A young political non-entity has shaken up the system. Hardik Patel, a 22-year-old commerce graduate, who likes to pose with guns and claims to have modelled himself on Sardar Patel, has blindsided the Gujarat administration and become the face of an implausible demand: Other Backward Classes quota and reservation for the prosperous Patidar, i.e. the Patel community.

On Tuesday, Patel, the convener of the Patidar Anamat Andolan Samiti, was briefly detained by the Ahmedabad police briefly for staying on at the protest site for a hunger strike beyond the permitted time. Even though Patel was released a couple of hours later, it proved to be a little too late to control the agitated protesters.

Buses were burned, schools were shut, three police stations were set ablaze, stones pelted and people were also reportedly dragged out of their homes and beaten up in parts of Gujarat, leading to curfew being imposed in Surat and Mehsana, which is the home district of not just Chief Minister Anandiben Patel but also of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Bharatiya Janata Party President Amit Shah.

While Patel blamed the police for an unprovoked lathicharge, he also issued an appeal for peace on state television channel, even though he has not exactly been subtle with his warnings to the ruling BJP, claiming that “the lotus won’t bloom in 2017” if his demands aren’t met.

"If you do not give our right, we will snatch it. Whoever will talk of the interest of Patels will rule over Patels," he told a gathering in Ahmedabad.

Patel also appealed on WhatsApp for calm following clashes over his brief detention.  "I make an appeal to maintain peace and keep calm. I give a call for Gujarat bandh tomorrow (Wednesday). This decision has been taken by Patidar Anamat Andolan Samiti considering widespread violence in the state."

While the police cut off internet services on mobile phones as a security measure to check rumours that could exacerbate tension and as the Gujarat government tries to grapple with the agitation that threatens to trigger off a caste war in the state, social media is abuzz with conspiracy theories about the antecedents and backers of Patel, responding to the situation with its sardonic humour. Here’s a selection: