Vallabhbhai Patel
Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel
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In
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15 August 1947 – 15 December 1950 |
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Prime Minister
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Preceded by
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Position established
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Succeeded by
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In
office
15 August 1947 – 15 December 1950 |
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Prime Minister
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Preceded by
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Position established
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Succeeded by
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Personal
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Born
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Died
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Nationality
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Indian
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Political party
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Children
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Profession
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Lawyer
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Religion
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Sardar Vallabhbhai Jhaverbhai
Patel ((Hindi: सरदार वल्लभ भाई पटेल (Hindi pronunciation: [ʋəlləbˈbʱaːi
pəˈʈeːl] ) (31 October 1875 – 15 December 1950) was an Indian barrister
and statesman, one of the leaders of the Indian
National Congress and one of the founding fathers of
the Republic of India. He is known to be a social leader of India who played an
unparalleled role in the country's struggle
for independence and guided its integration
into a united, independent nation. In India and elsewhere, he was often
addressed as Sardar, which means Chief in Hindi, Urdu, and Persian.
He was raised in the countryside of Gujarat
in a Gurjar
family of Leva- Patidar
Vallabhbhai Patel was employed in successful practice as a lawyer when he
was first inspired by the work and philosophy of Mahatma Gandhi. Patel subsequently organised the peasants of Kheda, Borsad, and Bardoli
in Gujarat in non-violent civil disobedience against oppressive policies imposed by the British Raj; in this role, he became one of the most influential
leaders in Gujarat. He rose to the leadership of the Indian
National Congress and was at the forefront of
rebellions and political events, organising the party for elections in 1934 and
1937, and promoting the Quit India movement.
As the first Home Minister
and Deputy Prime Minister of India, Patel organised relief for refugees in Punjab
and Delhi,
and led efforts to restore peace across the nation. Patel took charge of the
task to forge a united India from the British colonial provinces allocated to India and more than five hundred self-governing
princely states, released from British suzerainty by the Indian
Independence Act 1947. Using frank diplomacy, backed with
the option and use of military force, Patel's leadership persuaded almost every
princely state which did not have a Muslim majority to accede to India. Often known as the "Iron Man of India"
or "Bismarck of India", he is also remembered as the "Patron
Saint" of India's civil servants for establishing modern
all-India services.
Biography
Patel was born to a Gujarati
family from the Leva Patel community. Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel was a native of
Karamsad. His actual date of birth was never officially recorded—Patel entered
31 October as his date of birth on his matriculation examination papers. They lived in the village of Karamsad,
Bombay Presidency, where Jhaverbhai owned a homestead. Somabhai, Narsibhai and Vithalbhai Patel (also a future political leader) were his elder brothers.
He had a younger brother, Kashibhai and a sister, Dahiba. As a young boy, Patel
helped his father in the fields and twice a month kept a day-long fast,
abstaining from food and water—a Hindu cultural
observance that helped him to develop physical toughness. His father was a devotee of the Swaminarayan
Sampraday, and would often take Patel to the Swaminarayan Temple in Vadtal about 20 km from Karamsad on foot. When he was eighteen years old, Patel's marriage was
arranged with Jhaverba, a young girl of twelve or thirteen years from a nearby
village. According to custom, the young bride would continue to live with her
parents until her husband started earning and could establish their household.
Patel traveled to attend schools in
Nadiad, Petlad and Borsad, living self-sufficiently with other boys. He
reputedly cultivated a stoic character—a popular anecdote recounts how he lanced his own
painful boil
without hesitation, even as the barber supposed to do it trembled. Patel passed his matriculation at the late age of 22; at this point, he was generally
regarded by his elders as an unambitious man destined for a commonplace job. Patel himself harboured a plan—he
would study to become a lawyer, work and save funds, travel to England and study to become
a barrister. Patel spent years away from his family, studying on his own
with books borrowed from other lawyers and passed examinations within two
years. Fetching Jhaverba from her parents' home, Patel set up his household in Godhra and was called to the bar. During the many years it took him to save money,
Patel — now an advocate — earned a reputation as a fierce and skilled lawyer.
His wife bore him a daughter, Manibehn,
in 1904, and a son, Dahyabhai,
in 1906. Patel also cared for a friend suffering from Bubonic plague when it swept across Gujarat. When Patel himself came down
with the disease, he immediately sent his family to safety, left his home and
moved into an isolated house in Nadiad (by other accounts, Patel spent this
time in a dilapidated temple); there, he recovered slowly.
Patel practised law in Godhra,
Borsad and Anand while taking on the financial burdens of his homestead in
Karamsad.Patel was also the first chairman and founder of the E.M.H.S.
"Edward Memorial High School" Borsad which is at presently known as
Jhaverbhai Dajibhai Patel High School. When he had saved enough for England and
applied for a pass and a ticket, they arrived in the name of "V. J.
Patel," at Vithalbhai's home, who bore the same initials. Having harboured
his own plans to study in England, Vithalbhai remonstrated to his younger
brother that it would be disreputable for an older brother to follow his
younger brother. In keeping with concerns for his family's honour, Patel allowed
Vithalbhai to go in his place. He also financed his brother's stay and began saving again
for his own goals.
In 1909, Patel's wife Jhaverba was
hospitalised in Bombay (now Mumbai) to undergo a major surgical operation for cancer. Her
health suddenly worsened and despite successful emergency surgery, she died in
the hospital. Patel was given a note informing him of his wife's demise as he
was cross-examining a witness in court. According to others who witnessed,
Patel read the note, pocketed it and continued to intensely cross-examine the
witness and won the case. He broke the news to others only after the proceedings
had ended. Patel himself decided against marrying again. He raised his
children with the help of his family and sent them to English-medium schools in
Mumbai. At the age of 36, he journeyed to England and enrolled at the Middle Temple Inn in London. Finishing a 36-month course in 30 months,
Patel topped his class despite having no previous college background. Returning
to India, Patel settled in the city of Ahmedabad
and became one of the city's most successful barristers. Wearing European-style
clothes and urbane mannerisms, he also became a skilled bridge
player. Patel nurtured ambitions to expand his practise and accumulate great
wealth and to provide his children with modern education. He had also made a
pact with his brother Vithalbhai to support his entry into politics in the Bombay Presidency, while Patel himself would remain in Ahmedabad and provide
for the family. He was a vegetarian.
