Patels Indicted for 1985 Gujarat Caste War 

Gandhinagar: The VS Dave Inquiry Commission has indicted the “upper caste” Patels in Congress, Akhil Bhartiya Vidyarthi Parishad (ABVP), Bhartiya Janata Party (BJP) and the Janata Party (JP) for the anti-reservation agitation in 1985 which later took an anti-Muslim turn when disturbances broke out in Ahmedabad city. Justice Dave of the Rajasthan High Court has, in a report presented to the State Assembly on Sept. 11, said some “upper caste” Congressmen were against Madhav Singh Solanki, and ABVP and BJP leaders had feared the consolidation of Solanki’s rule in the State alter an uninterrupted five-year rule. Solanki returned the Congress to power with the support of Kshatriya, Harijan, Adivasi and Muslim (khan) votes. The Commission also indicted the brahminical press for lamenting communal trouble through its “distorted reporting.” It criticised the role of police. It also blamed some “upper caste” police officers, who on being denied promotion due to implementation of roster system of promotion, played a role in the atrocities on backward classes. The agitation throughout the State by the Hindu Nazis had turned against Muslims when the Congress(!) secured a two-third majority in the 1985 general election. The Patel community has also been named for abetting the anti-reservation agitation.