just like how the fortunes of many ‘middle peasantry’ groups changed by the mid-twentieth century, Kanbis too diversified their economic interests and rose through the ranks to firmly recognise themselves as Patidars only in the 1931 Census.

However, according to academicians, this rise of Patidars is fairly recent. Professor Ghanshyam Shah, prominent sociologist and an authority on Gujarat, locates the trigger for their rise in the colonial period.

"The term Patidar simply means tiller/manager of the land. In the times of the Mughal rule over Gujarat, only a few of the Kanbis who got revenue collection rights were called Patidars. However, the status of the Patidars continued to be the same as that of any tenant farmer, with their major presence being in Saurashtra, northern and central Gujarat. Kanbi-Patidars emerged as a dominant caste only in the colonial period when the British displaced Kolis of southern Gujarat as the major land tillers and entrusted the same with the Kanbi-Patidars," said Shah.

Unlike Maharashtra which had two major rivers — Krishna and Godavari —draining through large tracts of the land, Gujarat’s four major rivers — Tapi, Narmada, Mahi and Sabarmati — could only provide for central and southern Gujarat before meeting the Arabian sea.

This few thousand square kilometres of land known as Charotar, literally meaning the beautiful land, was majorly owned and cultivated by Koli and Anavil Brahmin landlords.

Experts point out that after several instances of Koli rebellions against the colonial rule, the colonial administrators started encouraging the Leva Kanbis of Charotar region to occupy unclaimed lands in the Koli chieftain’s domain.

The survey reports prophesised, "It is only a matter of few years that the Kanbi-Patidars will gradually take possession of the land and the thriftless Kolis will be reduced to the status of a labourer."

With the onset of the twentieth century, the tenant Kanbis of the princely states of Saurashtra as well as those from the British-controlled central and southern Gujarat became a force to reckon with.

In fact, they now enjoyed the social status of their former Rajput overlords while once dominant Koli groupings such as Dharalas were indeed reduced to the status of farm labourers.

By 1960, with rising literacy levels, gaining ownership of farms owing to land reforms and foraying into agri-businesses, the Kanbi-Patidar quest for upward mobility was complete.

Similar Roots, Different Approaches

Similar to Marathas, with an increase in the material standing, the Kanbi-Patidars too had claimed the ‘Kshatriya’ status in the past. While the Marathas traced their descent to the Suryavanshi-Sisodia Rajput clans, Kanbi-Patidars claimed that they were direct descendents of lord Ram’s two sons — Luv and Kush.

Relying on the folklore popularised over generations, the Leuva Patidars claimed descent from Luv while Kadva Patidars traced their roots to lord Ram’s other son Kush.

The Kanbi-Patidars even made institutionalised efforts to assert their Kshatriya status. For instance, Kunwarjibhai Mehta, founder of the first Patidar organisation — the Patidar Yuvak Mandal (PYM) — not only attended the All India Kurmi Kshatriya Mahasabha meeting in 1913 but also invited them to hold their next conference in Ahmedabad.

However, while Marathas continued with the assertion of their Kshatriya-hood with rulers like Chhatrapati Shahu of Kolhapur establishing the institution of ‘Kshatra-Jagadguru’ as a counter to Shankaracharya’s Karveer Peeth, Patidars sensed the changing tides of time.

Moreover, the latter’s claim of a warrior legacy was fiercely contested by the Rajputs, at times even having resulted in violent clashes.

Historians believe that owing to a strong tradition of trade and commerce in Gujarat, the rise of textile mills and oil pressing units made the Patidars realise that it is not those with the warrior lineage and large land-holding but those with deep-pockets who will ultimately call the shots.

Notably, the community’s worldview changed as it increasingly came under the influence of the Swaminarayan sect.

The Swaminarayan sect, which has its origins in the arrival of a Brahmin ascetic named Swami Sahajanand in 1800 from present day Ayodhya to Gujarat, drew its followers from a large number of Rajput, Koli and Patidar peasant class. Experts believe that the teaching of Swaminarayan gurus such as abstaining from alcohol and meat had a deep impact on the Patidars.