Fighting
for independence
At the urging of his friends, Patel
won an election to become the sanitation commissioner of Ahmedabad in 1917.
While often clashing with British officials on civic issues, he did not show
any interest in politics. Upon hearing of Mohandas Gandhi, he joked to Mavlankar that Gandhi would "ask you if you know how to sift
pebbles from wheat. And that is supposed to bring independence." But Patel was deeply impressed when Gandhi defied the
British in Champaran for the
sake of the area's oppressed farmers. Against the grain of Indian politicians
of the time, Gandhi wore Indian-style clothes and emphasised the use of one's
mother tongue or any Indian language as opposed to English—the lingua franca of
India's intellectuals. Patel was particularly attracted to Gandhi's inclination
to action—apart from a resolution condemning the arrest of political leader Annie Besant, Gandhi proposed that volunteers march peacefully demanding
to meet her.
Patel gave a speech in Borsad in
September 1917, encouraging Indians nationwide to sign Gandhi's petition
demanding Swaraj—independence—from the British. Meeting Gandhi a month later
at the Gujarat Political Conference in Godhra, Patel
became the secretary of the Gujarat Sabha—a public body which would become the Gujarati arm of the Indian
National Congress—at Gandhi's encouragement. Patel
now energetically fought against veth—the
forced servitude of Indians to Europeans—and organised relief efforts in wake
of plague and famine in Kheda. The Kheda peasants' plea for exemption from taxation had
been turned down by British authorities. Gandhi endorsed waging a struggle
there, but could not lead it himself due to his activities in Champaran.
When Gandhi asked for a Gujarati activist to devote himself completely to the
assignment, Patel volunteered, much to Gandhi's personal delight. Though his decision was made on the spot, Patel later said
that his desire and commitment came after intensive personal contemplation, as
he realised he would have to abandon his career and material ambitions.
Satyagraha
in Gujarat
Supported by Congress volunteers Narhari Parikh, Mohanlal Pandya and Abbas Tyabji, Vallabhbhai Patel began a village-to-village tour in the
Kheda district, documenting grievances and asking villagers for their support
for a statewide revolt by refusing the payment of taxes. Patel emphasised potential hardships with the need for
complete unity and non-violence despite any provocation. He received
enthusiastic responses from virtually every village. When the revolt was launched and revenue refused, the
government sent police and intimidation squads to seize property, including
confiscating barn animals and whole farms. Patel organised a network of
volunteers to work with individual villages—helping them hide valuables and
protect themselves during raids. Thousands of activists and farmers were
arrested, but Patel was not. The revolt began evoking sympathy and admiration
across India, including with pro-British Indian politicians. The government
agreed to negotiate with Patel and decided to suspend the payment of revenue
for the year, even scaling back the rate. Patel emerged as a hero to Gujaratis
and admired across India. In 1920, he was elected president of the newly formed Gujarat Pradesh Congress Committee—he would serve as its president till 1945.
Patel supported Gandhi's Non-cooperation
movement and toured the state to recruit
more than 300,000 members and raise over Rs. 15 lakh in funds. Helping organise bonfires of British goods in Ahmedabad,
Patel threw in all his English-style clothes. With his daughter Mani and son
Dahya, he switched completely to wearing khadi. Patel
also supported Gandhi's controversial suspension of resistance in wake of the Chauri Chaura
incident. He worked extensively in the
following years in Gujarat against alcoholism, untouchability
and caste
discrimination, as well as for the empowerment of
women. In the Congress, he was a resolute supporter of Gandhi against his Swarajist
critics. Patel was elected Ahmedabad's municipal president in 1922, 1924 and
1927—during his terms, Ahmedabad was extended a major supply of electricity and
the school system underwent major reforms. Drainage and sanitation systems were
extended over all the city. He fought for the recognition and payment of
teachers employed in schools established by nationalists (out of British
control) and even took on sensitive Hindu-Muslim Issues. Sardar Patel personally led relief efforts in the aftermath
of the intense torrential rainfall in 1927, which had caused major floods in
the city and in the Kheda district and great destruction of life and property.
He established refuge centres across the district, raised volunteers, arranged
for supply of food, medicines and clothing, as well as emergency funds from the
government and public.
When Gandhi was in prison, Sardar
Patel was asked by Members of Congress to lead the satyagraha in Nagpur in 1923
against a law banning the raising of the Indian flag. He organised thousands of
volunteers from all over the country in processions hoisting the flag. Patel
negotiated a settlement that obtained the release of all prisoners and allowed
nationalists to hoist the flag in public. Later that year, Patel and his allies
uncovered evidence suggesting that the police were in league with local dacoits
in the Borsad taluka even as the government prepared to levy a major tax for
fighting dacoits in the area. More than 6,000 villagers assembled to hear Patel
speak and supported the proposed agitation against the tax, which was deemed
immoral and unnecessary. He organised hundreds of Congressmen, sent instructions
and received information from across the district. Every village in the taluka resisted payment of the tax, and through cohesion, also
prevented the seizure of property and lands. After a protracted struggle, the
government withdrew the tax. Historians believe that one of Patel's key
achievements was the building of cohesion and trust amongst the different
castes and communities, which were divided on socio-economic lines.
In April 1928, Sardar Patel returned
to the freedom struggle from his municipal duties in Ahmedabad when Bardoli
suffered from a serious predicament of a famine and steep tax hike. The revenue
hike was steeper than it had been in Kheda even though the famine covered a
large portion of Gujarat. After cross-examining and talking to village
representatives, emphasising the potential hardship and need for non-violence
and cohesion, Patel initiated the struggle—complete denial of taxes. Sardar Patel organised volunteers, camps and an information
network across affected areas. The revenue refusal was stronger than in Kheda
and many sympathy satyagrahas were undertaken across Gujarat. Despite arrests,
seizures of property and lands, the struggle intensified. The situation reached
a head in August, when through sympathetic intermediaries, he negotiated a
settlement repealing the tax hike, reinstating village officials who had
resigned in protest and the return of seized property and lands. It was during
the struggle and after the victory in Bardoli that Patel was increasingly
addressed by his colleagues and followers as Sardar.
