Anandiben invokes Ramayana to call for unity among Patels

The gathering saw Congress’s former PCC chief Siddharth Patel and MLA Raghavji Patel. Besides, there was Union minister of state for agriculture Mohan Kundariya and Porbandar MP Vitthal Radadiya, who took charge of 51 of the 521 brides and gave the girls a trousseau of Rs 51,000 each.

Addressing a gathering at the mass marriage ceremony, the CM said that both Kadva and Leuvas had descended from the same family during the times of the Ramayana and hence the need for further unification between the two groups. Anandiben, herself a Leuva Patel, said that Leuvas were the descendants of Luv and Kadvas were the descendants of Kush. Luv and Kush were the twin sons of Lord Rama, according to the Ramayana.

Anandiben also appealed to the newly-wed couples to welcome girl child in their families to help efforts of the state government against female foeticide and to correct the skewed sex ratio in the state.

The Kadvas and Leuvas are the traditional land-owners and control politics in the state, thanks to their number and economical clout. However, while Kadva Patels have traditionally supported the BJP, Leuvas remained divided till recently. It was from Khodaldham that former chief minister Keshubhai Patel had raised the banner of injustice to Patels. He had floated Gujarat Parivartan Party (GPP) in the run-up to the 2012 Gujarat Assembly elections. But the GPP failed to make an impact in the Assembly polls and it merged with the BJP in 2014 as Keshubhai quit active politics.

The perception about Leuva Patels started changing after Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who was Gujarat CM then, inaugurated an agricultural exhibition at Khodaldham in January, 2014. After taking over as CM, Anandiben had followed it up in July and her appearance on Wednesday marked the third visit by Gujarat CM to the place in a year.

The mass wedding ceremony was organised by Shri Khodaldham Trust (SKT), a social organisation of Leuva Patel, at Khodaldham, 70 km from Rajkot. The organisers said the Asia Book of Records and India Book of Records were likely to acknowledge the event as an entry of most number of couples from a community getting married at a single venue.

SKT, led by industrialist Naresh Patel, also announced to adopt five villages near the Khodaldham. Chairman of Nirma Group, Karsan Patel pledged donation worth Rs5 crore to the SKT and also joined the organisation as a trustee. The trust is building a temple of their patron deity goddess Khodiyar and has named the place Khodaldham. It is located near Kagvad village in Jetpur taluka of Rajkot district.

The Khodaldham trust felicitated chief minister Patel for being the first woman CM and as a “daughter of the Leuva Patel Samaj”, said a government release. Others honoured by the trust with Udyog Ratna Award were Karsanbhai Patel of Nirma Group, Tulsibhai Tanti of Suzlon and Bhargav Patel.

Radadiya and president of Saurashtra Jaldhara Trust Mathurbhai Sawani were honoured for getting their daughters-in-law remarried while Mihir Pansuriya was specially honoured for training at the National Defence Academy and becoming a captain in the Indian Army. Patels, a predominantly business community, rarely prefers the defence force. Diamantaires from Surat, Vallabhbhai Savani and Savji Dholakiya, who had gifted cars to his employees as part of Diwali bonus, were also among the guests besides other NRIs from the community.