In this regard, Professor Shah observed, "Those from the Vaishya varna are usually either Vaishnavites or Jains. Both are vegetarians and follow their sectarian values rigorously.

When Patidars forayed into trade and industries, they felt the need to imitate the Vaishya Banias and Nagars to feel accepted among the trading class. Gradually, many Patidars started identifying themselves as Vaishyas since it is a varna open to many castes."

In the pre neo-liberalisation era, apart from personal capital and risk taking appetite, a prerequisite to commercially establishing oneself in an unknown domain was community's support.

That the Patidars, despite their sub-castes, had a cohesive sense of identity and a tendency for mutual cooperation also seems to have helped the first generation entrepreneurs from the caste.

Professor Vinayak Chaturvedi in his book 'Peasant Pasts: History and Memory in Western India' has traced the roots of mutual co-operation among Patidars as follows.

"Patidar peasants practiced a system named 'narwadari' for revenue settlement with the colonisers. In this, if one shareholder was unable to make a timely payment, the entire community would make the payment or secure a loan for the peasant. This shows how Patidars used their communal networks to control the political economy of central Gujarat."

It was the rise of the entrepreneurial spirit among the agrarian Patidars that elevated them from the status of Shudra to that of Vaishya, but how did this foray into trade and commerce happen?

A Diverse Investment Portfolio

Several historians have observed that the material standing of the landed gentries in western India improved with the encouragement given by colonisers to cultivate cash crops and enhanced irrigation facilities.

In the changing agrarian scenario, while the Kunbi-Maratha peasantry single-handedly favoured sugarcane cultivation, the Kanbi-Patidars opted for a variety of crops ranging from cotton to tobacco. But notably, the unique selling point of Kanbi-Patidars was dairy.

Harish Damodaran, senior public policy expert, observes in his magnum opus book — India's New Capitalists: Caste, Business and Industry in a Modern Nation — "By 1918, even before Amul was born, dairy exports from Anand town were worth 24 lakhs of rupees a year, a sum greater than the total land revenue of the district (Kheda)."

Although the farmers of central Gujarat emerged as major milk suppliers, the dairy processing arena was dominated by several European and Parsi businessmen. Similarly, though the Patidar farmers of the region were known for producing cotton on a large scale, the ginning and textile mills were the fiefs of Nagars, Lohanas, Baniyas and Parsis.

After becoming masters of the lands, it was only natural that the ambitious Patidar would aim to process and market his agricultural produce by himself. As a result in 1919, a group of farmers led by a Patidar- Purshottambhai Patel established the Purushottam Farmers’ Cooperative Ginning and Pressing Society. Until 1980s, this organisation was renowned as suppliers of the finest cotton.

Similarly, Damodaran points out that it was yet again a young Patidar named Tribhuvandas Patel who in 1946 established the Kaira District Co-operative Milk Producer's Union as a response to the domination of a Parsi owned Polson Dairy. The farmer led union with its milk marketed under the brand name 'Amul' would grow into India's largest dairy co-operative in a few decades ahead.

The Kunbi-Maratha peasantry of western Maharashtra too huddled together to form co-operatives. However, the efforts of such co-operatives were limited to establishing sugar factories such as the first co-operative sugar factory started by Vitthalrao Vikhe-Patil in 1950 at Loni, Ahmednagar. Furthermore, such sugar factories remained co-operatives only in name as most of them would become the fiefs of locally dominant Maratha families.

Post independence, ambitious entrepreneurs among the Patidars diversified the community's socio-economic portfolio even more.

— Odhavji Patel of Morbi established the famous clock making company- Ajanta.

— Karsanbhai Patel would go on to establish the detergent to cement maker Nirma Group.

— A pharmacy college lecturer Ramanbhai Patel went on to establish Cadilla Healthcare. While his son Pankaj Patel built upon his legacy further by establishing one of the largest pharma companies in India- Zydus Lifesciences.

