Date of Birth: 31 October 1875
Place of Birth: Nadiad, Bombay Presidency (present day
Gujarat)
Parents: Zaverbhai Patel (father) and Ladbai (mother)
Spouse: Jhaverba
Children: Maniben Patel, Dahyabhai Patel
Education: N. K. High school, Petlad; Inns of Court, London,
England
Association: Indian National Congress
Movement: Indian Independence Struggle
Political Ideology: Moderate, Right-wing
Religious Beliefs: Hinduism
Publications: Ideas of a Nation: Vallabhai Patel, The
Collected Works of Vallabhbhai Patel, 15 volumes
Passed Away: 15 December 1950
Memorial: SardarVallabhbhai Patel National Memorial,
Ahmedabad, Gujarat
Vallabhbhai Patel was an
Indian barrister, statesman and a prominent leader of the Indian
Independence movement. Popularly known as Sardar Patel and The
Ironman of India, he was the first Deputy Prime Minister and the first
Home Minister of independent India.
After studying law in
England, he practiced law in Ahmedabad. Initially not much interested in the
independence movement, a meeting with Mahatma Gandhi in 1917 changed his views.
Leaving his law-practice, Patel committed himself to the Independence struggle.
He received the title of Sardar (leader/Chief) after
successfully leading the agitation of the farmers of Bardoli (1928). His
greatest contribution to the post-independence India was the integration of 565
princely states, and creation of All-India Services. In 1991,
India’s highest civilian award, Bharat Ratna was conferred
upon him posthumously.
Childhood & Early
Life
Sardar Patel was born
Vallabhbhai Jhaverbhai Patel in 1875, at Nadiad, Gujarat, British India, in a
middle-class agricultural family of Lewa Patidar community. There is no
official record of his date of birth, but October 31 is mentioned as his date
of birth on his matriculation exam papers. He was the fourth of six children of
Jhaverbhai Patel and his wife, Laadbai. His father had participated in the 1857
Mutiny, in the army of Rani Laxmi of Jhansi.
Growing up in a traditional
Hindu family, his early childhood was spent on family’s agricultural fields at
Karamsad. By late teens, he completed his middle school education at Karamsad.
In 1891, he was married to Jhaverba when he was 16. At 22, he completed his
matriculation from a high school in Nadiad/Petlad in 1897.
Patel aimed to work and
collect necessary money to go to England to study law. After schooling, he
studied by borrowing law books and passed the District Pleader’s examination.
In 1900, he started his law practice at Godhra. He brought his wife, Jhaverba,
from her parent’s place, and together, they set up a home. They had two
children: a daughter, Maniben (B.1904), and a son, Dahyabhai (b.1906).
With his hard work and
dedication, Patel became a capable lawyer. During a plague epidemic, he
contracted the disease while nursing a friend. Leaving his family, he went to
Nadiad to recuperate.
In 1902, Patel moved to
Borsad (Kheda district) to practice law, where he successfully handled
challenging court cases. With his law practice, he saved enough money to go to
England to study law. The ticket bore the name ‘V.J. Patel,’ which were also
the initials of his elder brother, Vithalbhai Patel. After learning about his
elder brother’s wish to study in England, Vallabhbhai decided that his elder
brother should go first, so as to maintain family’s reputation.
In 1909, Patel’s wife
took seriously ill, and was operated upon in a hospital in Bombay/Mumbai.
However, she didn’t recover from it. When she died, Patel was cross-examining
in a court in Anand. He received a note bearing the news, read it, but
continued with his case without giving any indication till the end of the case.
He did not marry again.
At 36, Patel went to
England (in 1910), to study law at the Middle Temple Inn. With his hard work,
he not only completed the course months earlier, but also achieved the top
place in Roman law.
Patel returned to India
in February 1913, and established a successful practice at Ahmedabad. As an
eminent barrister in criminal law, he led a westernized lifestyle. Known for
his courteous, well-mannered behavior, western clothes, and expertise in the
game of bridge, he wasn’t interested in politics. However, a meeting with
Mahatma Gandhi in 1917 changed his views. Inspired by Gandhi’s ideologies,
Patel became his follower. In 1917, Patel was elected the sanitation
commissioner of Ahmedabad.
