Dear Friends,
Today we pay our heartfelt tributes to Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel on his 137th birth anniversary.It is a matter of immense honour and pride for us that Sardar Patel is a great son of Gujarat. There is surely no need to write about his more than well-known contribution towards India’s freedom struggle, but I would like to say that Sardar Patel was a true Satyagrahi who was blessed with a wonderful ability to mobilise the people. His popularity among the farmers and the downtrodden remains undisputed. Coming from a humble background, he rose to colossal heights but never forgot his roots.
His scruples and strict adherence to probity and integrity remained with him throughout his public life. He gave up his lucrative practice as a barrister as well as all material comforts to join the freedom struggle. Even when he became the country’s first Home Minister and Deputy Prime Minister his tryst with simplicity continued.
When India was on the threshold of winning freedom, there were over 500 princely states. These states were of varying sizes and each ruler had to be engaged with in a very different manner. At that crucial juncture, the enormous task of integrating these princely states fell on the shoulders of Sardar Patel. He embarked on this mission with his characteristic determination and ensured that one by one the princely states join India. The integration of Junagadh in Saurashtra is just one example of his vision to create a united India for which we will be forever grateful to him.
We should remember that it was Sardar Patel’s swiftness that ensured that Kashmir was not taken away by Pakistan just a couple of months after Independence. This was the only province with which he was not given a free hand. I am certain that had Sardar Patel got that free hand in dealing with Kashmir’s accession to India things would have been very different today. It is not only about Kashmir – I say this very often that had this nation adopted Sardar Patel’s
Disha the situation in the country would have been very different today.
Like all great men of his time, Sardar Patel has been the subject of immense discussion. But it is indeed beyond our ability to measure and appraise Sardar Patel’s contributions in making the dream of India into a reality. Many people have given him various titles. Some call him India’s Bismarck others say he is a modern day Chanakya. Sarojini Naidu described him as a “golden jewel hidden inside an iron made strong match box”. Some thinkers have compared him to a gentle flower that blooms in Bajrakund. Others have described him as Janak of Vaidehi.
As a student of political science and someone who is passionate about the history of Gujarat and our nation, in my limited understanding I see Sardar Patel as someone who demonstrated in action the principles laid down by Mahatma Gandhi. From his participation in Bardoli Satyagraha of 1924 to the mass movement Satyagraha in Kheda, Sardar Patel assembled the building blocks of the freedom movement that Mahatma Gandhi had envisioned.
As I said, to compare Sardar Patel with any other person would be grossly unfair to Sardar Patel. At this point I remember the words of noted Gujarati poet and thinker Gunvant Shah who said, “Sardar and only Sardar, nothing else!”
Sardar Patel remains immortalised in our hearts and minds and a very simple indication of that comes when, on many occasions even today, you hear: “If only Sardar Sahib was alive!” Go to any part of the country and you will hear this said. People continue to place immense trust and respect in Sardar Patel’s ability to steer India out of any crisis.
Ironically, Sardar Saheb has not got his due from the same party to which he devoted his entire life and remained a disciplined soldier of till his last breath. What could be more unfortunate than the fact that Sardar Patel was honored with the Bharat Ratna as late as in 1991, a full 41 years after his demise?
We in Gujarat have always tried to walk on the path shown by Sardar Patel in the last decade and have sought to preserve his ideals for our future generations. In this quest we are building Sardar Patel’s ‘Statue of Unity’ as a tribute to this great man! At a height of 182 metres, this statue will be built on Narmada and is envisioned as a pilgrimage centre encapsulating the unity and integrity of India along with its rich culture and heritage. It will also have a high tech museum covering 90 years of India’s freedom struggle from 1857 till 1947. I am sharing a video on this initiative. Hope you will have a look at it.
On this special day, I bow to this architect of modern India and great son of Gujarat who has inspired me immensely. I am certain he will continue to inspire the people of our nation in the years to come!
Jai Hind!
Yours,
Narendra Modi
