Vallabhbhai Patel - Wikipedia 4k4h3x

Vallabhbhai Patel Vallabhbhai Jhav erbhai Patel [1 ][2 ] (31 October 187 5 – 15 December 1950), popularly known as Sardar Patel, was an Indian politician. He serv ed as the first Deputy Prime Minister of India. He

Sardar

Vallabhbhai Patel

was an Indian barrister, a senior leader of the Indian National Congress and a founding father of the Republic of India who play ed a leading role in the country 's struggle for independence and guided its integration into a united, independent nation. [3 ] In India and elsewhere, he was often called Sardar, meaning "chief" in Hindi, Urdu, and Persian. He acted as Home Minister during the political integration of India and the Indo-Pakistani War of 1947 . [4 ] Patel was raised in the country side of the state of Gujarat. [5 ] He was a successful lawy er. He subsequently organised peasants from Kheda, Borsad, and Bardoli in Gujarat in non-v iolent civ il disobedience against the British Raj, becoming one of the most influential leaders in Gujarat. He was appointed as the 49th President of Indian National Congress, organising the party for elections in 1934 and 1937 while promoting the Quit India Mov ement.

1st Deputy Prime Minister of India

As the first Home Minister and Deputy Prime Minister of India,

In office 15 August 1947 – 15 December 1950

Patel organised relief efforts for refugees fleeing to Punjab and Delhi from Pakistan and worked to restore peace. He led the task of forging a united India, successfully integrating into the newly independent nation those British colonial prov inces that had been "allocated" to India. [6 ] Besides those prov inces that had been under direct British rule, approximately 565 self-gov erning princely states had been released from British suzerainty by the Indian

Monarch

George VI

President

Rajendra Prasad

Governor General

Louis Mountbatten C. Rajagopalachari

Preceded by

Position established

Independence Act of 1947 . Threatening military force, Patel persuaded almost ev ery princely state to accede to India. His commitment to national integration in the newly independent country was total and uncompromising, earning him the sobriquet "Iron Man of India". [7 ] He is also ed as the "patron saint

Minister of Home Affairs

of India's civ il serv ants" for hav ing established the modern all-India

In office 15 August 1947 – 15 December 1950

serv ices sy stem. He is also called the "Unifier of

India". [8 ]

The

Statue of Unity , the world's tallest statue, was dedicated to him on 31 October 2018 which is approximately 182 metres (597 ft) in height. [9 ]

Prime Minister

Jawaharlal Nehru

Preceded by

Position

established

Contents

Succeeded by

Early life Fight for self-rule Satyagraha in Gujarat Legal Battle with Subhas Chandra Bose Quit India movement Integration after Independence and role of Gandhi Cabinet mission and partition Political integration of India Leading India Father of All India Services

1st Commander-in-chief of the Indian Armed Forces In office 15 August 1947 – 15 December 1950 Monarch

George VI

Governor General

Louis Mountbatten C. Rajagopalachari

Prime Minister

Jawaharlal Nehru

Preceded by

Position established

Succeeded by

Position abolished (merged to the President of India)

Gandhi's death and relations with Nehru Death Reception Nehru and Patel Legacy Rashtriya Ekta Diwas

C. Rajagopalachari

Statue of Unity Other institutions and monuments In popular media See also

Personal details

Notes References Citations

Born

Vallabhbhai Jhaverbhai Patel 31 October 1875 Nadiad, Bombay Presidency, British India

Died

15 December 1950 (aged 75) Bombay, Bombay State, India

Sources Further reading Primary sources External links

Early life Patel, one of the six children of Jhav erbhai Patel and Ladba, was born in Nadiad, Gujarat[1 0 ] . Patel's date of birth was nev er officially

Cause of death heart attack

recorded; Patel entered it as 31 October on his matriculation

Political party

Indian National Congress

Spouse(s)

Jhaverben Patel

Children

Maniben Patel Dahyabhai Patel

Mother

Laad Bai

Father

Jhaverbhai Patel

examination

papers. [1 1 ]

He belonged to the Leuv a Patel Patidar

community of Central Gujarat, although after his fame, the Leuv a Patels and Kadav a Patels hav e also claimed him as one of their own. [1 2 ]

Patel trav elled to attend schools in Nadiad, Petlad, and Borsad,

Alma mater

Middle Temple

liv ing self-sufficiently with other boy s. He reputedly cultiv ated a

Profession

Barrister · Politician · Activist · Freedom Fighter

Awards

Bharat Ratna (1991)

stoic character. A popular anecdote recounts that he lanced his own painful boil without hesitation, ev en as the barber charged with doing it trembled. [1 3 ] When Patel ed his matriculation at the relativ ely late age of 22, he was generally regarded by his elders as an unambitious man destined for a commonplace job. Patel himself, though, harboured a plan to study to become a lawy er, work and sav e funds, trav el to England, and become a barrister. [1 4 ]

(posthumously)

Patel spent y ears away from his family , study ing on his own with books borrowed from other lawy ers, ing his examinations within two y ears. Fetching his wife Jhav erba from her parents' home, Patel set up his household in Godhra and was called to the bar. During the many y ears it took him to sav e money , Patel – now an adv ocate – earned a reputation as a fierce and skilled lawy er. The couple had a daughter, Maniben, in 1904 and a son, Dahy abhai, in 1906. Patel also cared for a friend suffering from the Bubonic plague when it swept across Gujarat. When Patel himself came down with the disease, he immediately sent his family to safety , left his home, and mov ed into an isolated house in Nadiad (by other s, Patel spent this time in a dilapidated temple); there, he recov ered slowly . [1 5 ] Patel practised law in Godhra, Borsad, and Anand while taking on the financial burdens of his homestead in Karamsad. Patel was the first chairman and founder of "Edward Memorial High School" Borsad, today known as Jhav erbhai Dajibhai Patel High School. When he had sav ed enough for his trip to England and applied for a

Painting of Sardar Vallabhai Patel as deputy prime minister that appeared in the 1948 issue of Chandamama magazine

and a ticket, they were addressed to "V. J. Patel," at the home of his elder brother Vithalbhai, who had the same initials as Vallabhai. Hav ing once nurtured a similar hope to study in England, Vithalbhai remonstrated his y ounger brother, say ing that it would be disreputable for an older brother to follow his y ounger brother. In keeping with concerns for his family 's honour, Patel allowed Vithalbhai to go in his place. [1 6 ] In 1909 Patel's wife Jhav erba was hospitalised in Bombay (now Mumbai) to undergo major surgery for cancer. Her health suddenly worsened and, despite successful emergency surgery , she died in the hospital. Patel was giv en a note informing him of his wife's demise as he was cross-examining a witness in court. According to witnesses, Patel read the note, pocketed it, and continued his cross-examination and won the case. He broke the news to others only after the proceedings had ended. [1 7 ] Patel decided against marry ing again. He raised his children with the help of his family and sent them to English-language schools in Mumbai. At the age of 36 he journey ed to England and enrolled at the Middle Temple Inn in London. Completing a 36month course in 30 months, Patel finished at the top of his class despite hav ing had no prev ious college background. [1 8 ]

Returning to India, Patel settled in Ahmedabad and became one of the city 's most successful barristers. Wearing European-sty le clothes and sporting urbane mannerisms, he became a skilled bridge play er. Patel nurtured ambitions to expand his practice and accumulate great wealth and to prov ide his children with a modern education. He had made a pact with his brother Vithalbhai to his entry into politics in the Bombay Presidency , while Patel remained in Ahmedabad to prov ide for the family . [1 9 ][2 0 ]

Fight for self-rule At the urging of his friends, Patel ran in the election for the post of sanitation commissioner of Ahmedabad in 1917 and won. While often clashing with British officials on civ ic issues, he did not show any interest in politics. Upon hearing of Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi, he joked to the lawy er and political activ ist, Ganesh Vasudev Mav lankar, that "Gandhi would ask y ou if y ou know how to sift pebbles from wheat. And that is supposed to bring independence." A subsequent meeting with Gandhi, in October 1917 fundamentally changed Patel and led him to the Indian independence struggle. [2 1 ] In September 1917 , Patel deliv ered a speech in Borsad, encouraging Indians nationwide to sign Gandhi's petition demanding Swaraj – self-rule – from Britain. A month later, he met Gandhi for the first time at the Gujarat Political Conference in Godhra. On Gandhi's encouragement, Patel became the secretary of the Gujarat Sabha, a public body that would become the Gujarati arm of the Indian National Congress. Patel now energetically fought against veth – the forced serv itude of Indians to Europeans – and organised relief efforts in the wake of plague and famine in Kheda. [2 2 ] The Kheda peasants' plea for exemption from taxation had been turned down by British authorities. Gandhi endorsed waging a struggle there, but could not lead it himself due to his activ ities in Champaran. When Gandhi asked for a Gujarati activ ist to dev ote himself completely to the assignment, Patel v olunteered, much to Gandhi's delight. [2 3 ] Though his decision was made on the spot, Patel later said that his desire and commitment came after intense personal contemplation, as he realised he would hav e to abandon his career and material ambitions. [2 4 ]

