Vallabhbhai Patel,popularly known as Sardar Patel, was an Indian politician. He served as the first Deputy Prime Minister of India.
He was an Indian barrister and statesman, a senior leader of the Indian National Congress and a founding father of the Republic of India who played a leading role in the country’s struggle for independence and guided its integration into a united, independent nation. In India and elsewhere, he was often called Sardar, meaning “chief” in Hindi, Urdu, and Persian.
He acted as de facto Commander-in-chief of the Indian army during the political integration of India and the Indo-Pakistani War of 1947.
Patel’s date of birth was never officially recorded; Patel entered it as 31 October on his matriculation examination papers.
Patel was raised in the countryside of Gujarat. He was a successful lawyer. He subsequently organised 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.
He was appointed as the 49th President of Indian National Congress, organising the party for elections in 1934 and 1937 while promoting the Quit India Movement.
Patel’s position at the highest level in the Congress was largely connected with his role from 1934 onwards (when the Congress abandoned its boycott of elections) in the party organisation. Based at an apartment in Mumbai, he became the Congress’s main fundraiser and chairman of its Central Parliamentary Board, playing the leading role in selecting and financing candidates for the 1934 elections to the Central Legislative Assembly in New Delhi and for the provincial elections of 1936.
Today he is remembered as the man who united India. He is, in this regard, compared to Otto von Bismarck of Germany, who did the same thing in the 1860s. Under the plan of 3 June, more than 562 princely states were given the option of joining either India or Pakistan, or choosing independence.
Rashtriya Ekta Diwas (National Unity Day) was introduced by the Government of in 2014. The intent is to pay tribute to Patel.
