The display about Rani Padmavati at ‘Rajput Business Expo 2018’ in Ahmedabad on Friday. (Express Photo/Avinash Nair) The display about Rani Padmavati at ‘Rajput Business Expo 2018’ in Ahmedabad on Friday. (Express Photo/Avinash Nair) The legendary queen of Chittorgarh, “Rani Padmini” also known as “Rani Padmavati” finds a place in the “Rajput Business Expo 2018” that was inaugurated by Chief Minister Vijay Rupani on Friday. After Patidars, it is the members of the Kshatriya community who have organised a business expo to provide jobs to youths from their community. “We have special dome on Rajput history and culture. If you ask why we have put up this dome, then I would say that Rajput culture and history in itself is a business, especially if tourism and hospitality industry is taken into account,” said Kishorsinh Zala, national president of Rajput Business Forum, which had organised the three-day event with Akhil Gujarat Rajput Yuva Sangh at the Sabarmati Riverfront in Ahmedabad. Asked about the display of Rani Padmavati at a business expo, where a hoarding titled “Maharani Sati Padmini” in Gujarati, narrates in detail the 13th century encounter between Rajput warriors and Alauddin Khilji, who ruled the Delhi Sultanate, Zala says, “It showcases our respect for the queen. It depicts the true story…We also have books at the expo on Rani Padmavati. These are not meant to send any message to anyone and has no connection with the Bollywood film. Rani Padmavati was part of our culture,” he added. The display on Rani Padmavati at the expo sits alongside portraits of Rajput warriors and exhibits of various types of turbans worn by the community. Thanking CM Vijay Rupani for imposing a ban on Bollywood film Padmavat, Jayendrasinh Jadeja, a senior organiser, while introducing the event, shared how “King Karandev Solanki had founded the city of Karnavati in 1120 AD, which was later renamed as Ahmedabad”. Though CM Rupani did not mention Padmavati in his speech, he did refer to the dome on “Rajput history and culture”. “It is a matter of great happiness that there is a dome on the history of Rajputs who fought and laid down their lives for the country. Let’s imagine a situation if the kings had not accepted the request of Sardar Patel of acceding to the Union of India. From the beginning, Rajput samaj has always worried about the country,” Rupani said, saluting the contribution of the community at the event where other BJP leaders, like MoS Home Pradeepsinh Jadeja, GIDC chairman Balwantsinh Rajput and IK Jadeja, were present. “The nation exists because of them and so the stall (on Rajput culture) is an apt one,” added Rupani, who just a month ago had inaugurated a similar business expo organised by the Patidars. The first edition of the Rajput Business Expo was held in Surendranagar in 2014, followed by Delhi in 2016. According to the organisers, there are 200 exhibitors at the expo, which includes 20 from countries like Canada, the Holland, the US, the UK and Australia. “We have received about 5,000 applications for jobs and we plan to give jobs to about 3,000 of them. We are also encouraging our youths to start their own businesses,” said Zala from the Rajput Business Forum. The maximum demand for jobs among youths are for IT and engineering. “They are also seeking government jobs,” he added. Along with the job fair, the organisers are holding seminars to help job-seeking youths write resumes and face interviews. For all the latest Ahmedabad News, download Indian Express App

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