Leading
the Congress
As Gandhi embarked on the Dandi Salt March, Patel was arrested in the village of Ras and tried without
witnesses,
with no lawyer or pressman allowed to attend. Patel's arrest and Gandhi's
subsequent arrest caused the Salt Satyagraha to greatly intensify in Gujarat—districts across Gujarat
launched an anti-tax rebellion until and unless Patel and Gandhi were released. Once released, Patel served as interim Congress president,
but was re-arrested while leading a procession in Mumbai. After the signing of
the Gandhi-Irwin Pact, Patel was elected Congress president for its 1931 session
in Karachi—here
the Congress ratified the pact, committed itself to the defence of fundamental
rights and human freedoms, and a vision of a secular nation, minimum wage and
the abolition of untouchability and serfdom. Patel used his position as
Congress president in organising the return of confiscated lands to farmers in
Gujarat. Upon the failure of the Round Table
Conference in London, Gandhi and Patel were
arrested in January 1932 when the struggle re-opened, and imprisoned in the
Yeravda Central Jail. During this term of imprisonment, Patel and Gandhi grew
close to each other, and the two developed a close bond of affection, trust,
and frankness. Their mutual relationship could be described as that of an elder
brother (Gandhi) and his younger brother (Patel). Despite having arguments with
Gandhi, Patel respected his instincts and leadership. During imprisonment, the
two would discuss national and social issues, read Hindu epics and crack jokes.
Gandhi also taught Patel Sanskrit language. Gandhi's secretary Mahadev Desai kept detailed records of conversations between Gandhi and
Patel. When Gandhi embarked on a fast-unto-death protesting the
separate electorates allocated for untouchables, Patel looked after Gandhi
closely and himself refrained from partaking of food. Patel was later moved to a jail in Nasik, and
refused a British offer for a brief release to attend the cremation of his
brother Vithalbhai, who had died in 1934. He was finally released in July of
the same year.
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 fund-raiser 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 also for the
Provincial elections of 1936. As well as collecting funds and selecting candidates, he
would also determine the Congress stance on issues and opponents. Not contesting a seat for himself, Patel nevertheless
guided Congressmen elected in the provinces and at the national level. In 1935,
Patel underwent surgery for haemorrhoids, yet guided efforts against plague in Bardoli and again
when a drought struck Gujarat in 1939. Patel would guide the Congress
ministries that had won power across India with the aim of preserving party
discipline—Patel feared that the British would use opportunities to create
conflicts among elected Congressmen, and he did not want the party to be
distracted from the goal of complete independence. But Patel would clash with Nehru,
opposing declarations of the adoption of socialism
at the 1936 Congress session, which he believed was a diversion from the main
goal of achieving independence. In 1938, Patel organised rank and file
opposition to the attempts of then-Congress president Subhas Chandra Bose to move away from Gandhi's principles of non-violent
resistance. Patel considered Bose to want more power over the party. He led
senior Congress leaders in a protest, which resulted in Bose's resignation. But
criticism arose from Bose's supporters, socialists and other Congressmen that
Patel himself was acting in an authoritarian manner in his defence of Gandhi's
authority.
Quit
India
Main article: Quit India Movement
On the outbreak of World War II
Patel supported Nehru's decision to withdraw the Congress from central and
provincial legislatures, contrary to Gandhi's advice, as well as an initiative
by senior leader Chakravarthi
Rajagopalachari to offer Congress's full support to
Britain if it promised Indian independence at the end of the war and install a
democratic government right away. Gandhi had refused to support Britain on the
grounds of his moral opposition to war, while Subhas Chandra Bose was in militant opposition to the British. The British
rejected Rajagopalachari's initiative, and Patel embraced Gandhi's leadership
again. He participated in Gandhi's call for individual
disobedience, and was arrested in 1940 and imprisoned for nine months. He also
opposed the proposals of the Cripps' mission in 1942. Patel lost more than twenty pounds during his
period in jail.
While Nehru, Rajagopalachari and Maulana Azad initially criticised Gandhi's proposal for an all-out
campaign of civil disobedience to force the British to Quit India, Patel
was its most fervent supporter. Arguing that the British would retreat from
India as they had from Singapore and Burma, Patel stressed that the campaign start without any delay. Though feeling that the British would not quit immediately,
Patel favoured an all-out rebellion which would galvanise Indian people, who
had been divided in their response to the war, In Patel's view, an all-out
rebellion would force the British to concede that continuation of colonial rule
had no support in India, and thus speed power transfer to Indians. Believing strongly in the need for revolt, Patel stated his
intention to resign from the Congress if the revolt was not approved. Gandhi strongly pressured the All
India Congress Committee to
approve of an all-out campaign of civil disobedience, and the AICC approved the
campaign on 7 August 1942. Though Patel's health had suffered during his stint
in jail, Patel gave emotional speeches to large crowds across India, asking people to refuse paying taxes and participate in
civil disobedience, mass protests and a shutdown of all civil services. He
raised funds and prepared a second-tier of command as a precaution against the
arrest of national leaders. Patel made a climactic speech to more than
100,000 people gathered at Gowalia Tank in Bombay (Mumbai) on 7 August:
"The Governor of Burma boasts in London that they left Burma only after reducing
everything to dust. So you promise the same thing to India? ... You refer
in your radio broadcasts and newspapers to the government established in Burma
by Japan as a puppet government? What sort of government do you have in Delhi
now?...When France fell before the Nazi onslaught, in the midst of total war,
Mr. Churchill offered union with England to the French. That was indeed a
stroke of inspired statesmanship. But when it comes to India? Oh no! Constitutional
changes in the midst of a war? Absolutely unthinkable ... The object this
time is to free India before the Japanese can come and be ready to fight them
if they come. They will round up the leaders, round up all. Then it will be the
duty of every Indian to put forth his utmost effort—within non-violence. No
source is to be left untapped; no weapon untried. This is going to be the
opportunity of a lifetime."