Role in the Indian
National Movement
Joining India’s
independence movement, Patel motivated the people of Borsad in September 1917
to join Gandhi’s demand for independence. Patel joined the Indian
National Congress’ Gujarat Sabha as secretary and helped
in Gandhi’s campaigns.
Kheda district faced a
plague epidemic in 1917, followed by a famine in 1918. Despite crop failures,
the British government refused to exempt the land revenue. Patel led the
agitation of the farmers and Zamindars to get tax exemption. During the 3-month
long campaign, he came very close to Gandhi. Visiting several villages, he
motivated farmers to revolt against the government without any violence by not
paying taxes. Several farmers and volunteers were arrested, lands were seized
and people faced harassment, but the resistance effort paid off and the
government was forced to exempt the taxes.
In 1920, Patel was
elected President of the Gujarat Pradesh Congress Committee (the
post he served till 1945). Leaving his successful legal practice, he joined
Gandhi’s Non-Cooperation Movement in 1920. He and his children
burned their western clothing in bon-fires organized to burn and boycott British
goods. He started wearing Indian attire made of Khadi (Indian handloom cotton).
He traveled from place to place and recruited 3,00,000 members and collected a
fund of Rs.1.5 million.
In 1923, while Gandhi was
in prison, Patel led the Satyagraha Movement in Nagpur, when
the British banned hoisting of Indian flag. He succeeded in obtaining the
consent to hoist the flag publicly, and also got the prisoners released
(arrested for hoisting the flag).
From 1924-1928, Patel was
chosen the President of the municipal committee of Ahmedabad. During these
years, he implemented several sanitation, water supply, administration and town
planning programs. He also worked towards several social reforms, including
prohibition of untouchability, casteism, alcoholism, etc.
In 1928, the government
raised the land revenue at a time when the farmers in Bardoli taluka of Surat
district were already facing famine. Patel toured the villages to gauge the
condition. Before launching a Satyagraha, he forewarned the
villagers of the difficulties and asked them to maintain non-violence and
unity.
As per Patel’s call for
a non-cooperation movement on February 12, 1928, the farmers
refused to pay the taxes demanded by the government. The government responded
by arresting farmers and confiscating their lands, but the farmers didn’t
give-in. Many Satyagrahas were undertaken all over Gujarat to
express solidarity and sympathy with the Bardoli farmers. The agitation
continued for 6 months, while Patel carried on his negotiations with the
government. His efforts bore fruit in August and the administration returned
the seized lands and the implementation of increased tax was postponed. The
success of the Bardoli Satyagraha earned him the name Sardar or
chief.
In 1930, Gandhi gave the
call for Dandi March and Salt Satyagraha to
protest against the salt tax. As one of the leaders, Patel was arrested before
the Dandi March on March 7, 1930. He was tried without any
witnesses or lawyers. After Gandhi’s arrest, the agitation intensified
demanding release of the two leaders. Patel was released in June and took on
the responsibilities as the Congress president in absence of Gandhi. However,
he was arrested once again.
Patel was elected the
President of the 46th session of the Indian National Congress at
Karachi, in March 1931. Congress approved the Gandhi-Irwin Pact,
though Nehru and Bose didn’t totally agree with the terms of the pact. The same
day, Bhagat Singh and associates were executed in Lahore. The Karachi session
of the Congress coped with a lot of turmoil. Thereafter, the Indian
National Congress agreed to participate in the Round Table
Conference in London. However, the Conference didn’t succeed and
subsequently Gandhi, Patel and several other leaders were arrested. Patel was
with Gandhi in Yerwada Jail from January 1931 to May 1933. When Gandhi
protested against allocation of separate electorates for untouchables by
starting fast-unto-death, Patel looked after him. Later, he was shifted to
Nasik Jail for one year, and was released in 1934.
As per the Government
of India Act 1935, the Congress decided to participate in the elctions to
provincial legislatures. Patel played an important role in raising funds and
selecting candidates for these elections. The Indian National Congress won
in 7 out of 11 provinces. As the chairman of the Congress Parliamentary
Sub-committee, he guided the ministries.