— Tulsi Tanti, a young Patidar from Rajkot founded the windmill maker Suzlon Energy as an answer to the problem of erratic power supply to his family owned textile mill.

— Savjibhai Dholakia, a college-dropout went on to establish the famed Hare Krishna Diamonds of Surat. Following the cue of their relatives and friends, Govind Patel, Vallabh Patel and Lalji Patel too became renowned diamond merchants of the city.

Why Marathas Must Introspect?

Despite not being economically as influential as the Patidars, Kunbi-Marathas do have an edge over the latter in one aspect.

Marathas account for nearly 30 per cent of the state's population, making it the largest landed cum agrarian castes among all its fellow Indian landed gentries. On the other hand, Patidars rank only second in Gujarat at 13 per cent after Kolis who count nearly 24 per cent of the state's population as its caste members.

Considering this, it won't be wrong to say that Marathas are Maharashtra and Maharashtra is all about Marathas.

While Maratha politicians and community leaders list out range of theories for the alleged backwardness of their caste in present, such as land fragmentation and reducing profitability in farming, a careful analysis of the Maharashtrian social-psyche on the whole tells us a different tale.

Several historians and sociologist over the years have observed that an excessive emphasis on territorial expansion, agriculture, neglect of trade since the early modern period and intense caste rivalries cloaked under the narrative of 'purogamitva' (progressive attitude) in the present are some of the prime reasons behind material well-being eluding Maharashtra's masses.

Pranav Golwelkar, former chief editor of the Gujarati daily Divya Bhaskar is of the opinion that the basic difference between the Patidars and Marathas and alternatively between the two states is in their attitude towards business.

"Consider this. The Khandesh region of Maharashtra is one of the largest banana producers in the country. But did it occur to any Maratha leader that a banana chips making factory in the region could help farmers reap a bounty of benefits?" Golwelkar said.

Highlighting the Gujarati acumen of finding the right opportunity and prospering in the face of adversity, he further added, "Despite the state (Gujarat) not being a large potato producer, Chandu Virani, a farmer's son goes on to establish Balaji Wafers, whose annual sales have touched Rs 5,000 crore mark. Then there is Bipin Hadvani who established Gopal Namkeen that now has a yearly revenue of Rs 1,395 crore."

Patidars outpacing Marathas is not just limited to business.

Though Maratha politicians can boast of having established a large number of private engineering and medical colleges, they are missing in several key non-political positions of eminence.

For instance, despite the domain of public policy making having been traditionally dominated by the Bengali and southern forward castes, the Reserve Bank of India has had two Patidars as its governors till date — Indraprasad Gordhanbhai Patel and Urjit Patel.

The former also had the honour of being the first person of Indian-origin to serve as the director of the prestigious London School of Economics.

A senior OBC activist who did not wish to be named said that it was time the Maratha caste leaders and the community's youth introspect.

"If we look at the literacy figures in the 1931 Census, castes deemed to be lower such as Shimpi (weaver), Sali (weaver) and even Nhavi (barber) had higher rate of literacy than the Marathas."

A senior academician, teaching political science in a state university on condition of anonymity, said that "It is this weird obsession with power-politics that makes the youth from rural parts here fancy either politics or government jobs. And when they can't have the latter, they demand reservation."

"Yes, there are a few Maratha businessmen who have been dabbling in real-estate and agri-businesses owing to the support of a politician from Western Maharashtra. But, leave revenue, does any of it match that of a Gujarati even in terms of the economies of scale?" he said.

"Though Maharashtra is a large state, it also has a huge population. Reservation in jobs and education for Marathas can only help a percentage of their larger community. Even Patidars who couldn't better themselves in Gujarat went out to foreign lands and became prosperous there. Back then, our Saint Jnaneshwar had said: 'entire world is my home'. Marathas and alternatively, Maharashtra must take a cue from this and step out of the cocoon now," he added.