Historians believe that Patel's
speech was instrumental in electrifying nationalists, who had been sceptical of
the proposed rebellion. Patel's organising work in this period is credited by
historians for ensuring the success of the rebellion across India. Patel was arrested on 9 August and was imprisoned with the
entire Congress
Working Committee from 1942 to 1945 at the fort in Ahmednagar. Here he spun cloth, played bridge, read a large number of
books, took long walks, practised gardening. He also provided emotional support
to his colleagues while awaiting news and developments of the outside. Patel was deeply pained at the news of the deaths of
Mahadev Desai and Kasturba Gandhi later in the year. But Patel wrote in a letter to his daughter that he and his
colleagues were experiencing "fullest peace" for having done
"their duty." Even though other political parties had opposed the
struggle and the British had employed ruthless means of suppression, the Quit
India movement was "by far the most serious rebellion since that of
1857," as the viceroy cabled to Winston Churchill. More than one lakh people were arrested and thousands killed
in police firings. Strikes, protests and other revolutionary activities had
broken out across India. When Patel was released on 15 June 1945 he realised that
the British were preparing proposals to transfer power to Indian hands.
Integration
after Independence and Role of Gandhi
In the 1946 election for the
Congress presidency, Patel stepped down in favour of Nehru at the request of
Gandhi. The election's importance stemmed from the fact that the elected
President would lead free India's first Government. Gandhi asked all 16 states
representatives and Congress to elect the right person and Sardar Patel's name
was proposed by 13 states representatives out of 16, but Patel respected
Gandhi's request to not be the first prime minister. As the first Home
Minister, Patel played a key role in integration of many princely states into
the Indian federation.
In the elections, the Congress won a
large majority of the elected seats, dominating the Hindu electorate. But the Muslim League led by Muhammad Ali Jinnah won a large majority of Muslim electorate seats. The League
had resolved in 1940 to demand Pakistan—an
independent state for Muslims—and was a fierce critic of the Congress. The
Congress formed governments in all provinces save Sindh, Punjab
and Bengal,
where it entered into coalitions with other parties.
Cabinet
mission and partition
See also: Partition of India
When the British
mission proposed two plans for transfer of
power, there was considerable opposition within the Congress to both. The plan
of 16 May 1946 proposed a loose federation with extensive provincial autonomy,
and the "grouping" of provinces based on religious-majority. The plan
of 16 June 1946 proposed the partition of India on religious lines, with over 600 princely states
free to choose between independence or accession to either dominion. The League
approved both plans, while the Congress flatly rejected the 16 June proposal.
Gandhi criticised the 16 May proposal as being inherently divisive, but Patel,
realising that rejecting the proposal would mean that only the League would be
invited to form a government, lobbied the Congress
Working Committee hard to give its assent to the 16
May proposal. Patel engaged the British envoys Sir Stafford Cripps and Lord Pethick-Lawrence and obtained an assurance that the "grouping"
clause would not be given practical force, Patel converted Nehru, Rajendra Prasad and Rajagopalachari to accept the plan. When the League
retracted its approval of the 16 May plan, the viceroy Lord Wavell
invited the Congress to form the government. Under Nehru, who was styled the
"Vice President of the Viceroy's Executive Council," Patel took
charge of the departments of home affairs and information and broadcasting. He
moved into a government house on 1, Aurangzeb Road in Delhi—this would be his
home till his death in 1950.
Vallabhbhai Patel was one of the
first Congress leaders to accept the partition of India as a solution to the
rising Muslim separatist movement led by Muhammad Ali Jinnah. He had been outraged by Jinnah's Direct Action campaign, which had provoked communal violence across India
and by the viceroy's vetoes of his home department's plans to stop the violence
on the grounds of constitutionality. Patel severely criticised the viceroy's
induction of League ministers into the government, and the revalidation of the
grouping scheme by the British without Congress approval. Although further
outraged at the League's boycott of the assembly and non-acceptance of the plan
of 16 May despite entering government, he was also aware that Jinnah did enjoy popular
support amongst Muslims, and that an open conflict between him and the
nationalists could degenerate into a Hindu-Muslim civil war of disastrous
consequences. The continuation of a divided and weak central government would
in Patel's mind, result in the wider fragmentation of India by encouraging more
than 600 princely states towards independence. Between the months of December 1946 and January 1947, Patel
worked with civil servant V. P. Menon on the latter's suggestion for a separate dominion
of Pakistan
created out of Muslim-majority provinces. Communal violence in Bengal and
Punjab in January and March 1947 further convinced Patel of the soundness of
partition. Patel, a fierce critic of Jinnah's demand that the Hindu-majority
areas of Punjab and Bengal be included in a Muslim state, obtained the
partition of those provinces, thus blocking any possibility of their inclusion
in Pakistan. Patel's decisiveness on the partition of Punjab and Bengal had won
him many supporters and admirers amongst the Indian public, which had tired of
the League's tactics, but he was criticised by Gandhi, Nehru, secular Muslims
and socialists for a perceived eagerness to do so. When Lord Louis Mountbatten formally proposed the plan on 3 June 1947, Patel gave his
approval and lobbied Nehru and other Congress leaders to accept the proposal.
Knowing Gandhi's deep anguish regarding proposals of partition, Patel engaged
him in frank discussion in private meetings over the perceived practical
unworkability of any Congress-League coalition, the rising violence and the
threat of civil war. At the All
India Congress Committee meeting
called to vote on the proposal, Patel said:
"I fully appreciate the fears of our brothers from [the
Muslim-majority areas]. Nobody likes the division of India and my heart is
heavy. But the choice is between one division and many divisions. We must face
facts. We cannot give way to emotionalism and sentimentality. The Working
Committee has not acted out of fear. But I am afraid of one thing, that all our
toil and hard work of these many years might go waste or prove unfruitful. My
nine months in office has completely disillusioned me regarding the supposed
merits of the Cabinet Mission Plan. Except for a few honourable exceptions, Muslim
officials from the top down to the chaprasis (peons
or servants) are working for the League. The communal veto given to the League
in the Mission Plan would have blocked India's progress at every stage. Whether
we like it or not, de facto Pakistan already exists in the Punjab and Bengal.
