The Vice President of India, Shri M.
Venkaiah Naidu has said that the invaluable contribution of Sardar Patel in
building a modern and unified India needs to be remembered by every Indian as
the country marches ahead as one of the largest economies in the world. He was
addressing the two-day National Conference on ‘Making of a Gandhian
Nationalist-A Study of the Life and Times of Sardar Patel’, here today. The
Minister of State for Culture (I/C) and Environment, Forest & Climate
Change, Dr. Mahesh Sharma and other dignitaries were present on the occasion.
The Vice President said that Sardar
Patel was a selfless leader, who placed the country’s interests above
everything else and shaped India’s destiny with single-minded devotion. He
further said that in a truly masterful display of
statesmanship, Sardar Patel ensured a smooth integration of the
troubled domains by not allowing the situation to deteriorate into civil
unrest. There was neither bloodshed nor any kind of rebellion as he went about
the task of building a strong India with a missionary zeal, he added.
The Vice President said that acknowledging
the monumental contribution of Patel in nation building, Pandit Jawaharlal
Nehru had said, ‘History will call him the builder and consolidator of new
India’. He further quoted Mahatma Gandhi as saying, 'Many were prepared to
follow me, but I could not make up my mind as to who should be my
deputy commander. Then I thought of Vallabhbhai'. Sardar Patel
was not only an organizer par excellence but also turned out to be a people’s
leader, he added.
Following is the text of Vice
President’s address:
“I am extremely pleased to address this
National Conference on ‘Making of Gandhian Nationalist: Life & Times of
Sardar Patel”.
Sardar Patel, the architect and unifier
of modern India, was not only a close associate of Mahatma Gandhi but also his
ardent follower. Patel was a selfless leader, who placed the country’s
interests above everything else and shaped India’s destiny with single-minded
devotion.
He fashioned the country’s political
integration with the swiftness of a military commander and deftness of a
visionary leader.
Displaying the vision of a statesman,
tact, diplomacy and pragmatic approach, he prevented the balkanization of the
country and ensured the merger of more than 560 princely States with the Union
of India at a critical and most turbulent period in the history of the country.
What makes this stupendous integration most remarkable is that it was achieved
without any bloodshed.
It indeed was a herculean task to bring
the rulers of different princely States on board. Adopting different approaches
as warranted by the situation, he gave friendly advice in some
cases, persuaded the rulers to see reason in others and even used force as
in the case of Hyderabad. What is most remarkable is the fact
that Sardar Patel achieved a unified India when the rulers of the
princely States were given the option of joining either India or Pakistan or
remaining independent.
After securing the accession
of Junagarh, he ensured the liberation and integration of Hyderabad State
with rest of India in a deft and swift action codenamed ‘Operation Polo’. The
police action ended in just four days on September 18, 1948. Every year,
September 17 is being celebrated as ‘Hyderabad Liberation Day’ in Telangana and
parts Maharashtra and Karnataka.
In a truly masterful display of
statesmanship, Sardar Patel ensured a smooth integration of the
troubled domains by not allowing the situation to deteriorate into civil
unrest. There was neither bloodshed nor any kind of rebellion as he went about
the task of building a strong India with a missionary zeal.
Undoubtedly, there is no parallel in
modern history to what was achieved by him. Acknowledging the monumental
contribution of Patel in nation building, Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru had
this to say: ‘History will call him the builder and consolidator of new India’.
After he came under the influence of
Mahatma Gandhi, he became his lieutenant and was chosen to lead Kheda
satyagraha. He switched over to Indian attire and later embraced khadi. His
biggest asset was his down-to-earth disposition.
'Many were prepared to follow me, but I
could not make up my mind as to who should be my deputy commander. Then I
thought of Vallabhbhai' said Gandhiji. Sardar Patel was not only
an organizer par excellence but also turned out to be a people’s leader. He
earned the title of ‘Sardar’ after he spearheaded peasant’s no-tax campaign
at Bardoli in Gujarat.
He also led the relief and
rehabilitation operations from the front when Gujarat was ravaged by floods and
worked tirelessly during plague outbreak in Ahmedabad.
While he became immensely popular and
had earned the title of Sardar after Bardoli campaign, Patel played a major
role Salt Satyagraha and was imprisoned with other leaders. During Quit India
Movement also, he went around the country giving stirring speeches and was
again jailed.
Although, Sardar Patel differed with
Gandhiji on certain issues, he always remained loyal to him. Following
Gandhiji’s assassination, he said: “I claim to be nothing more than an obedient
soldier of him like the millions who obeyed his call. There was a time when
everyone used to call me his blind follower. But, both he and I knew that I
followed him because our convictions tallied”.
His vision for a unified India also saw
the creation of All India Administrative Services which he described as the
‘Steel Frame’. His exhortation to the probationers to maintain utmost
impartiality and incorruptibility of administration is as relevant today as it
was then.
“We have to shed mutual bickering, shed
the difference of being high or low, develop a sense of equality and banish
untouchability. We have to restore the conditions of Swaraj prevalent prior to
British rule. We have to live like children of the same father, these words of
Sardar Patel during the Quit India Movement continue to inspire us.
Following his death, ‘The Manchester
Guardian’ wrote: “Patel was
not only the organiser of the fight for freedom but also the architect of the
new State when the fight was over. The same man is seldom successful as a rebel
and a statesman. Sardar Patel was the exception”.
It is unfortunate that there has been no
proper recognition of the monumental contribution made by Sardar Patel and his
legacy in unifying the country at its most critical juncture in the history.
Finally, I would like to conclude by
stressing that the invaluable contribution of Sardar Patel in
building a modern and unified India needs to be remembered by every Indian as
the country marches ahead as one of the largest economies in the world.
Thank you. Jai Hind!
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KSD/BK