Satyagraha in Gujarat ed by Congress v olunteers Narhari Parikh, Mohanlal Pandy a, and Abbas Ty abji, Vallabhbhai Patel began a v illage-by -v illage tour in the Kheda district, documenting griev ances and asking v illagers for their for a statewide rev olt by refusing to pay taxes. Patel emphasised the potential hardships and the need for complete unity and non-v iolence in the face of prov ocation. He receiv ed an enthusiastic response from v irtually ev ery v illage. [2 5 ] When the rev olt was launched and tax rev enue withheld, the gov ernment sent police and intimidation squads to seize property , including confiscating barn animals and whole farms. Patel organised a network of v olunteers to work with indiv idual v illages, helping them hide v aluables and protect themselv es against raids. Thousands of activ ists and farmers were arrested, but Patel was not. The rev olt ev oked sy mpathy and iration across India, including among pro-British Indian politicians. The gov ernment agreed to negotiate with Patel and decided to suspend the pay ment of taxes for a y ear, ev en scaling back the rate. Patel emerged as a hero to Gujaratis. [2 6 ] In 1920 he was elected president of the newly formed Gujarat Pradesh Congress Committee; he would serv e as its president until 1945.

Patel ed Gandhi's non-co-operation Mov ement and toured the state to recruit more than 300,000 and raise ov er Rs. 1.5 million in funds. [2 7 ] Helping organise bonfires in Ahmedabad in which British goods were burned, Patel threw in all his English-sty le clothes. Along with his daughter Mani and son Dahy a, he switched completely to wearing khadi, the locally produced cotton clothing. Patel also ed Gandhi's controv ersial suspension of resistance in the wake of the Chauri Chaura incident. In Gujarat he worked extensiv ely in the following y ears against alcoholism, untouchability , and caste discrimination, as well as for the empowerment of women. In the Congress, he was a resolute er of Gandhi against his Swarajist critics. Patel was elected Ahmedabad's municipal president in 1922, 1924, and 1927 . During his , he ov ersaw improv ements in infrastructure: the supply of electricity was increased, drainage and sanitation sy stems were extended throughout the city . The school sy stem underwent major reforms. He fought for the recognition and pay ment of teachers employ ed in schools established by nationalists (independent of British control) and ev en took on sensitiv e Hindu–Muslim issues. [2 8 ] Patel personally led relief efforts in the aftermath of the torrential rainfall of 1927 that caused major floods in the city and in the Kheda district, and great destruction of life and property . He established refugee centres across the district, mobilised v olunteers, and arranged for supplies of food, medicines, and clothing, as well as emergency funds from the gov ernment and the public. [2 9 ] When Gandhi was in prison, Patel was asked by of Congress to lead the satyagraha in Nagpur in 1923 against a law banning the raising of the Indian flag. He organised thousands of v olunteers from all ov er the country to take part in processions of people v iolating the law. Patel negotiated a settlement obtaining the release of all prisoners and allowing nationalists to hoist the flag in public. Later that y ear, Patel and his allies uncov ered ev idence suggesting that the police were in league with a local dacoit/ criminal gang related to Dev ar Baba in the Borsad taluka ev en as the gov ernment prepared to lev y a major tax for fighting dacoits in the area. More than 6,000 v illagers assembled to hear Patel speak in of proposed agitation against the tax, which was deemed immoral and unnecessary . He organised hundreds of Congressmen, sent instructions, and receiv ed information from across the district. Ev ery v illage in the taluka resisted pay ment of the tax and prev ented the seizure of property and land. After a protracted struggle, the gov ernment withdrew the tax. Historians believ e that one of Patel's key achiev ements was the building of cohesion and trust amongst the different castes and communities, which had been div ided along socio-economic lines. [3 0 ] In April 1928 Patel returned to the independence struggle from his municipal duties in Ahmedabad when Bardoli suffered from a serious double predicament of a famine and a steep tax hike. The rev enue hike was steeper than it had been in Kheda ev en though the famine cov ered a large portion of Gujarat. After crossexamining and talking to v illage representativ es, emphasising the potential hardship and need for nonv iolence and cohesion, Patel initiated the struggle with a complete denial of taxes. [3 1 ] Patel organised v olunteers, camps, and an information network across affected areas. The rev enue refusal was stronger than in Kheda, and many sy mpathy satyagrahas were undertaken across Gujarat. Despite arrests and seizures of property and land, the struggle intensified. The situation came to a head in August, when, through sy mpathetic intermediaries, he negotiated a settlement that included repealing the tax hike, reinstating v illage officials who had resigned in protest, and returning seized property and land. It was by the women of Bardoli, during the struggle and after the Indian National Congress v ictory in that area, that Patel first began to be referred to as Sardar (or hean). [3 2 ]

As Gandhi embarked on the Dandi Salt March, Patel was arrested in the v illage of Ras and was put on trial without witnesses, with no lawy er or journalists allowed to attend. Patel's arrest and Gandhi's subsequent arrest caused the Salt Saty agraha to greatly intensify in Gujarat – districts across Gujarat launched an anti-tax rebellion until and unless Patel and Gandhi were released. [3 3 ] Once released, Patel serv ed as interim Congress president, but was re-arrested while leading a procession in Mumbai. After the g of the Gandhi–Irwin Pact, Patel was elected president of Congress for its 1931 session in Karachi – here the Congress ratified the pact and committed itself to the defence of fundamental rights and civ il

Maulana Azad, Jamnalal Bajaj, Patel (third from left, in the foreground), Subhash Chandra Bose and other Congressmen at Wardha

liberties. It adv ocated the establishment of a secular nation with a minimum wage and the abolition of untouchability and serfdom. Patel used his position as Congress president to organise the return of confiscated land to farmers in Gujarat. [3 4 ] Upon the failure of the Round Table Conference in London, Gandhi and Patel were arrested in January 1932 when the struggle re-opened, and imprisoned in the Y erav da Central Jail. During this term of imprisonment, Patel and Gandhi grew close to each other, and the two dev eloped a close bond of affection, trust, and frankness. Their mutual relationship could be described as that of an elder brother (Gandhi) and his y ounger brother (Patel). Despite hav ing arguments with Gandhi, Patel respected his instincts and leadership. In prison, the two discussed national and social issues, read Hindu epics, and cracked jokes. Gandhi taught Patel Sanskrit. Gandhi's secretary , Mahadev Desai, kept detailed records of conv ersations between Gandhi and Patel. [3 5 ] When Gandhi embarked on a fast-unto-death protesting the separate electorates allocated for untouchables, Patel looked after Gandhi closely and himself refrained from partaking of food. [3 6 ] Patel was later mov ed to a jail in Nasik, and refused a British offer for a brief release to attend the cremation of his brother Vithalbhai, who had died in October 1933. He was finally released in July 1934. Patel's position at the highest lev el in the Congress was largely connected with his role from 1934 onwards (when the Congress abandoned its boy cott of elections) in the party organisation. Based at an apartment in Mumbai, he became the Congress's main fundraiser and chairman of its Central Parliamentary Board, play ing the leading role in selecting and financing candidates for the 1934 elections to the Central Legislativ e Assembly in New Delhi and for the prov incial elections of 1936. [3 7 ] In addition to collecting funds and selecting candidates, he also determined the Congress's stance on issues and opponents. [3 8 ] Not contesting a seat for himself, Patel nev ertheless guided Congressmen elected in the prov inces and at the national lev el. In 1935 Patel underwent surgery for haemorrhoids, y et continued to direct efforts against the plague in Bardoli and again when a drought struck Gujarat in 1939. Patel guided the Congress ministries that had won power across India with the aim of preserv ing party discipline – Patel feared that the British would take adv antage of opportunities to create conflict among elected Congressmen, and he did not want the party to be distracted from the goal of complete independence. [3 9 ] Patel clashed with Nehru, opposing declarations of the adoption of socialism at the 1936 Congress session, which he believ ed was a div ersion from the main goal of achiev ing independence. In 1938 Patel organised rank and file opposition to the attempts of then-Congress president Subhas Chandra Bose to mov e away from Gandhi's principles of non-v iolent resistance. Patel saw Bose as wanting more power ov er the party . He led senior Congress leaders in a protest that resulted in Bose's resignation. But criticism arose from Bose's ers, socialists, and other Congressmen that Patel himself was acting in an authoritarian manner in his defence of Gandhi's authority .