Under the circumstances I would prefer a de jure Pakistan, which may make the
League more responsible. Freedom is coming. We have 75 to 80 percent of India,
which we can make strong with our own genius. The League can develop the rest
of the country."
Following Gandhi's and Congress'
approval of the plan, Patel represented India on the Partition Council, where
he oversaw the division of public assets, and selected the Indian council of
ministers with Nehru. However, neither he nor any other Indian leader had
foreseen the intense violence and population transfer that would take place
with partition. Patel would take the lead in organising relief and emergency
supplies, establishing refugee camps and visiting the border areas with
Pakistani leaders to encourage peace. Despite these efforts, the death toll is
estimated at between 5 to 10 lakh people. The estimated number of refugees in both countries exceeds
1.5 crore. Understanding that Delhi and Punjab policemen, accused of
organising attacks on Muslims, were personally affected by the tragedies of
partition, Patel called out the Indian Army with South Indian regiments to restore order, imposing
strict curfews and shoot-at-sight orders. Visiting the Nizamuddin
Auliya Dargah area in Delhi, where thousands of
Delhi Muslims feared attacks, he prayed at the shrine, visited the people and
reinforced the presence of police. He suppressed from the press reports of
atrocities in Pakistan against Hindus and Sikhs to
prevent retaliatory violence. Establishing the Delhi
Emergency Committee to restore order and organising
relief efforts for refugees in the capital, Patel publicly warned officials
against partiality and neglect. When reports reached Patel that large groups of
Sikhs were preparing to attack Muslim convoys heading for Pakistan, Patel
hurried to Amritsar and met Sikh and Hindu leaders. Arguing that attacking
helpless people was cowardly and dishonourable, Patel emphasised that Sikh
actions would result in further attacks against Hindus and Sikhs in Pakistan.
He assured the community leaders that if they worked to establish peace and
order and guarantee the safety of Muslims, the Indian government would react
forcefully to any failures of Pakistan to do the same. Additionally, Patel
addressed a massive crowd of approximately 200,000 refugees who had surrounded
his car after the meetings:
"Here, in this same city, the blood of Hindus, Sikhs
and Muslims mingled in the bloodbath of Jallianwala Bagh. I am grieved to think that things have come to such a pass
that no Muslim can go about in Amritsar and no Hindu or Sikh can even think of
living in Lahore. The butchery of innocent and defenceless men, women and
children does not behove brave men... I am quite certain that India's interest
lies in getting all her men and women across the border and sending out all
Muslims from East Punjab. I have come to you with a specific appeal. Pledge the
safety of Muslim refugees crossing the city. Any obstacles or hindrances will
only worsen the plight of our refugees who are already performing prodigious
feats of endurance. If we have to fight, we must fight clean. Such a fight must
await an appropriate time and conditions and you must be watchful in choosing
your ground. To fight against the refugees is no fight at all. No laws of
humanity or war among honourable men permit the murder of people who have
sought shelter and protection. Let there be truce for three months in which
both sides can exchange their refugees. This sort of truce is permitted even by
laws of war. Let us take the initiative in breaking this vicious circle of
attacks and counter-attacks. Hold your hands for a week and see what happens.
Make way for the refugees with your own force of volunteers and let them
deliver the refugees safely at our frontier."
Following his dialogue with
community leaders and his speech, no further attacks occurred against Muslim
refugees, and a wider peace and order was re-established soon over the entire
area. However, Patel was criticised by Nehru, secular Muslims and taxed by
Gandhi over his alleged wish to see Muslims from other parts of India depart.
While Patel vehemently denied such allegations, the acrimony with Maulana Azad and other secular Muslim leaders increased when Patel
refused to dismiss Delhi's Sikh police commissioner, who was accused of
discrimination. Hindu and Sikh leaders also accused Patel and other leaders of
not taking Pakistan sufficiently to task over the attacks on their communities
there, and Muslim leaders further criticised him for allegedly neglecting the
needs of Muslims leaving for Pakistan, and concentrating resources for incoming
Hindu and Sikh refugees. Patel clashed with Nehru and Azad over the allocation
of houses in Delhi vacated by Muslims leaving for Pakistan—Nehru and Azad
desired to allocate them for displaced Muslims, while Patel argued that no
government professing secularism must make such exclusions. However, Patel was publicly
defended by Gandhi and received widespread admiration and support for speaking
frankly on communal issues and acting decisively and resourcefully to quell
disorder and violence.
Political
integration of India
Main article: Political integration of India
This event formed the cornerstone of
Patel's popularity in post-independence era and even 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 1860s. Under the 3
June plan, more than 562 princely states were given the option of joining
either India or Pakistan, or choosing independence. Indian nationalists and
large segments of the public feared that if these states did not accede, most
of the people and territory would be fragmented. The Congress as well as senior
British officials considered Patel the best man for the task of achieving
unification of the princely states with the Indian dominion. Gandhi had said to
Patel "the problem of the States is so difficult that you alone can
solve it". He was considered a statesman of integrity with the
practical acumen and resolve to accomplish a monumental task. Patel asked V. P. Menon, a senior civil servant with whom he had worked over the partition of India, to become his right-hand as chief secretary of the States
Ministry. On 6 May 1947, Patel began lobbying the princes, attempting to make
them receptive towards dialogue with the future Government and trying to
forestall potential conflicts. Patel used social meetings and unofficial
surroundings to engage most monarchs, inviting them to lunch and tea at his
home in Delhi.
At these meetings, Patel stated that there was no inherent conflict between the
Congress and the princely order. Nonetheless, he stressed that the princes
would need to accede to India in good faith by 15 August 1947. Patel invoked
the patriotism of India's monarchs, asking them to join in the freedom of their
nation and act as responsible rulers who cared about the future of their
people. He persuaded the princes of 565 states of the impossibility of
independence from the Indian republic, especially in the presence of growing
opposition from their subjects. He proposed favourable terms for the merger,
including creation of privy purses for the descendants of the rulers. While encouraging the
rulers to act with patriotism, Patel did not rule out force, setting a deadline
of 15 August 1947 for them to sign the instrument of accession document. All
but three of the states willingly merged into the Indian union—only Jammu and Kashmir, Junagadh, and Hyderabad
did not fall into his basket.
