Skewed sex ratio has forced Patels to look for possible matches with girls from UP, Bihar and other states.
Don't be surprised if you are greeted by a woman speaking chaste Hindi, while visiting some Patidar household in Saurashtra in the near future. The skewed sex ratio in the community - it has far more boys than girls - has forced Patidars (commonly known as Patels) to look towards UP, Bihar and other states in the Hindi heartland for suitable brides for their young men.
After scouting for brides in tribal areas of the state and the surrounding regions, the community has now initiated efforts to find matches for eligible unmarried Patidar youths in Hindi-speaking states.
"It is hardly a secret that thousands of Patidar youths in Gujarat are unmarried due to shortage of girls in the community. This is a big problem but we are trying to resolve it by finding matches with girls from UP, Bihar and other states where girls outnumber boys," said Ramji Patel, a Patidar community leader in Surat.
In Gujarat, Patidars are commonly known as Patels while the corresponding farming communities in Maharashtra are identified as Patils and Chauhans. In Bihar, UP and MP, the corresponding community is known as Kurmi. The common name for the farming community in Haryana and some other states is Chaudhary. In Karnataka, the farming community is known as Vokkaliga, and as Reddy in Andhra Pradesh. According to community leaders, 22 states have corresponding Patidar communities and their population is estimated at around 18-20% of the country's total population. This works out at a staggering 23-24 crore people. The sex ratio in Gujarat, as per the 2011 Census, is 920 as against the national ratio of 940. The sex ratio in the Patidar community is estimated to be even lower than the state average and is the main reason for dearth of brides in the community.
In fact, a team of farming community leaders from UP visited Surat earlier this week, and met with local Patidar leaders to explore the possibility of matchmaking between girls from UP and young Patidar men in Gujarat. "The team came to Surat and met with community leaders. They visited several Patel households and held talks about the possibility of marriage between members of the community in the two states," said Ramji Patel. LP Patel, president of Akhil Bharatiya Kurmi Kshatriya Mahasabha, said that earlier efforts were limited to marriages in the community within the same state.
"This activity is being expanded, and now we are directing efforts at making matches between boys and girls suitable for one another from other states too. Talks are being held with community leaders in Gujarat and other states in this regard," LP Patel, a retired scientist, said. He said that such a move would also help in bringing closer the Patidar (farming) communities living in different parts of the country. Mathur Savani, president of Saurashtra Jaldhara Trust, said that the possibility of inter-state marriages is being explored under the aegis of All India Patidar Parishad.
"Imbalanced sex ratio in the Patidar community in Gujarat is the root of this problem. Finding a suitable match is an even bigger problem for youths living in rural areas, even if they are financially sound and stable, as many girls do not want to live in villages," said Savani.
He further said that match-making between local boys, and girls from Hindi-speaking states could resolve this problem as the girls would have no qualms about living in villages. According to community leaders, such an arrangement would also help end the practice of dowry which is rampant in Hindi-speaking states.
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