Legal Battle with Subhas Chandra Bose Patel's elder brother Vithalbhai Patel, died in Genev a on 22 October 1933. [4 0 ] Vithalbhai and Bose had been highly critical of Gandhi’s leadership during their trav els in Europe. "By the time Vithalbhai died in October 1932, Bose had become his primary caregiv er. On his deathbed he left a will of sorts, bequeathing three-quarters of his money to Bose to use in promoting India’s cause in other countries. When Patel saw a copy of the letter in which his brother had left a majority of his estate to Bose, he asked a series of questions: Why was the letter not attested by a doctor? Had the original paper been preserv ed? Why were the witnesses to that letter all men from Bengal and none of the many other v eteran freedom activ ists and ers of the Congress who had been present at Genev a where Vithalbhai had died? Patel may ev en hav e doubted the v eracity of the signature on the document. The case went to the court and after a legal battle that lasted more than a y ear, the courts judged that Vithalbhai’s estate could only be inherited by his legal heirs, that is, his family . Patel promptly handed the money ov er to the Vithalbhai Memorial Trust."[4 1 ]

Quit India movement On the outbreak of World War II, Patel ed Nehru's decision to withdraw the Congress from central and prov incial legislatures, contrary to Gandhi's adv ice, as well as an initiativ e by senior leader Chakrav arthi Rajagopalachari to offer Congress's full to Britain if it promised Indian independence at the end of the war and installed a democratic gov ernment right away . Gandhi had refused to Britain on the grounds of his moral opposition to war, while Subhash Chandra Bose was in militant opposition to the British. The British rejected Rajagopalachari's initiativ e, and Patel embraced Gandhi's leadership again. [4 2 ] He participated in Gandhi's call for indiv idual disobedience, and was arrested in 1940 and imprisoned for nine months. He also opposed the proposals of the Cripps' mission in 1942. Patel lost more than twenty pounds during his period in jail. While Nehru, Rajagopalachari, and Maulana Azad initially criticised Gandhi's proposal for an all-out campaign of civ il disobedience to force the British to quit India, Patel was its most ferv ent er. Arguing that the British would retreat from India as they had from Singapore and Burma, Patel urged that the campaign start without any delay . [4 3 ] Though feeling that the British would not leav e immediately , Patel fav oured an all-out rebellion that would galv anise the Indian people, who had been div ided in their response to the war, In Patel's v iew, such a rebellion would force the British to concede that continuation of colonial rule had no in India, and thus speed the transfer of power to Indians. [4 4 ] Believ ing strongly in the need for rev olt, Patel stated his intention to resign from the Congress if the rev olt were not approv ed. [4 5 ] Gandhi strongly pressured the All India Congress

Azad, Patel, and Gandhi at an AICC meeting in Bombay, 1940

Committee to approv e an all-out campaign of civ il disobedience, and the AICC approv ed the campaign on 7 August 1942. Though Patel's health had suffered during his stint in jail, he gav e emotional speeches to large crowds across India, [4 6 ] asking them to refuse to pay taxes and to

participate in civ il disobedience, mass protests, and a shutdown of all civ il serv ices. He raised funds and prepared a second tier of command as a precaution against the arrest of national leaders. [4 7 ] Patel made a climactic speech to more than 100,000 people gathered at Gowalia Tank in Bombay (Mumbai) on 7 August: The Gov ernor of Burma boasts in London that they left Burma only after reducing ev ery thing to dust. So y ou promise the same thing to India? ... Y ou refer in y our radio broadcasts and newspapers to the gov ernment established in Burma by Japan as a puppet gov ernment? What sort of gov ernment do y ou hav e in Delhi now?...When fell before the Nazi onslaught, in the midst of total war, Mr. Churchill offered union with England to the French. That was indeed a stroke of inspired statesmanship. But when it comes to India? Oh no! Constitutional changes in the midst of a war? Absolutely unthinkable ... The objectiv e this time is to free India before the Japanese can come and be ready to fight them if they come. They will round up the leaders, round up all. Then it will be the duty of ev ery Indian to put forth his utmost effort—within nonv iolence. No source is to be left untapped; no weapon untried. This is going to be the opportunity of a lifetime. [4 8 ]

Historians believ e that Patel's speech was instrumental in electrify ing nationalists, who up to then had been sceptical of the proposed rebellion. Patel's organising work in this period is credited by historians with ensuring the success of the rebellion across India. [4 9 ] Patel was arrested on 9 August and was imprisoned with the entire Congress Working Committee from 1942 to 1945 at the fort in Ahmednagar. Here he spun cloth, play ed bridge, read a large number of books, took long walks, and practised gardening. He also prov ided emotional to his colleagues while awaiting news and dev elopments from the outside. [5 0 ] Patel was deeply pained at the news of the deaths of Mahadev Desai and Kasturba Gandhi later that y ear. [5 1 ] But Patel wrote in a letter to his daughter that he and his colleagues were experiencing "fullest peace" for hav ing done "their duty ". [5 2 ] Ev en though other political parties had opposed the struggle and the British had employ ed ruthless means of suppression, the Quit India mov ement was "by far the most serious rebellion since that of 1857 ", as the v iceroy cabled to Winston Churchill. More than 100,000 people were arrested and many were killed in v iolent struggles with the police. Strikes, protests, and other rev olutionary activ ities had broken out across India. [5 3 ] When Patel was released on 15 June 1945, he realised that the British were preparing proposals to transfer power to India.

Integration after Independence and role of Gandhi As the first Home Minister, Patel play ed the key role in the integration of the princely states into the Indian federation. [5 4 ] In the elections, the Congress won a large majority of the elected seats, dominating the Hindu electorate. But the Muslim League led by Muhammad Ali Jinnah won a large majority of Muslim electorate seats. The League had resolv ed in 1940 to demand Pakistan – an independent state for Muslims – and was a fierce critic of the Congress. The Congress formed gov ernments in all prov inces sav e Sindh, Punjab, and Bengal, where it entered into coalitions with other parties.

