Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel

 

            Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel

Early life and background-

Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel, commonly known as the Iron Man of India, was an Indian independence nationalist and barrister who served as the first Deputy Prime Minister and Home Minister of India from 1947 to 1950. He was a senior leader of the Indian National Congress, who played a significant role in the country's struggle for independence and its political integration.

Patel was born in Nadiad, Gujarat, in 1875. He was a successful lawyer, and he became one of Mahatma Gandhi's earliest political lieutenants. He organized peasants from Kheda, Borsad, and Bardoli in Gujarat in non-violent civil disobedience against the British Raj, becoming one of the most influential leaders in Gujarat.

Fight for independence-

In 1928, Patel was elected President of the Indian National Congress. He played a key role in the Salt March of 1930, and he was imprisoned for his role in the Quit India Movement of 1942.

After India's independence in 1947, Patel was appointed Home Minister. He was responsible for integrating the 565 princely states into the Indian Union. He used a combination of persuasion, pressure, and force to achieve this goal, and he is credited with playing a major role in the creation of a united India.

Patel died in 1950 at the age of 75. He is considered one of the greatest leaders in Indian history, and he is remembered for his commitment to national integration and his strong will.

Contributions to India

Patel's contributions to India are numerous and significant. He played a key role in the country's struggle for independence, and he was instrumental in its political integration.

·         Sardar Patel was a key leader in the Indian National Congress. He helped to organize and lead the party during the independence movement, and he was a close associate of Mahatma Gandhi.

·         Patel was a strong advocate of non-violent civil disobedience. He led many successful campaigns of civil disobedience against the British Raj, including the Salt March of 1930.

·         Patel was a key figure in the Quit India Movement of 1942. He was imprisoned for his role in the movement, but he continued to lead the fight for independence from prison.

·         After India's independence, Patel was appointed Home Minister. He was responsible for integrating the 565 princely states into the Indian Union, and he used a combination of persuasion, pressure, and force to achieve this goal.

Legacy

Patel is considered one of the greatest leaders in Indian history. He is remembered for his commitment to national integration and his strong will.

Patel is often called the "Iron Man of India" for his determination and strength. He was a tireless worker who was always willing to fight for what he believed in. He was also a skilled diplomat who was able to negotiate with the British and the princely states to achieve his goals.

Patel's legacy is still felt today in India. He is a symbol of national unity and strength, and he is an inspiration to Indians all over the world.

 Political philosophy

Patel, however, was no revolutionary. In the crucial debate over the objectives of the Indian National Congress during the years 1928 to 1931, Patel believed (like Gandhi and Motilal Nehru, but unlike Jawaharlal Nehru and Subhas Chandra Bose) that the goal of the Indian National Congress should be dominion status within the British Commonwealth—not independence. In contrast to Jawaharlal Nehru, who condoned violence in the struggle for independence, Patel ruled out armed revolution, not on moral but practical grounds. Patel held that it would be abortive and would entail severe repression. Patel, like Gandhi, saw advantages in the future participation of a free India in a British Commonwealth, provided that India was admitted as an equal member. He emphasized the need to foster Indian self-reliance and self-confidence, but, unlike Gandhi, he did not regard Hindu-Muslim unity as a prerequisite for independence.

Patel disagreed with Jawaharlal Nehru on the need for economic and social changes by coercion. A conservative rooted in traditional Hindu values, Patel belittled the usefulness of adapting socialist ideas to the Indian social and economic structure. He believed in free enterprise, thus gaining the trust of conservative elements, and thereby collected the funds that sustained the activities of the Indian National Congress.

Patel was the second candidate after Gandhi to the presidency of the 1929 Lahore session of the Indian National Congress. Gandhi shunned the presidency in an attempt to prevent the adoption of the resolution of independence and exerted pressure on Patel to withdraw, mainly owing to Patel’s uncompromising attitude toward the Muslims; Jawaharlal Nehru was elected. During the 1930 Salt Satyagraha (prayer and fasting movement), Patel served three months of imprisonment. In March 1931 Patel presided over the Karachi session of the Indian National Congress. He was imprisoned in January 1932. Released in July 1934, he marshalled the organization of the Congress Party in the 1937 elections and was the main contender for the 1937–38 Congress presidency. Again, because of Gandhi’s pressure, Patel withdrew and Jawaharlal Nehru was elected. Along with other Congress leaders, Patel was imprisoned in October 1940, released in August 1941, and imprisoned once more from August 1942 until June 1945.

During the war, Patel rejected as impractical Gandhi’s nonviolence in the face of the then-expected Japanese invasion of India. On the transfer of power, Patel differed with Gandhi in realizing that the partition of the subcontinent into Hindu India and Muslim Pakistan was inevitable, and he asserted that it was in India’s interests to part with Pakistan.

Patel was the leading candidate for the 1945–46 presidency of the Indian National Congress, but Gandhi once again intervened in the election of Nehru. As president of the Congress, Nehru was invited by the British viceroy to form an interim government. Thus, in the normal course of events, Patel would have been the first prime minister of India. During the first three years of independence, Patel was deputy prime minister, minister of home affairs, minister of information, and minister of states; above all, his enduring fame rests on his achievement of the peaceful integration of the princely Indian states into the Indian Union and the political unification of India.