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Maharashtra: Patidar leader Hardik Patel to be face of Dhangar campaign over quota change

Gopichand Padalkar of the Yashwant Kranti Sena, who launched a state-wide protest from August 1 seeking inclusion of the Dhangars (shepherds) in the scheduled tribes (ST) category

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Hardik Patel with Dhangar leaders
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The Dhangar community, which is seeking inclusion in the tribal category, is roping in Patidar leader Hardik Patel in their campaign.

On October 16, Patel, who is the face of the stir by the Patidar community in Gujarat seeking quotas, will address a rally of the Dhangar community at Arewadi in Sangli's Kavathe Mahankal taluka. Organisers claimed they expected around six lakh people to attend the public meeting.

Gopichand Padalkar of the Yashwant Kranti Sena, who launched a state-wide protest from August 1 seeking inclusion of the Dhangars (shepherds) in the scheduled tribes (ST) category, said Patel had confirmed his presence.

"We have called Patel as he too is helming a protest in the interest of the Patidars. This has no political overtone," added Padalkar, who had contested the 2014 assembly polls from Sangli district as a BJP nominee.

He said that the rally will be held outside the Biroba temple (Biroba is a patron deity of the Dhangars) and warned that they would go ahead with their plans even if permissions do not come through. The organisation has been holding a Dusshera rally at the site every year and Padalkar claimed that around six lakh people would mark their presence in the rally this year.

Padalkar said that Patel would fly down to Pune and then drive to Sangli where he would stay for the night before addressing the rally the next day.

At present, dhangars, who are pastoral sheep herders with a significant number engaged in agriculture, are included in the nomadic tribes (NT-C) with 3.5 per cent quotas. Their demand of inclusion in the ST category hinges on the presence of the 'Dhangad/Oraons' in the ST list. Leaders of the community claim that Dhangars in Maharashtra are the same as those who are called "Dhangad" elsewhere in the country. It was a spelling mistake that gave rise to the term 'dhangad' which has deprived them of benefits, they say. However, this demand has been resisted by tribals.

Before the 2014 polls, the BJP had promised to look into their demand and later co-opted Mahadeo Jankar of the dhangar-dominated Rashtriya Samaj Party (RSP) as the animal husbandry minister.

Community leaders claim that dhangars constitute around 12-15 per cent of the state's population. He further added that the tribal development department claimed the number of dhangads in Maharashtra, which was just one in 1971, had increased to 70,984 in 1981, 96,524 in 1991, 28,921 in 2001 and 43,060 in 2011. This, he charged, indicated were doctored figures, meant to deprive the dhangars of their due.

"The BJP will not be elected to power again if the dhangars are not recognised as tribals. We will hold protests in 91 constituencies of the state which have elected BJP MLAs and ministers, beginning with co-operation minister Subhash Deshmukh's constituency in Solapur on Thursday," added Padalkar.

Dhangar leaders claim that inclusion in the ST category would ensure better political representation and educational and employment opportunities. However, the demand is opposed by tribal leaders across party lines who point out that Dhangads are a sub-tribe of the Oraon in Odisha and erstwhile Central provinces and have been accidentally included in the state's ST list in the past.

THE RALLY AHEAD

  • On October 16, Patel will address a rally of the Dhangar community at Arewadi in Sangli’s Kavathe Mahankal taluka
     
  • The rally will be held outside Biroba temple
     
  • Organisers expect around six lakh people to attend the meeting
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