Cabinet mission and partition

When the British mission proposed two plans for transfer of power, there was considerable opposition within the Congress to both. The plan of 16 May 1946 proposed a loose federation with extensiv e prov incial autonomy , and the "grouping" of prov inces based on religious-majority . The plan of 16 May 1946 proposed the partition of India on religious lines, with ov er 565 princely states free to choose between independence or accession to either dominion. The League approv ed both plans while the Congress flatly rejected the proposal of 16 May . Gandhi criticised the 16 May proposal as being inherently div isiv e, but Patel, realising that rejecting the proposal would mean that only the League would be inv ited to form a gov ernment, lobbied the Congress Working Committee hard to giv e its assent to the 16 May proposal. Patel engaged the British env oy s Sir Stafford Cripps and Lord Pethick-Lawrence and obtained an assurance that the "grouping" clause would not be giv en practical force, Patel conv erted Jawaharlal Nehru, Rajendra Prasad, and Rajagopalachari to accept the plan. When the League retracted its approv al of the 16 May plan, the v iceroy Lord Wav ell inv ited the Congress to form the gov ernment. Under Nehru, who was sty led the "Vice President of the Viceroy 's Executiv e Council", Patel took charge of the departments of home affairs and information and broadcasting. He mov ed into a gov ernment house on Aurangzeb Road in Delhi, which would be his home until his death in 1950. [5 5 ] Vallabhbhai Patel was one of the first Congress leaders to accept the partition of India as a solution to the rising Muslim separatist mov ement led by Muhammad Ali Jinnah. He had been outraged by Jinnah's Direct Action campaign, which had prov oked communal v iolence across India, and by the v iceroy 's v etoes of his home department's plans to stop the v iolence on the grounds of constitutionality . Patel sev erely criticised the v iceroy 's induction of League ministers into the gov ernment, and the rev alidation of the grouping scheme by the British without Congress's approv al. Although further outraged at the League's boy cott of the assembly and non-acceptance of the plan of 16 May despite entering gov ernment, he was also aware that Jinnah did enjoy popular amongst Muslims, and that an open conflict between him and the nationalists could degenerate into a Hindu-Muslim civ il war of disastrous consequences. The continuation of a div ided and weak central gov ernment would, in Patel's mind, result in the wider fragmentation of India by encouraging more than 600 princely states towards independence. [5 6 ] In December 1946 and January 1947 , Patel worked with civ il serv ant V. P. Menon on the latter's suggestion for a separate dominion of Pakistan created out of Muslim-majority prov inces. Communal v iolence in Bengal and Punjab in January and March 1947 further conv inced Patel of the soundness of partition. Patel, a fierce critic of Jinnah's demand that the Hindu-majority areas of Punjab and Bengal be included in a Muslim state, obtained the partition of those prov inces, thus blocking any possibility of their inclusion in Pakistan. Patel's decisiv eness on the partition of Punjab and Bengal had won him many ers and irers amongst the Indian public, which had tired of the League's tactics, but he was criticised by Gandhi, Nehru, secular Muslims, and socialists for a perceiv ed eagerness to do so. When Lord Louis Mountbatten formally proposed the plan on 3 June 1947 , Patel gav e his approv al and lobbied Nehru and other Congress leaders to accept the proposal. Knowing Gandhi's deep anguish regarding proposals of partition, Patel engaged him in frank discussion in priv ate meetings ov er what he saw as the practical unworkability of any Congress–League coalition, the rising v iolence, and the threat of civ il war. At the All India Congress Committee meeting called to v ote on the proposal, Patel said: I fully appreciate the fears of our brothers from [the Muslim-majority areas]. Nobody likes the div ision of India and my heart is heav y . But the choice is between one div ision and many div isions. We must face facts. We cannot giv e way to emotionalism and sentimentality . The

Working Committee has not acted out of fear. But I am afraid of one thing, that all our toil and hard work of these many y ears might go waste or prov e unfruitful. My nine months in office has completely disillusioned me regarding the supposed merits of the Cabinet Mission Plan. Except for a few honourable exceptions, Muslim officials from the top down to the chaprasis (peons or serv ants) are working for the League. The communal v eto giv en to the League in the Mission Plan would hav e blocked India's progress at ev ery stage. Whether we like it or not, de facto Pakistan already exists in the Punjab and Bengal. Under the circumstances I would prefer a de jure Pakistan, which may make the League more responsible. Freedom is coming. We hav e 7 5 to 80 percent of India, which we can make strong with our own genius. The League can dev elop the rest of the country . [5 7 ]

After Gandhi rejected and Congress approv ed – the plan, Patel represented India on the Partition Council, [5 8 ][5 9 ] where he ov ersaw the div ision of public assets, and selected the Indian council of ministers with Nehru. [6 0 ] Howev er, neither Patel nor any other Indian leader had foreseen the intense v iolence and population transfer that would take place with partition. Patel took the lead in organising relief and emergency supplies, establishing refugee camps, and v isiting the border areas with Pakistani leaders to encourage peace. Despite these efforts, the death toll is estimated at between 500,000 and 1 million people. [6 1 ] The estimated number of refugees in both countries exceeds 15 million. [6 2 ] Understanding that Delhi and Punjab policemen, accused of organising attacks on Muslims, were personally affected by the tragedies of partition, Patel called out the Indian Army with South Indian regiments to restore order, imposing strict curfews and shoot-at-sight orders. Visiting the Nizamuddin Auliy a Dargah area in Delhi, where thousands of Delhi Muslims feared attacks, he pray ed at the shrine, v isited the people, and reinforced the presence of police. He suppressed from the press reports of atrocities in Pakistan against Hindus and Sikhs to prev ent retaliatory v iolence. Establishing the Delhi Emergency Committee to restore order and organising relief efforts for refugees in the capital, Patel publicly warned officials against partiality and neglect. When reports reached Patel that large groups of Sikhs were preparing to attack Muslim conv oy s heading for Pakistan, Patel hurried to Amritsar and met Sikh and Hindu leaders. Arguing that attacking helpless people was cowardly and dishonourable, Patel emphasised that Sikh actions would result in further attacks against Hindus and Sikhs in Pakistan. He assured the community leaders that if they worked to establish peace and order and guarantee the safety of Muslims, the Indian gov ernment would react forcefully to any failures of Pakistan to do the same. Additionally , Patel addressed a massiv e crowd of approximately 200,000 refugees who had surrounded his car after the meetings: Here, in this same city , the blood of Hindus, Sikhs and Muslims mingled in the bloodbath of Jallianwala Bagh. I am griev ed to think that things hav e come to such a that no Muslim can go about in Amritsar and no Hindu or Sikh can ev en think of liv ing in Lahore. The butchery of innocent and defenceless men, women and children does not behov e brav e men ... I am quite certain that India's interest lies in getting all her men and women across the border and sending out all Muslims from East Punjab. I hav e come to y ou with a specific appeal. Pledge the safety of Muslim refugees crossing the city . Any obstacles or hindrances will only worsen the plight of our refugees who are already performing prodigious feats of endurance. If we hav e to fight, we must fight clean. Such a fight must await an appropriate time and conditions and y ou must be watchful in choosing y our ground. To fight against the refugees is no fight at all. No laws of

humanity or war among honourable men permit the murder of people who hav e sought shelter and protection. Let there be truce for three months in which both sides can exchange their refugees. This sort of truce is permitted ev en by laws of war. Let us take the initiativ e in breaking this v icious circle of attacks and counter-attacks. Hold y our hands for a week and see what happens. Make way for the refugees with y our own force of v olunteers and let them deliv er the refugees safely at our frontier. [6 3 ]

Following his dialogue with community leaders and his speech, no further attacks occurred against Muslim refugees, and a wider peace and order was soon re-established ov er the entire area. Howev er, Patel was criticised by Nehru, secular Muslims, and Gandhi ov er his alleged wish to see Muslims from other parts of India depart. While Patel v ehemently denied such allegations, the acrimony with Maulana Azad and other secular Muslim leaders increased when Patel refused to dismiss Delhi's Sikh police commissioner, who was accused of discrimination. Hindu and Sikh leaders also accused Patel and other leaders of not taking Pakistan sufficiently to task ov er the attacks on their communities there, and Muslim leaders further criticised him for allegedly neglecting the needs of Muslims leav ing for Pakistan, and concentrating resources for incoming Hindu and Sikh refugees. Patel clashed with Nehru and Azad ov er the allocation of houses in Delhi v acated by Muslims leav ing for Pakistan; Nehru and Azad desired to allocate them for displaced Muslims, while Patel argued that no gov ernment professing secularism must make such exclusions. Howev er, Patel was publicly defended by Gandhi and receiv ed widespread iration and for speaking frankly on communal issues and acting decisiv ely and resourcefully to quell disorder and v iolence. [6 4 ]

Political integration of India Patel took charge of the integration of the princely states into India. [5 4 ] This achiev ement formed the cornerstone of Patel's popularity in the post-independence era. Ev en today he is ed as the man who united India. He is, in this regard, compared to Otto v on Bismarck of , who did the same thing in the 1860s. Under the plan of 3 June, more than 562 princely states were giv en the option of ing either India or Pakistan, or choosing independence. Indian nationalists and large segments of the public feared that if these states did not accede, most of the people and territory would be fragmented. The Congress as well as senior British officials considered Patel the best man for the task of achiev ing conquest of the princely states by the Indian dominion. Gandhi had said to Patel, "[T]he problem of the States is so difficult that y ou alone can solv e it". [6 5 ] Patel was considered a statesman of integrity with the practical acumen and resolv e to accomplish a monumental task. He asked V. P. Menon, a senior civ il serv ant with whom he had worked on the partition of India, to become his right-hand man as chief secretary of the States Ministry . On 6 May 1947 , Patel began lobby ing the princes, attempting to make them receptiv e towards dialogue with the future gov ernment and forestall potential conflicts. Patel used social meetings and unofficial surroundings to engage most of the monarchs, inv iting them to lunch and tea at his home in Delhi. At these meetings, Patel explained that there was no inherent conflict between the Congress and the princely order. Patel inv oked the patriotism of India's monarchs, asking them to in the independence of their nation and act as responsible rulers who cared about the future of their people. He persuaded the princes of 565 states of the impossibility of independence from the Indian republic, especially in the presence of growing opposition from their subjects. He proposed fav ourable for the merger, including the creation of privy purses for the rulers' descendants. While encouraging the rulers to act out of patriotism, Patel did not rule out force. Stressing that

the princes would need to accede to India in good faith, he set a deadline of 15 August 1947 for them to sign the instrument of accession document. All but three of the states willingly merged into the Indian union; only Jammu and Kashmir, Junagadh, and Hy derabad did not fall into his basket. [6 6 ] Junagadh was especially important to Patel, since it was in his home state of Gujarat. It was also important because in this Kathiawar