Junagadh was especially important to
Patel, since it was in his home state of Gujarat
and also because this Kathiawar district had the ultra-rich Somnath temple
which had been plundered 17 times by Mahmud of Ghazni who broke the temple and
its idols to rob it of its riches, emeralds, diamonds and gold. The Nawab had
under pressure from Sir Shah Nawaz Bhutto acceded to Pakistan. It was however, quite far from
Pakistan and 80% of its population was Hindu. Patel combined diplomacy with
force, demanding that Pakistan annul the accession, and that the Nawab accede
to India. He sent the Army to occupy three principalities of Junagadh to show
his resolve. Following widespread protests and the formation of a civil
government, or Aarzi Hukumat, both Bhutto and the Nawab fled to Karachi,
and under Patel's orders, Indian Army and police units marched into the state.
A plebiscite later organised produced a 99.5% vote for merger with India. In a speech at the Bahauddin College in Junagadh following
the latter's take-over, Patel emphasised his feeling of urgency on Hyderabad,
which he felt was more vital to India than Kashmir:
If Hyderabad does not see the
writing on the wall, it goes the way Junagadh has gone. Pakistan attempted to
set off Kashmir against Junagadh. When we raised the question of settlement in
a democratic way, they (Pakistan) at once told us that they would consider it
if we applied that policy to Kashmir. Our reply was that we would agree to
Kashmir if they agreed to Hyderabad.
Hyderabad was the largest of the
princely states, and included parts of present-day Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, and Maharashtra states. Its ruler, the Nizam Osman
Ali Khan was a Muslim, although over 80% of
its people were Hindu. The Nizam sought independence or accession with
Pakistan. Muslim forces loyal to Nizam, called the Razakars, under Qasim Razvi pressed the Nizam to hold out against India, while
organising attacks on people on Indian soil. Even though a Standstill Agreement
was signed due to the desperate efforts of Lord Mountbatten to avoid a war, the
Nizam rejected deals and changed his positions. In September 1948, Patel emphasised in Cabinet meetings
that India should talk no more, and reconciled Nehru and the Governor-General, Chakravarti
Rajgopalachari to military action. Following
preparations, Patel ordered the Indian Army to integrate Hyderabad (in his capacity as Acting Prime
Minister) when Nehru was touring Europe. The action was termed Operation Polo, in which thousands of Razakar forces had been killed, but
Hyderabad was comfortably secured into the Indian Union. The main aim of
Mountbatten and Nehru in avoiding a forced annexation was to prevent an
outbreak of Hindu-Muslim violence. Patel insisted that if Hyderabad was allowed
to continue with its antics, the prestige of the Government would fall and then
neither Hindus nor Muslims would feel secure in its realm. After defeating
Nizam, Patel retained him as the ceremonial chief of state, and held talks with
him.
Lakshadweep Islands
The inhabitants of these islands, remote from the mainland of India, heard the final news of the Partition and Independence of India some days after it occurred on 15 August 1947. As the islands were then British possessions and part of the Madras Presidency, in accordance with the Indian Independence Act 1947, enacted by the British parliament a month before, the islands transferred automatically to the new Union of India. However, considering that they also had a Muslim majority, it seemed possible that the new dominion of Pakistan might seek to lay claim to them. On the orders of Vallabhbhai Patel, a ship of the Royal Indian Navy was sent to the Laccadives (as they were then called) to hoist the Indian national flag and ensure the islands' integration into the new Union of India, aiming to thwart any similar attempt by Pakistan. Hours after the arrival of the Indian ship, vessels of the Royal Pakistan Navy were seen near the islands, but after observing the Indian presence they returned to Karachi.
The inhabitants of these islands, remote from the mainland of India, heard the final news of the Partition and Independence of India some days after it occurred on 15 August 1947. As the islands were then British possessions and part of the Madras Presidency, in accordance with the Indian Independence Act 1947, enacted by the British parliament a month before, the islands transferred automatically to the new Union of India. However, considering that they also had a Muslim majority, it seemed possible that the new dominion of Pakistan might seek to lay claim to them. On the orders of Vallabhbhai Patel, a ship of the Royal Indian Navy was sent to the Laccadives (as they were then called) to hoist the Indian national flag and ensure the islands' integration into the new Union of India, aiming to thwart any similar attempt by Pakistan. Hours after the arrival of the Indian ship, vessels of the Royal Pakistan Navy were seen near the islands, but after observing the Indian presence they returned to Karachi.
Leading
India
Governor
General Chakravarti
Rajagopalachari, Nehru and Patel formed the triumvirate
which ruled India from 1948 to 1950. Prime Minister Nehru was intensely popular
with the masses, but Patel enjoyed the loyalty and the faith of rank and file
Congressmen, state leaders and India's civil services. Patel was a senior
leader in the Constituent
Assembly of India and was responsible in a large
measure for shaping India's constitution. He is also known as the
"Bismarck of India" Patel was a key force behind the appointment of Dr. Bhimrao Ramji
Ambedkar as the chairman of the drafting
committee, and the inclusion of leaders from a diverse political spectrum in
the process of writing the constitution.
Patel was the chairman of the
committees responsible for minorities, tribal and excluded areas, fundamental
rights and provincial constitutions. Patel piloted a model constitution for the
provinces in the Assembly, which contained limited powers for the state
governor, who would defer to the President—he clarified it was not the
intention to let the governor exercise power which could impede an elected
government. He worked closely with Muslim leaders to end separate
electorates and the more potent demand for reservation of seats for minorities. Patel would hold personal dialogues with leaders of other
minorities on the question, and was responsible for the measure that allows the
President to appoint Anglo-Indians to Parliament. His intervention was key to the passage of two articles
that protected civil servants from political involvement and guaranteed their
terms and privileges. He was also instrumental in the founding the Indian
Administrative Service and the Indian Police
Service, and for his defence of Indian
civil servants from political attack, he is known as the "patron
saint" of India's services. When a delegation of Gujarati farmers came to
him citing their inability to send their milk production to the markets without
being fleeced by intermediaries, Patel exhorted them to organise the processing
and sale of milk by themselves, and guided them to create the Kaira District Co-operative Milk Producers'
Union Limited, which preceded the Amul milk
products brand. Patel also pledged the reconstruction of the ancient but
dilapidated Somnath Temple in Saurashtra—he oversaw the creation of a public trust and restoration
work, and pledged to dedicate the temple upon the completion of work (the work
was completed after Patel's death, and the temple was inaugurated by the first
President of India, Dr. Rajendra Prasad).
