Mittal Patel

FOUNDER, VICHARTA SAMUDAY SAMARTHAN MANCH AHMEDABAD, GUJARAT

first driver of change, Mittal Patel, a mass communication graduate, chose a less conventional path by dedicating herself to social work. A selfless endeavour to empower the marginalised and delisted tribes of Gujarat. In 2010, she founded the Vicharta Samuday Samarthan Manch (VSSM), aiming to secure rights for Gujarat’s nomadic and denotified tribes. Despite societal stigma, Patel’s relentless efforts have led to over 100,000 tribal members gaining voting rights and 12,000 families obtaining ration cards. Through VSSM, 1,500 families received residential plots. Patel’s advocacy began with the marginalized Dafer tribe, securing loans for 100 families and facilitating employment for youth, formerly involved in crime. She also empowered the Saraniyas, addressing issues of sexual exploitation and stigma. Patel envisions a hostel with vocational training and a museum to preserve nomadic culture, emphasizing the urgency to act before these traditions vanish.

After the grand flag-off, our convoy set our sights on our first destination Ahmedabad. That meant leaving behind the megapolis that is Mumbai at rush hour. The outside was smoggy, polluted, hot and muggy but inside the XUV700, the air of excitement was kept fresh with the HEPA-certified air filter, powerful air-conditioning and ultra-comfortable interiors. The din of the city was drowned out by the spatial audio speakers from the Sony infotainment system. With 10,000km to cover before we returned to Mumbai, these XUV700s were going to be our home, and all of this comfort in the worst that Mumbai’s rush hour could throw at us was a good sign for the journey ahead. We exited the final suburb of Mumbai at Vapi and began our 500km drive to Ahmedabad. The smooth dual-carriageway of National Expressway 4 had plenty of truck traffic which meant that progress was slow, although that did not seem to dampen the excitement in the cars which were eager to begin this extraordinary journey that was unlike anything we had done before. Contemplating the journey ahead, saw us exit NE4 onto the National Expressway 1 that starts at Vadodara. This eightlane infrastructure marvel is XUV700 territory if there ever was one, the XUV700 is just so smooth at highway speeds that hundreds of kilometres melt together and before we knew it the adaptive headlights lit up a signboard that welcomed us to Ahmedabad. While we traversed the city towards our halt for the night, our attention was quickly captured by the vibrant city lit up against the night sky, the Atal pedestrian bridge that crosses the Sabarmati river left a lasting image of just how much Ahmedabad has changed in the last few years.

THE XUV700 IS JUST SO SMOOTH AT HIGHWAY SPEEDS THAT HUNDREDS OF KILOMETRES MELT TOGETHER