Somnath temple Restoration

district was the ultra-rich Somnath temple (which in the 11th century had been plundered by Mahmud of Ghazni, who damaged the temple and its idols to rob it of its riches, including emeralds, diamonds, and gold). Under pressure from Sir Shah Nawaz Bhutto, the Nawab had acceded to Pakistan. It was, howev er, quite far from Pakistan, and 80% of its population was Hindu. Patel combined diplomacy with force, demanding that Pakistan annul the accession, and that the Nawab accede to India. He sent the Army to occupy three principalities of Junagadh to show his resolv e. Following

Somnath temple ruins, 1869

widespread protests and the formation of a civ il gov ernment, or Aarzi Hukumat, both Bhutto and the Nawab fled to Karachi, and under Patel's orders the Indian Army and police units marched into the state. A plebiscite organised later produced a 99.5% v ote for merger with India. [6 7 ] In a speech at the Bahauddin College in Junagadh following the latter's take-ov er, Patel emphasised his feeling of urgency on Hy derabad, which he felt was more v ital to India than Kashmir:

Patel ordered Somnath temple reconstructed in 1948.

If Hy derabad does not see the writing on the wall, it goes the way Junagadh has gone. Pakistan attempted to set off Kashmir against Junagadh. When we raised the question of settlement in a democratic way , they (Pakistan) at once told us that they would consider it if we applied that policy to Kashmir. Our reply was that we would agree to Kashmir if they agreed to Hy derabad. [6 7 ]

Hy derabad was the largest of the princely states, and it included parts of present-day Telangana, Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, and Maharashtra states. Its ruler, the Nizam Osman Ali Khan, was a Muslim, although ov er 80% of its people were Hindu. The Nizam sought independence or accession with Pakistan. Muslim forces

Hyderabad state in 1909. Its area stretched over large parts of the current Indian states of Telangana, Karnataka, and Maharashtra.

loy al to Nizam, called the Razakars, under Qasim Razv i, pressed the Nizam to hold out against India, while organising attacks on people on Indian soil. Ev en though a Standstill Agreement was signed due to the desperate efforts of Lord Mountbatten to av oid a war, the Nizam rejected deals and changed his positions. [6 8 ] In September 1948 Patel emphasised in Cabinet meetings that India should talk no more, and reconciled Nehru and the

Gov ernor-General, Chakrav arti Rajgopalachari, to military action. Following preparations, Patel ordered the Indian Army to inv ade Hy derabad (in his capacity as Acting Prime Minister) when Nehru was touring Europe. [6 9 ] The action was termed Operation Polo, and thousands of Razakar forces were killed, but Hy derabad was forcefully secured and integrated into the Indian Union. [7 0 ] The main aim of Mountbatten and Nehru in av oiding a forced annexation was to prev ent an outbreak of Hindu–Muslim v iolence. Patel insisted that if Hy derabad were allowed to continue as an independent nation enclav e surrounded by India, the prestige of the gov ernment would fall, and then neither Hindus nor Muslims

British Indian Empire in 1909

would feel secure in its realm. After defeating Nizam, Patel retained him as the ceremonial chief of state, and held talks with him. [7 1 ] There were 562 princely states in India which Sardar Patel integrated.

Leading India The Gov ernor-General of India, Chakrav arti Rajagopalachari, along with Nehru and Patel, formed the "triumv irate" that ruled India from 1948 to 1950. Prime Minister Nehru was intensely popular with the masses, but Patel enjoy ed the loy alty and the faith of rank and file Congressmen, state leaders, and India's civ il serv ants. Patel was a senior leader in the Constituent Assembly of India and was responsible in large measure for shaping India's constitution. [7 2 ] Patel was the chairman of the committees responsible for minorities, tribal and excluded areas, fundamental rights, and prov incial constitutions. Patel piloted a model constitution for the prov inces in the Assembly , which contained limited powers for the state gov ernor, who would defer to the president – he clarified it was not the intention to let the gov ernor exercise power that could impede an elected gov ernment. [7 2 ] He worked closely with Muslim leaders to end separate electorates and the more potent demand for reserv ation of seats for minorities. [7 3 ] His interv ention was key to the age of two articles that protected civ il serv ants from political inv olv ement and guaranteed their and priv ileges. [7 2 ] He was also instrumental in the founding the Indian istrativ e Serv ice and the Indian Police Serv ice, and for his defence of Indian civ il serv ants from political attack; he is known as the "patron saint" of India's serv ices. When a delegation of Gujarati farmers came to him citing their inability to send their milk production to the markets without being fleeced by intermediaries, Patel exhorted them to organise the processing and sale of milk by themselv es, and guided them to create the Kaira District Co-operativ e Milk Producers' Union Limited, which preceded the Amul milk products brand. Patel also pledged the reconstruction of the ancient but dilapidated Somnath Temple in Saurashtra. He ov ersaw the restoration work and the creation of a public trust, and pledged to dedicate the temple upon the completion of work (the work was completed after his death and the temple was inaugurated by the first President of India, Dr. Rajendra Prasad). When the Pakistani inv asion of Kashmir began in September 1947 , Patel immediately wanted to send troops into Kashmir. But, agreeing with Nehru and Mountbatten, he waited until Kashmir's monarch had acceded to India. Patel then ov ersaw India's military operations to secure Srinagar and the Baramulla , and the forces retriev ed much territory from the inv aders. Patel, along with Defence Minister Baldev Singh,

istered the entire military effort, arranging for troops from different parts of India to be rushed to Kashmir and for a major military road connecting Srinagar to Pathankot to be built in six months. [7 4 ] Patel strongly adv ised Nehru against going for arbitration to the United Nations, insisting that Pakistan had been wrong to the inv asion and the accession to India was v alid. He did not want foreign interference in a bilateral affair. Patel opposed the release of Rs. 550 million to the Gov ernment of Pakistan, conv inced that the money would go to finance the war against India in Kashmir. The Cabinet had approv ed his point but it was rev ersed when Gandhi, who feared an intensify ing riv alry and further communal v iolence, went on a fastunto-death to obtain the release. Patel, though not estranged from Gandhi, was deeply hurt at the rejection of his counsel and a Cabinet decision. [7 5 ] Gandhi was assassinated as a result of his fast. In 1949 a crisis arose when the number of Hindu refugees entering West Bengal, Assam, and Tripura from East Pakistan climbed to ov er 800,000. The refugees in many cases were being forcibly ev icted by Pakistani authorities, and were v ictims of intimidation and v iolence. [7 6 ] Nehru inv ited Liaquat Ali Khan, Prime Minister of Pakistan, to find a peaceful solution. Despite his av ersion, Patel reluctantly met Khan and discussed the matter. Patel strongly criticised Nehru's plan to sign a pact that would create minority commissions in both countries and pledge both India and Pakistan to a commitment to protect each other's minorities. [7 7 ] Sy ama Prasad Mookerjee and K. C. Neogy , two Bengali ministers, resigned, and Nehru was intensely criticised in West Bengal for allegedly appeasing Pakistan. The pact was immediately in jeopardy . Patel, howev er, publicly came to Nehru's aid. He gav e emotional speeches to of Parliament, and the people of West Bengal, and spoke with scores of delegations of Congressmen, Hindus, Muslims, and other public interest groups, persuading them to giv e peace a final effort. [7 8 ] In April 2015 the Gov ernment of India declassified surv eillance reports suggesting that Patel, while Home Minister, and Nehru were among officials inv olv ed in alleged gov ernment-authorised spy ing on the family of Subhas Chandra Bose. [7 9 ]

