History - Origin of Patels

PATEL” a popular surname around the world, most common in U.S. motel owners, in Briton, Africa or even in the corner of world like Fiji Island near New Zeeland. Literally meaning ‘a headman of the village or “Sarpanch” of the village. Patel is not a surname not a personal name but become such a common name that a headman of village or leader of village or person having good position is called as Patel like “Police Patel”. A wide spread of this surname around the world is because Patels are basically enterprising people & it’s an inclusive surname as Gujaratis who migrated out of what is now Gujarat during the British Raj to British East Africa (Kenya and Uganda) would sometimes adopt the surname 'Patel' and this surname was then subsequently passed onto their descendants (who now mainly reside outside Kenya and Uganda). Also, during the British Raj, some of 'Patels' that migrated to British East Africa and Union of South Africa (South Africa) adopted different surnames, usually the name of their village (e.g. 'Danadikar'), their trade (e.g. 'Contractor'), or even their grandfathers name and subsequently these surnames have been passed down to their descendants.This is the reason why we find Patel surname in Muslims (Converted during Mogul dynasty), Koli, Chaudhary & other caste and variation like Koli Patel, Chaudhary Patel, Kharva Patel (Fisherman) & also Patil in Maharashtra. Patil is the Maratha title given to the village head which is equivalent to Patel in Gujarat.So, it is difficult to know exact history of “PATEL” “PATIDAR”.
According to mythology the lineage of "Ikshwanku" and "Suryavanshi" (A linage of god “Rama”) living in Ayodhya, established a new city in Punjab. The name Lahore came from “Lava”. At present, Lahore (which is on the bank of Ravi) is in Pakistan. This is the original place of the Lava sect. The Lava sect (which conquered that part of Punjab) is now the Leva Region. The people who live there are called the Leva. According to some authorities, Lava was born on the 40th generation of Survansh. Other authorities believed that Lava was born to Sita from Ram in the 66th generation of Survansh. Similarly people from Kush sect are called Karadva (Kush was born to Sita from Ram in the 66th generation of Survansh) who migrated then to ‘Ujjain’ & from ‘Ujjain’ to ‘Patan’ in North Gujarat where they had established a ‘Betaliya’ (42 Villages) & ‘Sattavia’ (27 villages) Samaj then some families migrated from Patan to Gadh-Madana and other 16 villages of Palanpur taluka & known as 16 Gam Leuva Patidar or 16 Gam leuva Patel.
According to the books kept by the “Baroths” & the “Vahivanchas” & ‘Imperial Gazetteer of India, Baroda 1904’ (Page No. 84) and ‘Gazetteer of India, State of Gujarat, Mehasana district’ (Page No. 185) Patidars are ‘Kshatriya’ {means person having defense duty (Kshatra Karma)} & are originally from Panjab (That’s why Patel’s usually have good height & physique), from Punjab they moved to Marvad & then to Gujarat.
Around AD 1000, the Badshah of Afghanistan attacked Punjab & committed atrocities. The Hindus were forcefully converted to the Islam, They kidnapped & raped our woman, forced them to commit suicide or convert to Islam which leads migration of our forefathers towards south. The people who left Punjab were “Kanbi” (It’s a Sanskrit word meaning ‘Family’) from “Leava” & “Karad” villages of the ‘Gujaranwala’ district (Presently in Pakistan). Even today there is a group of people of “Kanbi” caste in the villages of Punjab. So, ‘Kanbi’ from ‘Leava’ village are called ‘Leuva’ & that from “Karad” are called as ‘Karadva’ or ‘Kadva’. This is the reason why we have Samaj surname which is influenced by the name of the places in Punjab from where our ancestors had migrated like…
Samaj Surname
Places in Punjab
Gami
Gambar (near Montgomery)
Mujat
Munja (near Gujaranwala)
Gothi
Goth (near Sharifpur)
Majeli
Majithmandi (Amritsar)
Moga
Moga district
These ‘Kanbi’ people left Punjab for Marvad, which was ruled by Parmar king ‘Raja Bhoj’ who was widely known this was the reason our forefathers attracted towards Marvad. At that time Marvad was densely populated & it was not possible to acquire enough land to earn bread & butter so after staying for a short period in Marvad, they left for Gujarat like North Gujarat & Khambhat (Kheda district). At that time Solankis were ruling Gujarat. They had given asylum to ‘Kanbi’ refugees & also granted land equivalent to one ‘Gam’ (Village) to each family to cultivate & also levied 12th portion of the crop as a tax (‘Mehsul’) but the cost of collecting this tax itself was higher so king had appointed a headman for each village to collect taxes & to keep it’s record on ‘Pat’ (Meaning record book) & this records were called as ‘Patlikh’ which was shortened to ‘Patal’ & then become our surname ‘Patel’. Besides ‘Pat’ means land also & as we had been made land owner by Solanki’s, we become to known as ‘Patidar’ also, which means land owner.As our forefathers got land near North Gujarat they settled in Palanpur others gone to Kambhat, near Kheda district & because of long distance & lack of speedy transportation contacts between them blurred which resulted in close tie-ups between some nearby villages & our Samaj came in picture & in same way 14 Gam, 42 Gam & other Patidar Samaj came in picture & consequently marriages & other relationships maintained inside such Samaj only.
In a nut shell: About Patel / Patidar / Leuva / Kadva / Kanbi…
Patel means Farmer in Sanskrit & chief of village as per Hindi.
Patel a most widely used surname today become a common name after going through historical evolution.
Patel surname doesn’t mean that all of them are Kanbi or Kurmis of Punjab. Because it had been accepted by other people by changing their surname or simply because they got land from kings due to their higher farming abilities or because of their good position & reputation in government during British Era in India many people got Patel tag besides original Kanbi people e.g. Police Patel….
So, We, 16 Gam Leuva Patel or Patidar are basically Kashtriya, Kanbi from Leava & surrounding region of Gujaranwala district in Punjab who migrated to Marvad & then to North Gujarat around 1000 A.D. due to atrocities of Afghan King. In Gujarat we got asylum from Solanki dynasty & got land to win bread & butter & that’s why we become to known as Land Owner means ‘Patel’ or ‘Patidar’ which become our surname & inside our own Samaj we were known by our Samaj Surname like ‘Moga’ which we got from the name of the place from were our ancestors got migrated or Samaj surname is based on occupation also like ‘Kapadi’ means person who deals in ‘Kapad’ means cloths. So, we are the original & first people who become to known by Patel surname & other people got this tag due to historical evolution & inclusive nature of this surname.
& today this surname is becoming globalised due to migrating nature of Patel’s….Kanbi’s & eventually Samaj identity will be blurred due to speedy transportation, communication & interaction with other Patel’s & so, evolution of ‘Patel’ as a surname will go on…..