When the Pakistani
invasion of Kashmir began in September 1947, Patel
immediately wanted to send troops into Kashmir. But agreeing with Nehru and
Mountbatten, he waited till Kashmir's monarch had acceded to India. Patel then
oversaw India's military operations to secure Srinagar,
the Baramulla Pass and the forces retrieved much territory from the invaders.
Patel, along with Defence Minister Baldev Singh administered the entire military effort, arranging for
troops from different parts of India to be rushed to Kashmir and for a major
military road connecting Srinagar to Pathankot
be built in 6 months. Patel strongly advised Nehru against going for arbitration
to the United Nations, insisting that Pakistan had been wrong to support the
invasion and the accession to India was valid. He did not want foreign
interference in a bilateral affair. Patel opposed the release of Rs. 55 crores
to the Government of
Pakistan, convinced that the money would go
to finance the war against India in Kashmir. The Cabinet had approved his point
but it was reversed when Gandhi, who feared an intensifying rivalry and further
communal violence, went on a fast-unto-death to obtain the release. Patel,
though not estranged from Gandhi, was deeply hurt at the rejection of his
counsel and a Cabinet decision.
In 1949, a crisis arose when the
number of Hindu refugees entering West Bengal, Assam and Tripura from East Pakistan climbed over 800,000. The refugees in many cases were being
forcibly evicted by Pakistani authorities, and were victims of intimidation and
violence. Nehru invited Liaquat Ali Khan, Prime Minister of Pakistan to find a peaceful solution.
Despite his aversion, Patel reluctantly met Khan and discussed the matters.
Patel strongly criticised, however, Nehru's intention to sign a pact that would
create minority commissions in both countries and pledge both India and
Pakistan to a commitment to protect each other's minorities. Syama Prasad
Mookerjee and K.C. Neogy, two Bengali
ministers resigned and Nehru was intensely criticised in West Bengal for
allegedly appeasing Pakistan. The pact was immediately in jeopardy. Patel
however, publicly came out to Nehru's aid. He gave emotional speeches to
members of Parliament, and the people of West Bengal, and spoke with scores of
delegations of Congressmen, Hindus, Muslims and other public interest groups,
persuading them to give peace a final effort.
Gandhi's
death and relations with Nehru
Patel was intensely loyal to Gandhi
and both he and Nehru looked to him to arbitrate disputes. However, Nehru and
Patel sparred over national issues. When Nehru asserted control over Kashmir
policy, Patel objected to Nehru's sidelining his home ministry's officials. Nehru was offended by Patel's decision-making regarding the
states' integration, having neither consulted him nor the cabinet. Patel asked
Gandhi to relieve him of his obligation to serve, believing that an open
political battle would hurt India. After much personal deliberation and
contrary to Patel's prediction, Gandhi on 30 January 1948 told Patel not to
leave the government. A free India, according to Gandhi, needed both Patel and
Nehru. Patel was the last man to privately talk with Gandhi, who was assassinated
just minutes after Patel's departure. At Gandhi's wake,
Nehru and Patel embraced each other and addressed the nation together. Patel
gave solace to many associates and friends and immediately moved to forestall
any possible violence. Within two months of Gandhi's death, Patel suffered a major
heart attack; the timely action of his daughter, his secretary and nurse
saved Patel's life. Speaking later, Patel attributed the attack to the
"grief bottled up" due to Gandhi's death.
Criticism arose from the media and
other politicians that Patel's home ministry had failed to protect Gandhi.
Emotionally exhausted, Patel tendered a letter of resignation, offering to
leave the government. Patel's secretary persuaded him to withhold the letter,
seeing it as fodder for Patel's political enemies and political conflict in
India. However, Nehru sent Patel a letter dismissing any question
of personal differences and his desire for Patel's ouster. He reminded Patel of
their 30-year partnership in the freedom struggle and asserted that after
Gandhi's death, it was especially wrong for them to quarrel. Nehru,
Rajagopalachari and other Congressmen publicly defended Patel. Moved, Patel
publicly endorsed Nehru's leadership and refuted any suggestion of discord.
Patel publicly dispelled any notion that he sought to be prime minister. Though the two committed themselves to joint leadership and
non-interference in Congress party affairs, they would criticise each other in
matters of policy, clashing on the issues of Hyderabad's integration and UN
mediation in Kashmir. Nehru declined Patel's counsel on sending assistance to Tibet after its
1950 invasion by the People's Republic of China and ejecting the Portuguese
from Goa
by military force.
When Nehru pressured Dr. Rajendra Prasad to decline a nomination to become the first President of India in 1950 in favour of Rajagopalachari, he thus angered the
party, which felt Nehru was attempting to impose his will. Nehru sought Patel's
help in winning the party over, but Patel declined and Prasad was duly elected.
Nehru opposed the 1950 Congress presidential candidate Purushottam Das
Tandon, a conservative Hindu leader,
endorsing Jivatram Kripalani instead and threatening to resign if Tandon was elected.
Patel rejected Nehru's views and endorsed Tandon in Gujarat, where Kripalani
received not one vote despite hailing from that state himself. Patel believed Nehru had to understand that his will was
not law with the Congress, but he personally discouraged Nehru from resigning
after the latter felt that the party had no confidence in him.
Death
On 29 March 1949, authorities lost
radio contact with a plane carrying Patel, his daughter Maniben and the Maharaja of Patiala. Engine failure caused the pilot to make an emergency
landing in a desert area in Rajasthan.
With all passengers safe, Patel and others tracked down a nearby village and
local officials. When Patel returned to Delhi,
thousands of Congressmen gave him a resounding welcome. In Parliament, MPs gave
a long, standing ovation to Patel, stopping proceedings for half an hour. In his twilight years, Patel was honoured by members of
Parliament and awarded honorary doctorates of law by the Punjab
University and Osmania University.
