Sardar Patel

When a country on the verge of independence was striving to locate its geographic center of unification, one extraordinary man took on the enormous responsibility of building the nation’s architecture. Political and freedom leader Sardar Patel made it possible to unite hundreds of incredibly distinct states into the contemporary nation-state of India because of his indomitable spirit and unwavering efforts. ‘Sardar’ Vallabhbhai Patel was the name of this visionary.

Vallabhbhai Patel

On October 31, 1875, Vallabhbhai Patel was born in Nadiad, Gujarat. When Mahatma Gandhi picked him as his deputy commander to lead the Kheda Satyagraha in 1918, his life was flipped upside down. Vallabhbhai Patel’s life began to turn toward civic responsibility due to his involvement as the leader of a peasants’ rebellion.

The role of Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel in the Indian Independence Movement

Patel was not a fan of active politics or Mahatma Gandhi’s beliefs in the early phases of the liberation fight. However, Patel’s life was forever transformed when he met Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi at Godhra in 1917. Patel joined the Congress and served as secretary of the Gujarat Sabha, which ultimately became a bastion for the party and later became a good political and freedom leader. Patel left his well-paid profession at Gandhi’s request and joined the agitation to fight for tax exemptions in the Kheda campaign (1918).

The Non-Cooperation Movement was founded by Patel in 1920, while Gandhi took over West India. He recruited 3,00,000 people through the movement. A little over Rs 1.5 million was raised for the party’s coffers by him as well. The hoisting of the Indian flag was prohibited under British legislation. Patel spearheaded the Satyagraha campaign against British law in Nagpur in 1923, while Mahatma Gandhi was imprisoned.

The Bardoli Satyagraha of 1928 was the event that gave Vallabhbhai Patel the title of ‘Sardar’ and made him famous across the country. The impact was so strong that Pandit Motilal Nehru nominated Vallabhbhai to Gandhiji for the Congress president. During the Salt Satyagraha in 1930, the British arrested Sardar Patel and tried him without witnesses.

Patel backed Nehru’s decision to remove Congress from national and provincial legislatures when World War II broke out in 1939. Patel was most compelling when he spoke at the Gwalia Tank area (now known as August Kranti Maidan) in Mumbai in 1942 to inaugurate Mahatma Gandhi’s countrywide civil disobedience movement.

Patel was detained by the British during the Quit India Movement in 1942. From 1942 through 1945, he was imprisoned at the fort at Ahmednagar alongside the whole Congress Working Committee.

Iron Man of India

Five hundred sixty-five princely kingdoms were merged into the Indian Union at record speed between 1947 and 1949. After the British turned over the reins of governance to the Indian government, four persons were at the forefront of the process of constructing the nation. Lord Mountbatten, Jawaharlal Nehru, and V.P. Menon was among those who accompanied Sardar Patel. The instability of Partition had left harsh memories and a distrustful atmosphere, making these tough times even more challenging.

Several princely nations sat on the fence, refusing to join either India or Pakistan until the hour of independence arrived. Some, such as Hyderabad, one of the wealthiest states in India’s heartland, aspired to total freedom. Pakistan was also keeping a watch on the situation. If Hyderabad had joined Pakistan, a chunk of Pakistan would have been included in India’s territory.

Patel served as Deputy Prime Minister, Home Minister, and Minister in Charge of Information and Broadcasting. When Nehru went abroad, Patel assumed the role of Acting Prime Minister. He was also a member of the Constituent Assembly, which had taken on the massive task of crafting the nation’s first constitution.

Despite facing several hurdles and shouldering enormous responsibilities, Patel kept his head above water and swam against the raging flow to construct a nation. India’s geography would not have had territorial and administrative continuity and integrity without this man’s vision and tenacity. He contributed his steely determination and iron will to the creation of India. As a result, he is known as the Iron Man of India.

Economic Ideas of Sardar Patel

One of the most important pillars of Patel’s economic worldview was self-reliance. He advocated India’s speedy industrialization. The idea was to reduce dependency on outside sources of energy.

Sardar was unimpressed by socialist clichés, and he constantly underlined the need of developing India’s wealth before debating what to do with it and how to share it. He envisioned the government serving as a welfare state, although he acknowledged that other countries had previously done so at a later stage of development. Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel fiercely opposed nationalization and limits. For him, the business incentive was a great motivator, not a hindrance.

Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel in powerful positions

After independence, Sardar Patel became the first Deputy Prime Minister of India. Later he was appointed Home Minister on the first anniversary of independence. He was also responsible for the State Department and Ministry of Information and Broadcasting.

Patel organized relief operations for refugees leaving Punjab and Delhi as India’s first Home Minister and Deputy Prime Minister and sought to restore calm. Sardar Patel gained control of the States Department and was responsible for the admission of 565 princely states to the Union of India, which would become his most outstanding lasting achievement. In a tribute, Nehru referred to Sardar as “the builder and consolidator of modern India”.

Conclusion

Patel’s selflessness determined India’s future, and he worked tirelessly for the country’s interests. While India continues to grow as one of the world’s major economies, every Indian should remember Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel’s contributions to building a modern and united nation and a powerful political and freedom leader.