Defence Minister Rajnath Singh administered a national unity pledge to senior military officers and civilian officials of his ministry here on Thursday on the occasion of the 144th birth anniversary of Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel.
Army Chief Gen Bipin Rawat, Vice Chief of Navy Vice Admiral G Ashok Kumar, Defence Secretary Ajay Kumar, Secretary (Ex-servicemen welfare) Sanjeevanee Kutty, Secretary (Defence Finance) Gargi Kaul, and other officials took part in the event.
The Modi government has been observing Patel's birth anniversary as 'Rashtriya Ekta Diwas' or National Unity Day since 2014.
Patel was born on October 31, 1875 at Nadiad in Gujarat. As independent India's first Home Minister, Patel is credited for merger of numerous states into the Union of India.
The defence ministry in a statement said, remembering the architect of united modern India, Singh along with the officials took vow to preserve the "unity, integrity and security of the nation".
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As first home minister of independent India, Patel played a key role in integrating more than 560 princely states into the Union of India, the statement said.
The government had decided in 2014 to observe October 31 as 'Rashtriya Ekta Diwas'.
The defence minister also paid tribute to former prime minister Indira Gandhi on her death anniversary on Thursday.
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