Father of All India Services He was also instrumental in the creation of the All India Serv ices which he described as the country ’s "Steel Frame". In his address to the probationers of these serv ices, he asked them to be guided by the spirit of serv ice in day to-day istration. He reminded them that the ICS was no longer neither Imperial, nor civ il, nor imbued with any spirit of serv ice after Independence. His exhortation to the probationers to maintain utmost impartiality and incorruptibility of istration is as relev ant today as it was then. "A civ il serv ant cannot afford to, and must not, take part in politics. Nor must he inv olv e himself in communal wrangles. To depart from the path of rectitude in either of these respects is to debase public serv ice and to lower its dignity ," he had cautioned them on 21 April 1947 . [8 3 ] He, more than any one else in post-independence India, realised the crucial role that civ il serv ices play in istering a country , in not merely maintaining law and order, but running the institutions that prov ide the

There is no alternative to this istrative system... The Union will go, you will not have a united India if you do not have good All-India Service which has the independence to speak out its mind, which has sense of security that you will standby your work... If you do not adopt this course, then do not follow the present Constitution. Substitute something else... these people are the instrument. Remove them and I see nothing but a picture of chaos all over

binding cement to a society . He, more than any other contemporary of his,

the country.

was aware of the needs of a sound, stable istrativ e structure as the

Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel,

ly nchpin of a functioning polity . The present-day all-India istrativ e

in Constituent Assembly

serv ices owe their origin to the man’s sagacity and thus he is regarded as

discussing the role of All

Father of modern All India

Serv ices. [8 4 ]

India Serv ices. [80][81][82]

Gandhi's death and relations with Nehru Rajmohan Gandhi, in his book writes that Nehru was focused on maintaining religious harmony , casting an independent foreign policy , and constructing a technological and industrial base, while Patel focused on getting the princely states to the Indian Union, modernising the istrativ e serv ices, and constructing a cross-party consensus on the significant elements of the Constitution. [8 5 ] Patel was intensely loy al to Gandhi, and both he and Nehru looked to him to arbitrate disputes. Howev er, Nehru and Patel sparred ov er national issues. [8 6 ] When Nehru asserted control ov er Kashmir policy , Patel objected to Nehru's sidelining his home ministry 's officials. [8 7 ] Nehru was offended by Patel's decisionmaking regarding the states' integration, hav ing consulted neither him nor the Cabinet. Patel asked Gandhi to reliev e him of his obligation to serv e, believ ing that an open political battle would hurt India. After much personal deliberation and contrary to Patel's prediction, Gandhi on 30 January 1948 told Patel not to leav e the gov ernment. A free India, according to Gandhi, needed both Patel and Nehru. Patel was the last man to priv ately talk with Gandhi, who was assassinated just minutes after Patel's departure. [8 8 ] At Gandhi's wake, Nehru and Patel embraced each other and addressed the nation together. Patel gav e solace to many associates and friends and immediately mov ed to forestall any possible v iolence. [8 9 ] Within two months of Gandhi's death, Patel suffered a major heart attack; the timely action of his daughter, his secretary , and a nurse sav ed Patel's life. Speaking later, Patel attributed the attack to the "grief bottled up" due to Gandhi's death. [9 0 ] Criticism arose from the media and other politicians that Patel's home ministry had failed to protect Gandhi. Emotionally exhausted, Patel tendered a letter of resignation, offering to leav e the gov ernment. Patel's secretary persuaded him to withhold the letter, seeing it as fodder for Patel's political enemies and political conflict in India. [9 1 ] Howev er, Nehru sent Patel a letter dismissing any question of personal differences or desire for Patel's ouster. He reminded Patel of their 30-y ear partnership in the independence struggle and asserted that after Gandhi's death, it was especially wrong for them to quarrel. Nehru, Rajagopalachari, and other Congressmen publicly defended Patel. Mov ed, Patel publicly endorsed Nehru's leadership and refuted any suggestion of discord, and dispelled any notion that he sought to be prime minister. [9 1 ] Nehru gav e Patel a free hand in integrating the princely states into India. [5 4 ] Though the two committed themselv es to t leadership and non-interference in Congress party affairs, they sometimes would criticise each other in matters of policy , clashing on the issues of Hy derabad's integration and UN mediation in Kashmir. Nehru declined Patel's counsel on sending assistance to Tibet after its 1950 inv asion by the People's Republic of China and on ejecting the Portuguese from Goa by military force. [9 2 ] Nehru also tried to scuttle

Patel's plan with regards to Hy derabad. During a meeting, according to the then civ il serv ant MKK Nair in his book With No Ill Feeling to Anybody, Nehru shouted and accused Patel of being a communalist. Patel also one on occasion called Nehru, a Maulana, for appeasing Muslims. [9 3 ] When Nehru pressured Rajendra Prasad to decline a nomination to become the first President of India in 1950 in fav our of Rajagopalachari, he angered the party , which felt Nehru was attempting to impose his will. Nehru sought Patel's help in winning the party ov er, but Patel declined, and Prasad was duly elected. Nehru opposed the 1950 Congress presidential candidate Purushottam Das Tandon, a conserv ativ e Hindu leader, endorsing Jiv atram Kripalani instead and threatening to resign if Tandon was elected. Patel rejected Nehru's v iews and endorsed Tandon in Gujarat, where Kripalani receiv ed not one v ote despite hailing from that state himself. [9 4 ] Patel believ ed Nehru had to understand that his will was not law with the Congress, but he personally discouraged Nehru from reg after the latter felt that the party had no confidence in him. [9 5 ] On 29 March 1949 authorities lost radio with a plane carry ing Patel, his daughter Maniben, and the Maharaja of Patiala. Engine failure caused the pilot to make an emergency landing in a desert area in Rajasthan. With all engers safe, Patel and others tracked down a nearby v illage and local officials. When Patel returned to Delhi, thousands of Congressmen gav e him a resounding welcome. In Parliament, MPs gav e a long standing ov ation to Patel, stopping proceedings for half an hour. [9 6 ] In his twilight y ears, Patel was honoured by of Parliament. He was awarded honorary doctorates of law by Nagpur Univ ersity , the Univ ersity of Allahabad and Banaras Hindu Univ ersity in Nov ember 1948, subsequently receiv ing honorary doctorates from Osmania Univ ersity in February 1949 and from Punjab Univ ersity in March 1949. [9 7 ][9 8 ] Prev iously , Patel had been featured on the cov er page of the January 1947 issue of Time magazine. [9 9 ]

Death Patel's health declined rapidly through the summer of 1950. He later began coughing blood, whereupon Maniben began limiting her meetings and working hours and arranged for a personalised medical staff to begin attending to Patel. The Chief Minister of West Bengal and doctor Bidhan Roy heard Patel make jokes about his impending end, and in a priv ate meeting Patel frankly itted to his ministerial colleague N. V. Gadgil that he was not going to liv e much longer. Patel's health worsened after 2 Nov ember, when he began losing consciousness frequently and was confined to his bed. He was flown to Bombay (now Mumbai) on 12 December on adv ice from Dr Roy , to recuperate as his condition was deemed critical. [1 0 0 ] Nehru, Rajagopalchari, Rajendra Prasad, and Menon all came to see him off at the airport in Delhi. Patel was extremely weak and had to be carried onto the aircraft in a chair. In Bombay , large crowds gathered at Santacruz Airport to greet him. To spare him from this stress, the aircraft landed at Juhu Aerodrome, where Chief Minister B. G. Kher and Morarji Desai were present to receiv e him with a car belonging to the Gov ernor of Bombay that took Vallabhbhai to Birla House. [1 0 1 ][1 0 2 ] After suffering a massiv e heart attack (his second), Patel died on 15 December 1950 at Birla House in Bombay . [1 0 3 ] In an unprecedented and unrepeated gesture, on the day after his death more than 1,500 officers of India's civ il and police serv ices congregated to mourn at Patel's residence in Delhi and pledged "complete loy alty and unremitting zeal" in India's serv ice. [1 0 4 ] Numerous gov ernments and world leaders

sent messages of condolence upon Patel's death, including Try gv e Lie, the Secretary -General of the United Nations, President Sukarno of Indonesia, Prime Minister Liaquat Ali Khan of Pakistan and Prime Minister Clement Attlee of the United Kingdom. [1 0 5 ] In homage to Patel, Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru declared a week of national mourning. [1 0 6 ] Patel's cremation was planned at Girgaum Chowpatty , but this was changed to Sonapur (now Marine Lines) when his daughter conv ey ed that it was his wish to be cremated like a common man in the same place as his wife and brother were earlier cremated. K.M Munshi wrote in his book that after Patel's death Nehru ‘issued a direction to the Ministers and the Secretaries not to go to Bombay to attend the funeral. Jawaharlal also requested Dr. Rajendra Prasad not to go to Bombay ; it was a strange request to which Rajendra Prasad did not accede.’. [1 0 7 ][1 0 8 ] His cremation in Sonapur in Bombay was attended by a crowd of one million including Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru, Rajagopalachari and President Rajendra Prasad. [1 0 2 ][1 0 9 ][1 1 0 ]

