Deodar, Banaskantha: A gathering of the Thakor community from Banaskantha, Vav, and Tharad areas was held at Deodar on Sunday, where prominent leaders from both the BJP and Congress — MP Geniben Thakor, Minister Swaroopji Thakor, and MLA Alpesh Thakor — shared the stage. The program, organized by the Gujarat Kshatriya Thakor Sena and Samast Thakor Samaj, focused on social reform, unity, and eliminating harmful customs and vices from within the community. On this occasion, ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) MLA Alpesh Thakor announced a massive gathering of Thakor community at Ahmedabad’s GMDC ground at 3.00 am on upcoming 26 January.

‘Live-in relationship worse than love marriage’

In a hard-hitting speech, MP Geniben Thakor criticized what she termed the  “live-in relationship,” calling it more dangerous than love marriage.

“There are cases where a married man with children enters a live-in agreement. His family breaks apart, and yet the law protects such behavior. This is the worst law,” she said, urging the Thakor society to collectively oppose such practices. She appealed to the community to socially boycott those involved in such relationship to preserve moral and social order.

Highlighting the community’s stand against addiction, Geniben recalled that the Thakor society had once pledged to give up alcohol completely.

“Our elders decided that one may die rubbing one’s feet, but not drink alcohol,” she said. “When society took a firm stand, even those who couldn’t start their day without alcohol gave it up.” She praised Alpesh Thakor’s anti-addiction drive, saying, “Women were so happy that they blessed Alpeshbhai for saving families from the torment of liquor.”

In a lighter tone, she remarked that abstaining from alcohol would affect three professions — police, lawyers, and doctors.

“If people stop drinking, there will be no fights, no police cases, and no injuries to treat. These three will face a recession,” she said, adding that they could instead find work in positive and productive ways.

Addressing the gathering, MLA Alpesh Thakor called for respect and unity within the community. Referring to Minister Swaroopji Thakor, he said,

“We should call our own leaders ‘Sahib.’ If we call others Sahib, why not our own Swaroopji Sahib?” However, Swaroopji Thakor humbly interjected, saying, “Please don’t call me Sahib, call me Bhai. I want to serve as a worker of the people.”

Alpesh emphasized the need to support community leaders like Swaroopji and Geniben, who have risen from humble backgrounds to positions of power.

“It’s no small thing that people from ordinary homes have become MLAs, MPs, and ministers. Let’s help and encourage our own.”

Recalling his earlier days, Alpesh said, “When I began the anti-addiction movement, people mocked me and called me Potliwala. They said Thakors are addicted. Today, those same people say Thakors are the ones fighting against addiction.” He urged the community to ensure that if they seek an addiction-free son-in-law, they must also raise addiction-free sons.

Alpesh also appealed to the Thakor youth to stop pulling down those who are progressing.

“Our society has land worth crores, but unity and encouragement are needed. If someone from our community is moving forward, help him — don’t drag his feet,” he said.

Alpesh Thakor announced Thakor community’s massive gathering at GMDC ground in Ahmedabad on 26th January at 3.00 am. He said, while all other communities woke up, the timing of 3.00 am for our gathering indicates that Thakor community also needs to wake up.

“We met at night because the time has come for our society to wake up,” Alpesh said.

The Deodar gathering witnessed participation from thousands of Thakor Samaj members and several local leaders, including Keshaji Chauhan and Amritji Thakor, marking a rare moment of unity across party lines in the region.