The word ‘Patidar’ has now practically become extinct. The Patidars are now better known as Patels. The word ‘Patidar’ is still used for a member of the Patel community in Kheda district of Central Gujarat. Patidar means "owner of land". ‘PATI’ means land and ‘DAR’ means the person who owns it. In Mehamdavad, Kheda district, around 1700.A.D., the ruler of Gujarat, Mohammed Begdo, selected the best farmer from each village and gave them land for cultivation. In return, the Patidar would pay the ruler a fixed income for a certain period of time, after which, the Patidar would acquire the ownership of the land. The Patidars would hire a hard working and knowledgeable work force to cultivate the land and in due course of time, they would become the owners of the land. These Patidars were from then onwards identified as Patel Patidars.
"Gujaratna Patidarono Itihas" mentions Vir Vasandas, who lived in a village near Piplao (Kheda District), and was a collector of revenues from Dhoka, Matar and Petlad Talukas. Vir Vasandas called a convention to honour the King Bhadurshah (son of mogul king Aurangzeb, the ruler of India during Mogul domination) and invited all Kanbis of Gujarat. At the convention, Vasandas introduced all Kanbis to the King as PATIDARS, and the King entered Patidars in the government records as those who are proprietors of land having to pay fixed revenue to the governing authorities.
Besides ‘Patel’,’Desai’, and ‘Amin’ are the two other surnames commonly found among the Patidars. Theoretically the difference between Desais or Amins on hand and Patels used to till their land themselves while Desais or Amins got others to do the job. Desais were Jagirdars, Amins too were Jagirdars, but they always remained pro-rules. The Patidars in Gujarat are divided in four sub-castes (1) the Kadavas (2) the Leuas (3) the Anjanas (4) the Matis.
Most of the Leua Patidars are found in Central Gujarat while Kadava Patidars are generally found in North Gujarat, espically, in Mehsana District. Many Anjana patidars have ‘Choudhry’ surname. They also use ‘sinh’ as suffix to their names. Formetly they used to put on a ‘safa’ as a headgear a ‘safa’ is a long piece of cloth wrapped round the head with a loose hanging end. The Matia Patidars are a sub-section of the Leuas and are generally found in south Gujarat. There is yet another section of Patidars called the ‘Chullias’. They live in certain areas of the Saurashtra region of Gujarat. The patels in North Gujarat are also known as ‘Kanabis’. But this term has almost been descraed now. One of the most important events in the Patidar community is that of marriage. The dowry system is still prevalent among most of the sections of the community. The evil custom of dowry proves to be back-breaking and disastrous for the parents of a bride and so the birth of a daughter in a patidar family is considered a source of sadness rather than that of pleasure even today. Besides dowry, large sums are spent after dinner, gaiety and pomp. Today, among Hindus, Patidars are perhaps the most prosperous. They have parctically minted money after the second world war. This is especially true of the Patidars families of Charotar area-Central Gujarat. There is hardly any corner of the globe today where Patidars have not reached. As against this happy and prosperous undertaken very few activities beneficial to society as a whole. The Patidars are mainly an agriculatural community that has attained prosperity by producing immense wealth from by nature Patidars are outspoken-to the extent of being blunt. They have a typical gut. They are a happy-go-lucky people. The two colloquial pharses patidars often use show their care-free atittude. The phrases are: "melne chhal (forget it)" and "hamaiya have" (its okay-leave it) !
The Patidar community has bestowed many great personalities to Gujarat. They include Shri Vitthalbhai Patel (brother of Sardar Patel and Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel Bhailalbhai Patel alias ‘Bhaikaka’ the architect of Vallbhvidyanagar, Shri Arvind N. Mafatlal, Shri Jaikrishna and Harivallabhdas-noted industralist: literary figures like Ishwar Petalikar, Raghuvir chaudhary and Pannalal Patel- a Jnanpith award winner. Many doctors and engineers from this community have enriched the social and cultural life of Gujarat. However, patidars are famous for their capacity to produce ‘raw gold’ from the earth. The patidars are an important community of Guajrat.
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