Vallabhbhai Jhaverbhai Patel was India's first deputy Prime Minister and was called the 'Iron man of India' for his contribution to India's freedom struggle.
It is believed that if Mahatma Gandhi did not interfere in the internal politics of the Congress, Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel would have been the first Prime Minister of independent India. Today is Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel's 145th birth anniversary.
Early Years
He was an Indian barrister and did a degree in law from the same college as Mahatma Gandhi, Jinnah and Nehru did. In those days Vallabhbhai Patel used to be one of the most expensive lawyers of Gujarat.
He opposed the thoughts of Gandhi until the Champaran incident happened and made Sardar Patel a staunch supporter of Mahatma Gandhi. At this point, he left his law practice and joined Mahatma Gandhi.
When Sardar Patel became the Iron Man of India
Sardar Patel became a popular name after the Bardoli Satyagraha when the British Government increased the rent of farmers by 30 per cent. Sardar Patel led the movement and the British had to bow down.
After this movement, the women of Gujarat gave Patel the title of 'Sardar'. At the Karachi session of the Congress in 1931, Patel was elected the president of the party for the first and last time.
He is known for guiding India's integration into a united country that we see today. He was a senior leader of the Indian National Congress. He acted as Home Minister during the political integration of India and the Indo-Pakistani War of 1947.
Patel persuaded almost every princely state to accede to India and helped Hyderabad to become a part of India. He is also remembered as the "patron saint of India's civil servants" for having established the modern all-India services system. He is also called the "Unifier of India" as he persuaded 565 princely states to accede to independent India. The Statue of Unity, the world's tallest statue, was dedicated to him on 31 October 2018.
On Sardar Patel's birth anniversary, Prime Minister Narendra Modi attended the 'Rashtriya Ekta Diwas' parade in Kevadia.