Reception During his lifetime, Vallabhbhai Patel receiv ed criticism for an alleged bias against Muslims during the time of Partition. He was criticised by Maulana Azad and others for readily ing partition. [1 1 1 ] Guha say s that, during the Partition, Nehru wanted the gov ernment to make the Muslims stay back and feel secure in India while Patel was inclined to place that responsibility on the indiv iduals themselv es. Patel also told Nehru that the minority also had to remov e the doubts that were entertained about their loy alty based on their past association with the demand of Pakistan. [1 1 2 ] Howev er, Patel successfully prev ented attacks upon a train of Muslim refugees leav ing India. [1 1 3 ] In September 1947 he was said to hav e had ten thousand Muslims sheltered safely in the Red Fort and had free kitchens opened for them during the communal v iolence. [1 1 4 ] Patel was also said to be more forgiv ing of Indian nationalism and harsher on Pakistan. [1 1 5 ] He exposed a riot plot, confiscated a large haul of weapons from the Delhi Jumma Masjid, and had a few plotters killed by the police, but his approach was said to hav e been harsh. [1 1 4 ] Patel was also criticised by ers of Subhas Chandra Bose for

The coat of Patel, on display at the Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel National Memorial, Ahmedabad

acting coerciv ely to put down politicians not iv e of Gandhi. [1 1 6 ] Socialist politicians such as Jay a Prakash Naray an and Asoka Mehta criticised him for his personal proximity to Indian industrialists such as the Birla and Sarabhai families. It is said that Patel was friendly towards capitalists while Nehru believ ed in the state controlling the economy . [1 1 5 ] Also, Patel was more inclined to the West in the emerging Cold War. [1 1 5 ]

Nehru and Patel

Patel had long been the riv al of Nehru for party leadership, but Nehru usually prev ailed ov er the older man, who died in 1950. [8 6 ] Subsequently , J. R. D. Tata, the Industrialist, Maulana Azad and sev eral others expressed the opinion that Patel would hav e made a better Prime Minister for India than Nehru. [1 1 7 ] These Patel irers and Nehru's critics cite Nehru's belated embrace of Patel's adv ice regarding the UN and Kashmir and the integration of Goa by military action and Nehru's rejection of Patel's adv ice on China. [1 1 8 ] Proponents of free enterprise cite the failings of Nehru's socialist policies as opposed to Patel's defence of property rights and his mentorship of what was to be later known as the Amul co-operativ e project. [1 1 9 ][1 2 0 ] Howev er, A. G. Noorani, in comparing Nehru and Patel, writes that Nehru had a broader understanding of the world than Patel. [1 2 1 ] Historian Rajmohan Gandhi argues:

Patel the realist was home minister and deputy premier, Nehru the visionary was premier and foreign minister. The two constituted a formidable pair. Patel represented Indian nationalism’s Hindu face, Nehru India’s secular and also global face. Their partnership, necessary and fruitful for the country, was a solemn commitment that each made to the other.[122]

Legacy In his eulogy , deliv ered the day after Patel's death, Sir Girija Shankar Bajpai, the Secretary -General of the Ministry of External Affairs, paid tribute to "a great patriot, a great and a great man. Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel was all three, a rare combination in any historic epoch and in any country ."[9 7 ] Bajpai lauded Patel for his achiev ements as a patriot and as an , notably his v ital role in securing India's stability in the aftermath of Independence and Partition: ...History holds many examples of the fruits of freedom squandered by lack of attention to stability and order, the twin foundations of society . Though a rev olutionary in his fight against foreign rule, Sardar Patel was no believ er in abrupt or v iolent change; progress by ev olution was really his motto. And so, although in August 1947 power changed hands, and with it the spirit of the istration, the machinery of Gov ernment was preserv ed. As Home Minister and Minister for States, the Sardar had a double task, conserv ativ e in the good sense of the word, in what had been Prov inces in the old India, creativ e in the Indian States. Neither was easy . To the ordinary stresses of a transition caused by the withdrawal of trained personnel which had wielded all power for a

The central hall of the Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel National Memorial

hundred y ears was added the strain of partition, and the immense human upheav als and suffering that followed it. The fate of our new State hung in the balance during those perilous months when millions mov ed across the new frontiers under conditions which are still v iv id—indeed, too v iv id—in our memories, and therefore, need not be described. That despite some oscillation the scales stay ed steady was due not only to the faith of the people in its leaders, but to the firm will and strong hand of the new Home Minister. [9 7 ]

Among Patel's surv iv ing family , Maniben Patel liv ed in a flat in Mumbai for the rest of her life following her father's death; she often led the work of the Sardar Patel Memorial Trust, which organises the prestigious annual Sardar Patel Memorial Lectures, and other charitable organisations. Dahy abhai Patel was a businessman who was elected to serv e in the Lok Sabha (the lower house of the Indian Parliament) as an MP in the 1960s. [1 2 3 ] For many decades after his death, there was a perceiv ed lack of effort from the Gov ernment of India, the national media, and the Congress party regarding commemoration of Patel's life and work. [1 2 4 ] Patel was posthumously awarded the Bharat Ratna, India's highest civ ilian honour, in 1991. [1 2 5 ] It was announced in 2014 that his birthday , 31 October, would become an annual national celebration known as Rashtriy a Ekta Diwas (National Unity Day ). [1 2 6 ] In 2012, Patel was ranked third in Outlook India's poll of the Greatest Indian. [1 2 7 ] Patel's family home in Karamsad is preserv ed in his memory . [1 2 8 ] The Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel National Memorial in Ahmedabad was established in 1980 at the Moti Shahi Mahal. It comprises a museum, a gallery of portraits and historical pictures, and a library containing important documents and books associated with Patel and his life. Amongst the exhibits are many of Patel's personal effects and relics from v arious periods of his personal and political life. [1 2 9 ] Patel is the namesake of many public institutions in India. A major initiativ e to build dams, canals, and hy droelectric power plants in the Narmada riv er v alley to prov ide a tri-state area with drinking water and electricity and to increase agricultural production was named the Sardar Sarovar. Patel is also the namesake of the Sardar Vallabhbhai National Institute of Technology in Surat, Sardar Patel Univ ersity , Sardar Patel High School, and the Sardar Patel Vidy alay a, which are among the nation's premier institutions. India's national police training academy is also named after him. [1 3 0 ] The international airport of Ahmedabad is named after him. Also the international cricket stadium of Ahmedabad (also known as the Motera Stadium) is named after him. A national cricket stadium in Nav rangpura, Ahmedabad, used for national matches and ev ents, is also named after him. The chief outer ring road encircling Ahmedabad is named S P Ring Road. The Gujarat gov ernment's institution for training gov ernment functionaries is named Sardar Patel Institute of Public istration.

