Sardar Patel --- Iron man of India
Vallabhbhai Jhaverbhai Patel
31 Oct 1875 ~ 15 Dec 1950
He was born at Nadiad in Gujarat.
He was married at age 16, matriculated
at 22 and passed district pleader’s examination to practice law.
After his wife's demise in 1909, he
travelled to London in 1910 to study and enhance his career as a lawyer.
Returning to India in 1913, he rose to
be a leading barrister in criminal law at Ahmedabad.
He was noted for his chivalry,
westernised clothes & championship in bridge at the elite Gujarat Club.
In 1917, his life, lifestyle and
appearance changed with influence of Gandhi.
He quit Gujarat Club, dressed in
simple white clothing and began to eat with his hands.
From 1917 to 1924 he served as first
Indian municipal commissioner of Ahmedabad and was elected municipal president
from 1924 to 1928.
In 1918, he led mass campaigns of peasants,
farmers & landowners of Kaira, Gujarat, against decision to collect full
annual revenue taxes despite crop failures caused by heavy rains.
In 1928 he led landowners of Bardoli
in resistance against increased taxes.
His efficient leadership of Bardoli
campaign earned him the title Sardar.
Like Gandhi, he emphasised need to
foster Indian self-reliance and self-confidence.
He disagreed with Nehru on adapting socialist
ideas to Indian social and economic structure.
His belief in free enterprise gained
him trust of conservative elements that helped with collecting funds for
activities of Indian National Congress.
During 1930 Salt Satyagraha he served
3 months imprisonment.
In 1931 he presided over Karachi
session of the INC. He was imprisoned in January 1932.
Released in July 1934, he marshaled
the organisation.
He was imprisoned again in October
1940, released in August 1941 and imprisoned once more from August 1942 until
June 1945.
After independence, he was deputy
prime minister, minister of home affairs, minister of information and minister
of states.
His enduring achievement was
integration of princely Indian states into Indian Union & political
unification of India.
He was intensely loyal to Gandhi.
He was the last to privately talk with
Gandhi, who was assassinated just minutes after his departure.
Within two months of Gandhi's death,
he suffered a major heart attack, which he attributed to grief of demise of his
mentor
His health declined rapidly through
summer of 1950.
After suffering a massive heart attack
(his second), he died on 15 December at Birla House in Mumbai.
He was posthumously awarded Bharat
Ratna in 1991.
From 2014 his birthday is celebrated
as Rashtriya
Ekta Diwas.
He was called Iron
man of India for the following incident in his life. This incident was
narrated by him in an interview given by him to a magazine.
“Sturdiness has been a part and parcel of my life.
Physically, I fast twice a month. In those two long days of fasting, I refrain
from food and water. Even at the psychological level, I prefer to live this
robustness. I remember, during my childhood, once a boil erupted under my
armpit. In those days, for such treatments people used to visit a particular
person, who heated an iron rod and put it on the boil. When I visited the man
for the same, he averted since I was too young. However, I insisted to do it
quickly before the rod turns cold. Finally, when that person could not muster
courage, without waiting for him, I did the treatment myself.”
Statue
of unity
