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Vallabhbhai Patel

Indian barrister, leader of the Indian National Congress and founding father of the Republic of India (1875-1950) · India · Politicians · Died at 75

Vallabhbhai Patel is read about 1,449 times a day, in 77 languages.

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He welded 565 fractious princely states into a single nation in the months after Partition, using persuasion, pressure, and the occasional show of force. Without Patel's work as India's first Home Minister, the map would look very different.

PoliticiansPoliticianPoliticsEconomicsLaw19th Century

A life in dates

1950Died15 December 1950“[I tried to read it] as favourably to our Ambassador and the Chinese Government as possible, but I regret to say that neither of them comes out well as a result of this study...”In their wordsLetter to J. Nehru, 1950

1948“The activities of the RSS constituted a clear threat to the existence of Government and the state.”In their words18 July 1948Letter to Syama Prasad Mookerjee, July 18, 1948, Sardar Patel Correspondence, vol. VI, p. 323. Quoted in . “Sectional President’s Address:

“…we cannot shut our eyes to the fact that an appreciable number of the members of the Mahasabha gloated over the tragedy and distributed sweets.”In their words6 May 1948Letter to Syama Prasad Mookerjee, May 6, 1948, Sardar Patel Correspondence, vol. VI, p. 66. Quoted in . “Sectional President’s Address:

1947“So far as abductions are concerned, there is not a single village or town in the West Punjab which has not suffered.”In their words6 October 1947Letter by Sardar Patel to Sardar Sahib, 6 October 1947. [https://www.google.com/books/edition/The_Holocaust_of_Indian_Partition/JktuAAAAMAAJ

1931“Patel's presidential address to the Congress, 1931: No one would die of starvation in independent India. Its grain would not be exported. Cloth would not be imported by it.”In their wordsGandhi, Rajmohan. Patel: A Life, p. 92

1920“The Turkish empire was divided in spite of Britain’s promise. The Sultan was made a prisoner in Constantinople. Syria was absorbed by France.”In their wordsAugust 1920In the context of the Khilafat movement, August 1920, as quoted in Rajmohan Gandhi, Patel: A Life, Navajivan Publishing House, Ahmedabad,

1875Born31 October 1875

Also in Deutsch

Photos 7

Sardar patel (cropped)Sardar patel (cropped)Chandamama 1948 01 (page 11 crop)Chandamama 1948 01 (page 11 crop)Indian Constituent AssemblyIndian Constituent AssemblyMahatma Gandhi and KasturbaMahatma Gandhi and KasturbaMahatma Gandhi with Sardar Vallabhbhai PatelMahatma Gandhi with Sardar Vallabhbhai PatelSardar Vallabhbhai Patel (narendramodiofficial Flickr)Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel (narendramodiofficial Flickr)ZHP, 1931, Berlin (2)ZHP, 1931, Berlin (2)

In their own words 10

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Vallabhbhai Patel
,
10 statements, newest first

  1. [I tried to read it] as favourably to our Ambassador and the Chinese Government as possible, but I regret to say that neither of them comes out well as a result of this study...

    1950, Letter to J. Nehru, 1950, Own words

  2. It should not surprise Muslims if doubts were entertained about their loyalty. They could not ride on two horses.

    1948, Patel complaining about the Indian Muslims' silence over Kashmir in a speech in Lucknow in 1948, quoted in B.D. Graham: Hindu Nationalism, Own words

  3. The activities of the RSS constituted a clear threat to the existence of Government and the state.

    Jul 18, 1948, Letter to Syama Prasad Mookerjee, July 18, 1948, Sardar Patel Correspondence, vol. VI, p. 323. Quoted in . “Sectional President’s Address:, Own words

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About this person

Vallabhbhai Patel was born in Nadiad, Gujarat, on 31 October 1875, trained as a lawyer, and became one of Gandhi's earliest political lieutenants, organising peasants in Kheda, Borsad, and Bardoli in non-violent resistance against the British Raj. From 1934 he ran the Congress party's machinery from Bombay - fundraising, candidate selection, election strategy - and on 7 August 1942 delivered a speech to over 100,000 at Gowalia Tank that historians credit with igniting the Quit India rebellion nationwide. When independence came in 1947, Patel became Deputy Prime Minister and Home Minister, organising refugee relief during Partition's chaos and managing the Indo-Pakistani War. His defining achievement: persuading, alongside Nehru and Mountbatten, nearly every one of the 565 princely states released from British rule to join India rather than fracture into sovereign splinters. He died on 15 December 1950, remembered as the Iron Man who forged a country from hundreds of pieces.

Country
India
Category
Politicians
Type
Politician
Status
deceased
Dates
Lived 1875 to 1950 · aged 75

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