Rashtriya Ekta Diwas Rashtriy a Ekta Diwas (National Unity Day ) was introduced by the Gov ernment of India and inaugurated by Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi in 2014. The intent is to pay tribute to Patel, who was instrumental in keeping India united. It is to be celebrated on 31 October ev ery y ear as annual commemoration of the birthday of the Iron Man of India Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel, one of the founding leaders of Republic of India. The official statement for Rashtriy a Ekta Diwas by the Home Ministry of India cites that the National Unity Day "will prov ide an opportunity to re-affirm the inherent strength and resilience of our nation to withstand the actual and potential threats to the unity , integrity and security of our country ."[1 3 1 ] National Unity Day celebrates the birthday of Patel because, during his term as Home Minister of India, he is credited for the integration of ov er 550 independent princely states into India from 1947 –49 by Independence Act (1947 ). He is known as the "Bismarck[a ] of India". [1 3 2 ][1 3 3 ] The celebration is complemented with the speech of Prime Minister of India followed by the "Run for Unity ". [8 ] The theme for 2016 celebrations was "Integration of India". [1 3 4 ]

Statue of Unity The Statue of Unity is a monument dedicated to Patel, located in the Indian state of Gujarat, facing the Narmada Dam, 3.2 km away from Sadhu Bet near Vadodara. At the height of 182 metres (597 feet), it is the world's tallest statue, exceeding the Spring Temple Buddha by 54 meters. [1 3 5 ] This statue and related structures are spread ov er 20000 square meters and are surrounded by an artificial lake spread across 12 km and cost an estimated 29.8 billion rupees ($425m). [1 3 5 ] It was inaugurated by India's Prime Minister Narendra Modi on 31 October 2018, the 143rd anniv ersary of Patel's birth.

Other institutions and monuments

Sardar Vallabhai Patel Statue of Unity in Gujarat, India

Patel statue at Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel Chowk, Katra Gulab Singh, Pratapgarh[b] Sardar Patel Memorial Trust Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel National Memorial, Ahmedabad Sardar Sarovar Dam, Gujarat Sardar Vallabhbhai National Institute of Technology, Surat Sardar Patel University, Gujarat Sardar Patel University of Police, Security and Criminal Justice, Jodhpur Sardar Patel Institute of Technology, Vasad Sardar Patel Vidyalaya, New Delhi Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel National Police Academy, Hyderabad Sardar Patel College of Engineering, Mumbai Sardar Patel Institute of Technology, Mumbai Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel Chowk in Katra Gulab Singh, Pratapgarh, Uttar Pradesh Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel Institute of Technology, Vasad Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel International Airport, Ahmedabad Sardar Patel Stadium Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel Stadium, Ahmedabad Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel University of Agriculture and Technology Vallabhbhai Patel Chest Institute Statue of Unity[136]

In popular media 1947: Patel was featured on the cover of Time magazine.[137] 1976: Kantilal Rathod directed a documentary on Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel. 1982: In Richard Attenborough's Gandhi (1982), actor Saeed Jaffrey portrayed Patel. 1989: In a satirical novel The Great Indian Novel by Shashi Tharoor, the character of Vidur Hastinapuri is simultaneously based on Patel as well as the mythological character Vidura.

1993: The biopic Sardar was produced and directed by Ketan Mehta and featured noted Indian actor Paresh Rawal as Patel; it focused on Patel's leadership in the years leading up to independence, the partition of India, India's political integration and Patel's relationship with Gandhi and Nehru. The film was screened retrospectively on 12 August 2016 at the Independence Day Film Festival tly presented by the Indian Directorate of Film Festivals and Ministry of Defense, commemorating the 70th Indian Independence Day.[138] 2000: Arun Sadekar plays Patel in Hey Ram – a film made by Kamal Haasan.

See also List of civil rights leaders

Notes a. Otto von Bismarck was known for the 1871 unification of . b. Statue of Sardar Vallabhai Patel is about 182 meters and located dancing the Narmada Dam, 3.2 km away on the river island called Bet near Vadodara in Gujarat.

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Sources Bhatt, M. C. (1991), "5" (https://books.google.com/?id=PseEhWIQ5aUC), in Kumar, Ravinder (ed.), Life and Work of Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel, Atlantic Publishers & Distributors Gandhi, Rajmohan (1990), Patel: A Life, Ahmedabad: Navajivan, OCLC 25788696 (https://www.worldcat.org/ocl c/25788696) Guha, Ramachandra (2007), India After Gandhi, MacMillan Krishna, Balraj (2007), India's Bismarck , Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel (https://books.google.com/books?id=sLr7z6 gNcV0C), Indus Source, ISBN 978-8188569144 Desai, Mahadev (1933), Vir Vallabhbhai Panjabi, K. L. (1969), The Indomitable Sardar (3rd ed.), Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan, OCLC 1207231 (https://www.w orldcat.org/oclc/1207231) Parikh, Narhari (1953), Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel, Navajivan Pub. House, OCLC 7071692 (https://www.worldcat.o rg/oclc/7071692), OCLC 65653329 (https://www.worldcat.org/oclc/65653329) online vol 1 (https://archive.org/det ails/in.ernet.dli.2015.524757/page/n3) Nandurkar, G.M. (1981), Sardar's letters, mostly unk nown, Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel Smarak Bhavan, OCLC 10423422 (https://www.worldcat.org/oclc/10423422), OCLC 4639031 (https://www.worldcat.org/oclc/4639 031) Patel, Raojibhai (1972), Hind Ke Sardar, Navajivan Pub. House

Pattabhi, Sitaramayya (1946), Feathers & Stones "my study windows", Pa Publications, OCLC 37520214 (h ttps://www.worldcat.org/oclc/37520214) Menon, V.P. (1985), Integration of Indian States, Sangam Books Ltd, ISBN 978-0861314652 Menon, V.P. (1961), The story of the integration of the Indian States (https://archive.org/details/9999999082395 3TheStoryOfTheIntegrationOfTheIndianStates/page/n7), Orient Longmans, OCLC 260719 (https://www.worldcat. org/oclc/260719) Menon, V.P. (1997) [1957], The Transfer of Power in India (https://archive.org/details/99999990823953TheStory OfTheIntegrationOfTheIndianStates/page/n7), Orient Longman, ISBN 978-8125008842 Nayar, Pyarelal (1958), Mahatma Gandhi: the last phase, Navajivan Pub. House, OCLC 1652068 (https://www.w orldcat.org/oclc/1652068) Hodson, H.V. (1997), Great Divide; Britain, India, Pak istan (New ed.), Oxford University Press, US, ISBN 9780195778212 Campbell-Johnson, A. (1953) [1951], Mission With Mountbatten, Dutton, OCLC 1302764 (https://www.worldcat.o rg/oclc/1302764) Munshi, K.M. (1967), Pilgrimage to freedom, 1902–1950, (Indian constitutional documents) (1st ed.), Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan, OCLC 5433579 (https://www.worldcat.org/oclc/5433579) Shankar, Vidya (1974–75), My Reminiscences of Sardar Patel (2 volumes) (1st ed.), New Delhi: Macmillan, OCLC 2119134 (https://www.worldcat.org/oclc/2119134) Patel, Vallabhbhai (1971), Das, Durga (ed.), Sardar Patel's correspondence: 1945–50 (http://trove.nla.gov.au/wor k/21784157) (1st ed.), Navajivan Pub. House, retrieved 2 September 2013

Further reading Krishna, Balraj. India's Bismarck , Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel (Indus Source, 2007). Kumar, Ravindra. Life and Work of Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel (Atlantic Publishers & Distributors, 1991). Patel, I. J., Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel (1985) online (https://archive.org/details/sardarvallabhbha00pate) Spodek, Howard. "Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel at 100." Economic and Political Week ly (1975): 1925-1936. online (https://www.jstor.org/stable/40740155)

Primary sources Patel, Vallabhbhai, and Pran Nath Chopra. The Collected Work s of Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel (2 vol Konark Publishers, 1991). Life and work of Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel (https://archive.org/stream/lifework ofsardar00sagguoft#page/n5/mod e/2up), ed . Parshottam Das Saggi, Foreword by C. Rajagopalachari. Overseas Publishing House, Bombay.

External links Sardar Patel (http://pib.nic.in/feature/feyr98/fe1098/f1510981.html) National Informatics Centre Operation Polo (https://web.archive.org/web/20051127054521/http://www.bharat-rakshak.com/MONITOR/ISSUE 2-3/lns.html) Bharat Rakshak.com Sardar Patel (https://web.archive.org/web/20060507173131/http://sarvadharma.org/Museum/heroes/sardarpatel. htm) at the Wayback Machine (archived 7 May 2006) Sarvadharma.org Sardar Patel – Builder of a steel strong India (http://pib.nic.in/feature/feyr98/fe1098/f1510981.html) Press Information Bureau, Government of India

Party political offices Preceded by Jawaharlal Nehru

President of the Indian National Congress 1931

Succeeded by Madan Mohan Malaviya

Political offices

New office

Deputy Prime Minister of India 1947–1950

Succeeded by Morarji Desai

Minister of Home Affairs 1947–1950

Succeeded by Chakravarti Rajagopalachari

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