The death anniversary of Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel, the architect and former deputy prime minister of India, fell on December 15. While everyone remembered Indira Gandhi on her death anniversary on October 31, nobody remembered Vallabhbhai Patel who liquidated the princely order and integrated India, which was a unique achievement in the annals of world history. It is indeed lamentable that we forgot to remember a great son of India about whom late President Rajendra Prasad had said, “That there is today an India to think and talk about is very largely due to Sardar Patel’s statesmanship and firm administration ... Yet we are apt to ignore him.” This is really true even today.
The late former Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru also paid a glowing tribute and had to say the following about Sardar Patel: “Sardar’s life is a great story that all of us know and the whole country knows. History will record it in many pages and call him the builder and consolidator of the new India and say many other things about him. By many of us, he will perhaps be remembered as a great captain of our forces in the struggle for freedom and as one who gave us sound advice both in times of trouble and in moments of victory; a friend and a colleague and a comrade on whom one could invariably rely, as a tower of strength which revived wavering hearts when we were in trouble.”
The late Governor General of India and an astute politician C Rajagopalachari used to say that “Sardar is to Gandhiji what Lakshmana is to Sri Rama”.
It should not be out of place to mention what Lord Fenner Brockway said about Sardar Patel:
“Gandhi gave the Congress inspiration, Jawaharlal broadened its vision and imagination, Rajagopalachari sharpened its intellect and analytical faculty, Rajendra Prasad gave it purity and Sarojini Naidu gave it grace. But it was Vallabhbhai Patel who gave it efficiency and sense of thoroughness and power.”
It is sad that the country Sardar Patel consolidated is now being disintegrated into small states, which was against the philosophy of the man who had wisdom and administrative ability, and who unified so many small and big native states into the Union of India.
OD Purohit, Mumbai
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