Sardar vallabhbhai patel: life and achievements of India’s Iron man

Iron man Sardar Patel was born on 31 October 1875 in Nadiad, Gujarat. The biggest achievement of his life was the merger of 565 princely states into the Indian Union. Sardar vallabhbhai patel is remembered as the iron man of Indian unity. Vallabhbhai Patel earned the reputation of a skilled administrator and skilled strategist as the first Deputy Prime Minister and Home Minister of independent India. He passed the matriculation examination at the age of 22. His desire was to study law in England. He first got a law degree in India and started practicing law in Godhra. To fulfill his resolve, he went to London in 1911 at the age of 36 and took admission in the Middle Temple Inn for legal education.

Public related work

After returning from England, he started living in Ahmedabad. Since 1917, he had started taking interest in public work related to the interests of lawyers and farmers, but his entry into the freedom movement was inspired by Gandhiji when he took over the leadership of Kheda’s peasant movement. Patel along with other Congress leaders prepared the farmers of Kheda for non-payment of taxes and eventually many of their demands were accepted.

After the success of this movement, he came closer to Gandhiji and became active in Congress. In 1920, he was made the President of the newly formed Gujarat Pradesh Congress Committee. Between 1922 and 1927, he was elected three times as the President of the Ahmedabad Municipality. His experience in organizing the villagers in Kheda came in handy in the Bardoli Satyagraha in 1928. Patel continuously for four months mobilized the farmers for non-payment of taxes and also collected money from the public for the movement. In August 1928, the government agreed to negotiate. Patel convinced the British rulers on several measures for the welfare of the farmers. He got the title of Sardar during this Satyagraha.

Patel as a Congress leader

By 1934, Patel had risen to the ranks of the Congress leadership and emerged as a major fundraiser for party activities. By the time of the Quit India Movement in 1942, Sardar Patel had joined the ranks of top Congress leaders along with Nehru, Azad and Rajagopalachari. On 7 August 1942, the Congress accepted a resolution to launch the Civil Disobedience Movement. Patel also addressed a huge public meeting of over one lakh people held at the historic Gowalia Chowk in Mumbai on August. On August 9, he was arrested along with other senior Congress leaders. He remained imprisoned in the Ahmednagar fort till 1945. He was released on 15 June 1945.

Integration of India

At the time of independence, along with the horrors of partition, the country also inherited another serious problem. This was the inclusion of princely states in the Indian Union. Being the Home Minister, this tough challenge also fell on the shoulders of Patel. Along with V.P. Menon he started the campaign of integration of the princely states. As a result persuasion with the rulers of the princely states, except Jammu and Kashmir, Junagarh and Hyderabad, all the princely states agreed to join India by 15 August 1947.

Sardar vallabhbhai patel, Bismarck of India

Sardar vallabhbhai patel was compared to Bismarck. the leader who did similar work in Germany, for accomplishing the difficult and challenging task of integration of the princely states. The credit for starting the system of All India Services also goes to Sardar Patel. In 1950, Sardar Patel’s health started deteriorating. He reduced his attendance at meetings. On December 15, he suffered a heart attack and left this world forever.

Sardar Patel’s whole life was devoted to public welfare and country service. This is the reason why many institutions are running in his name across the country and his statues have been installed at many places. Patel was the mastermind and iron man of the country’s unity.

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