At the start of WWII, the
Viceroy declared India as an ally of England. The Congress ministries resigned
in protest and leaders courted arrests. Gandhi gave call for Individual
Civil Disobedience. After being arrested in November 1940, Patel was later
released on August 29, 1941, due to ill-health.
On August 8, 1942,
the All India Congress Committee launched the Quit
India Movement. Many prominent Congress leaders, including
Patel, were arrested on August 9, 1942. Patel was arrested and confined at
the Ahmednagar Fort for 3 years. All Congress leaders were
released in 1945, after the end of WWII.
Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel
& the Partition of India
The British government
called for negotiations with the Indian National Congress for
the independence of India. The Muslim League leader Jinah’s
separatist movement put a roadblock in front of the Congress leaders.
Initially, Patel was against the partition of India. However, he realized that
these communal conflicts could lead to a weak government at the center, so he
agreed for creating a separate dominion (based on religious preferences).
Gandhi and other Congress leaders were totally against partition. He discussed
with Gandhi at private meetings, convinced him that the Congress-Muslim League
alliance government would not work, and would lead to a civil war in the
country.
At the time of
independence, the partition of British India into India-Pakistan resulted in
large-scale communal riots. Patel worked tirelessly to establish peace, and
provide safety and essentials to the refugees. He went to border areas to
organize relief and set up refugee camps. He also called in the army (South
Indian regiments) to bring the situation under control.
Contribution to
Post-Independence India
Patel was the first Deputy
Prime Minister and the first Home Minister of Independent India.
British had given two choices to the Indian Princely states – they could either
join India or Pakistan, or stay independent. This created a lot of uncertainty.
As the home minister, Patel had a herculean task to convince the princely
states to join India. With his tactful negotiation, he succeeded in integrating
over 560 states to the Indian Union. There were a few states like Junagadh,
Jammu & Kashmir, and Hyderabad, which did not acquiesce/comply. Without
these states joining the Indian Union, the country would’ve been disjointed, so
Patel used force to deal with them. Because of his efforts, today India stands
as an integrated nation.
In September 1947, when
Pakistan tried to invade Kashmir, Patel asked the rulers of Kashmir to accede
to India, after which he ordered the army to drive away the invaders and
re-claim the invaded territories.
Patel was the driving
force behind creating the All India Services, which he knew would
be essential for providing a firm infrastructure to the new nation. He was also
an important part of the Constituent Assembly of India. The Somnath
Temple in Saurashtra was restored under his supervision.
Influence of Gandhi
Gandhi’s life and his
principles had a huge effect on Patel’s life and ideologies. When Gandhi gave a
call for the Non-cooperation Movement, Patel left his flourishing
practice and dedicated himself to the independence struggle. He also supported
and followed Gandhi’s path of non-violence, and stood resolutely alongside
Gandhi, even when other leaders did not agree with some of Gandhi’s ideas.
Gandhi’s Civil Disobedience movement faced opposition, but
Patel supported him. On Gandhi’s suggestion, he took back his candidacy for the
election of the president of the Indian National Congress, in 1946.
Death & Legacy
Patel suffered a
heart-attack after Gandhi’s assassination in 1948. His health began to
deteriorate in the latter half of 1950. In December, he was taken to Bombay. He
had a second heart-attack, and died on December 15, 1950.
In 1980, the Sardar
Patel National Memorial was opened at Moti Shahi Mahal,
Ahmedabad. A major dam on River Narmada (Gujarat) was dedicated to him as Sardar
Sarovar Dam. The international airport in Ahmedabad and several academic
institutions are named after Patel.
He was posthumously awarded
India’s highest civilian award, Bharat Ratna, in 1991.
In 2014, it was announced
that the nation would annually celebrate Patel’s birthday, October 31st,
as Rashtriya Ekta Diwas or National Unity Day.
Statue of Unity
World’s tallest statue,
the 182-meter (597 feet) tall Statue of Unity, was dedicated
to him on October 31, 2018. It is approximately 3.2 km away from Sadhu Bet near
Vadodara, Gujarat. The Statue of Unity and its related
structures are spread over an area of about 20000 square meters. Built at an
approximate cost of 29.8 billion rupees ($425m), the entire complex is
surrounded by an artificial lake.
Source: https://www.culturalindia.net/leaders/sardar-vallabhbhai-patel.html