Patel's health declined rapidly
through the summer of 1950. He later began coughing blood, whereupon Maniben
began limiting his meetings and working hours and arranged for a personalised
medical staff to begin attending to Patel. The Chief
Minister of West Bengal and
doctor Bidhan Roy heard Patel make jokes about his impending end, and in a
private meeting Patel frankly admitted to his ministerial colleague N. V. Gadgil that he was not going to live much longer. Patel's health
worsened after 2 November, when he began losing consciousness frequently and
was confined to his bed. He was flown to Mumbai on 12 December on advice from
Dr Roy, to recuperate as his condition deemed critical. Nehru, Rajagopalchari, Rajendra Prasad and Menon all came
to see him off at the airport in Delhi. Patel was extremely weak and had to be
carried onto the aircraft in a chair. In Bombay, large crowds gathered at Santacruz Airport to greet him, to spare him from this stress, the aircraft
landed at Juhu Aerodrome, where Chief Minister B.G. Kher
and Morarji Desai were present to receive him with a car belonging to the
Governor of Bombay, that took Vallabhbhai to Birla House. After suffering a massive heart attack (his second), he
died on 15 December 1950 at Birla House in Bombay. In an unprecedented and unrepeated
gesture, on the day after his death more than 1,500 officers of India's civil
and police services congregated to mourn at Patel's residence in Delhi and
pledged "complete loyalty and unremitting zeal" in India's service. His cremation was planned at Girgaum Chowpatty, however this was changed to Sonapur (Now Marine Lines)
when his daughter conveyed that it was his wish to be cremated like a common
man in the same place as his wife and brother were earlier cremated. His cremation
in Sonapur in Bombay, was attended by a 10 lakh strong crowd including Prime
Minister Nehru, Rajagopalachari, President Prasad.
Criticism
and legacy
During his lifetime, Vallabhbhai
Patel received criticism of an alleged bias against Muslims during the time of
partition. He was criticised by prominent Muslims such as Maulana Azad as well
as Hindu nationalists for readily plumping for partition. Patel was criticised
by supporters of Subhas Chandra Bose for acting coercively to put down politicians not
supportive of Gandhi. Socialist politicians such as Jaya Prakash
Narayan and Asoka Mehta criticised him for his personal proximity to Indian
industrialists such as the Birla
and Sarabhai families. Some historians have criticised Patel's actions on the
integration of princely states as undermining the right of self-determination
for those states.
However, Patel is credited for being
almost single-handedly responsible for unifying India on the eve of
independence.Till date, he is regarded as the most successful Home Minister. He won the admiration of many Indians for speaking frankly
on the issues of Hindu-Muslim relations and not shying from using military
force to integrate India. His skills of leadership and practical judgement were
hailed by British statesmen—his opponents in the freedom struggle—such as Lord Wavell,
Cripps, Pethick-Lawrence and Mountbatten. Some historians and admirers of Patel
such as Rajendra Prasad and industrialist J.R.D. Tata have expressed opinions that Patel would have made a better
prime minister for India than Nehru. Nehru's critics and Patel's admirers cite
Nehru's belated embrace of Patel's advice regarding the UN and Kashmir and the
integration of Goa
by military action and Nehru's ignoring of Patel's advice on China. Proponents
of free enterprise cite the failings of Nehru's socialist policies as opposed
to Patel's defence of property rights and his mentorship of the Amul
co-operative project.
Among Patel's surviving family, Manibhen Patel
lived in a flat in Mumbai for the rest of her life following her father's
death; she often led the work of the Sardar
Patel Memorial Trust—which organises the prestigious
annual Sardar Patel Memorial Lectures—and other charitable organisations. Dahyabhai Patel was a businessman who eventually was elected to serve in
the Lok Sabha
(the lower house of the Indian Parliament) as an MP in the 1960s.
For many decades after his death,
there was a perceived lack of effort from the Government of India, the national
media and the Congress party regarding the commemoration of Patel's life and
work.
Gujarat
However, Patel is lionised as a hero
in Gujarat and his family home in Karamsad is still preserved in his memory.
Patel was officially awarded the Bharat Ratna, India's highest civilian honour posthumously in 1991.
Patel's birthday, 31 October, is celebrated nationally in India as Sardar
Jayanti. The Sardar Patel National Memorial was established in 1980 at the Moti Shahi Mahal in Ahmedabad. It comprises a museum, a gallery of portraits
and historical pictures and a library, which stores important documents and
books associated with Patel and his life. Amongst the exhibits are many of
Patel's personal effects and relics from various periods of his personal and
political life. He appeared on the cover page of TIME Magazine in its Jan. 1947 publication.
Patel is the namesake of many public
institutions in India. A major initiative to build dams, canals and
hydroelectric power plants on the Narmada river valley to provide a tri-state area with drinking water,
electricity and increase agricultural production was named the Sardar
Sarovar. Recently, the Gujarat government
has announced its plans to build a 182 m tall statue of Sardar Vallabhbhai
Patel named as the Statue of Unity near the main dam, which will be the world's tallest
statue. Patel is also the namesake of the Sardar Vallabhbhai National Institute of
Technology in Surat, the Sardar Patel
University, Sardar Patel High School and the Sardar Patel
Vidyalaya, which are among the nation's
premier institutions. India's national police
training academy is also named after him.
Ahmedabad
- The international airport of Ahmedabad is named after him.
- Also the international cricket stadium of Ahmedabad is named after him (although popularly known as Motera Stadium).
- A national cricket stadium in Navrangpura, Ahmedabad used for national matches and events, is also named after him.
- The chief outer ring road encircling Ahmedabad is named S P Ring Road.
- Gujarat government's institution for training government functionaries is named Sardar Patel Institute of Public Administration.
Statue
of Unity
The Statue of Unity is a proposed
182 metres (597 ft) monument of Sardar Patel that will be created directly
facing the Narmada Dam, 3.2 km away at the Sadhu Bet, near Bharuch in Gujarat
state of India
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