Sardar Vallabh Bhai Patel Biography
Vallabhbhai Patel
Born: October 31, 1875, Nadiad
Died: December 15, 1950, Mumbai
Education: Middle Temple
Spouse: Jhaverba Patel (m. 1893–1909)
Parents: Jhaverbhai Patel, Ladba
Awards: Bharat Ratna
Vallabhbhai Jhaverbhai Patel was one of the important social and political leaders of India. He played an important role in India's struggle for freedom. He is believed to be born on 31 October 1875 at Nadiad, Gujarat and was often addressed as Sardar.
He did his matriculation at the age of 22. He seemed to be an ordinary person to everyone around him, but had strong will power. He wanted to become a barrister. At the age of 36, he went to England to fulfill his dream and joined Middle Temple Inn. He completed his 36-month course in just 30 months. After returning to India he became one of the most successful barristers of Ahmedabad.
After India's independence, he became the first Home Minister and Deputy Prime Minister of India. He organised relief camps for refugees in Punjab and Delhi. He was the man behind the consolidation of 565 semi-autonomous princely states to form a united India. Patel was very attached to Mahatma Gandhi. After Mahatma Gandhi's death his condition also started deteriorating, he suffered a major heart attack within two months of Gandhi's death. He died on 15 December 1950. He was a man of courage and determination and in the true sense the 'Iron Man of India'.
Facts and Information about Sardar Vallabh Bhai Patel
| Born | October 31, 1875 (Nadiad) |
| Died | December 15, 1950 (Bombay) |
| Father | Jhaverbhai (farmer) |
| Mother | Laad Bai |
| Wife | Jhaverba |
| Elder Brothers | Somabhai, Narsibhai and Vithalbhai Patel. |
| Younger Brother | Kashibhai |
| Sister | Dahiba |
| Son | Dahyabhai |
| Daughter | Maniben |
| Leaving Home | After contracting Bubonic Plague, he started leaving alone in Nadiad and recuperated slowly. |
| Wife's Cancer | Patel's wife was a patient of cancer. She died during a major surgical operation. |
| Early Political Career | In September 1917, Patel delivered an encouraging speech in Borsad to motivate Indians to sign Gandhi's petition demanding Swaraj. Patel also rose against the forced servitude of Indians to Europeans. He organised relief efforts at the time of plague and famine in the Kheda district. Vallabhbhai Patel initiated a village-to-village tour to involve maximum people in the statewide revolt to refuse the payment of taxes. 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. Satyagraha was led by Patel in Nagpur in the absence of Gandhi in 1923 against a law that restricted the hoisting of the Indian flag. |
| The Sardar | Patel became popular as Sardar among his colleagues and followers after the triumph in Bardoli. Patel became the Congress president for the Karachi session of 1931. |
| Quit India Movement | On the outbreak of World War II, Patel supported Nehru's decision to withdraw the Congress from central and provincial legislatures. In 1940 he was jailed for 9 months . In 1942 he rejected the proposals of the Cripps' mission. |
| Integration after Independence | In the 1946 election for the Congress presidency, Patel stepped down in favour of Nehru. As the first Home Minister, Patel's role was significant in integration of several princely states into the Indian federation. Vallabhbhai Patel believed that the partition of India could resolve the rising Muslim separatist movement led by Muhammad Ali Jinnah. Patel represented India on the Partition Council and chose the Indian council of ministers with Nehru. |
| Leading India | Patel took the decision to appoint Dr. Bhimrao Ramji Ambedkar as the chairman of the drafting committee and the other leaders for the process of writing the constitution. Patel was the chairman of the committees that was responsible for fundamental rights, tribal and excluded areas, minorities and provincial constitutions. 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. |
| Gandhi's death and relations with Nehru | Patel was a loyal follower of Gandhi. Nehru and Patel argued over national issues. Nehru was opposed by Patel over his Kashmir policy. According to Patel, Nehru was not justified in sidelining his home ministry's officials. |
| Institutions | Several institutes have been named after him, such as: Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel University of Agriculture & Technology, Meerut Sardar Vallabhbhai National Institute of Technology, Surat Sardar Patel University, Gujarat Sardar Patel Institute of Technology, Vasad Sardar Patel Vidyalaya, New Delhi Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel Institute of Technology, Vasad |
| Monuments | Sardar Patel Memorial Trust Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel National Memorial, Ahmedabad Sardar Sarovar Dam, Gujarat Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel International Airport, Ahmedabad Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel Stadium, Ahmedabad |
| Films on Sardar Patel | Arun Sadekar played the part of Patel in Hey Ram, a movie by Kamal Haasan in 2000. In 1993, the biopic Sardar was produced and directed by Ketan Mehta, featuring Paresh Rawal as Patel, describing Patel's leadership, the partition of India and Patel's relationship with Gandhi and Nehru. Saeed Jaffrey portrayed Patel in Richard Attenborough's Gandhi in 1982. |
| Mention in literature | Shashi Tharoor in his novel The Great Indian Novel has made use of satire to present the character of Vidur Hastinapuri, which is based on Patel as well as Vidura, a mythological character. |
| Documentary | A documentary on Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel was made under the direction of Kantilal Rathod in 1976. |
| Books | To know more about Patel you may read: Life and Work of Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel, Editor Parshottam Das Saggi, Foreword by C. Rajagopalachari. Overseas Publishing House, Bombay. |
Early life
The date of birth of Vallabhbhai Patel was never officially recorded – Patel entered 31 October as his date of birth on his matriculation examination papers. He was born in Patel (Patidar) caste of Gujarat.
Patel travelled 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 relatively 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, though, harboured a plan to 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, passing his examinations within two years. Fetching Jhaverba from his 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. The couple had a daughter, Maniben, 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 the first chairman and founder of the E.M.H.S. "Edward Memorial High School" Borsad, 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 once nurtured a similar hope 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.
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 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 became a skilled bridge player. Patel nurtured ambitions to expand his practice and accumulate great wealth and to provide his children with a modern education. He had made a pact with his brother Vithalbhai to support his entry into politics in the Bombay Presidency, while Patel remained in Ahmedabad to provide for the family.
He was a vegetarian.
Fight for self-rule
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.
Patel gave a speech in Borsad in September 1917, encouraging Indians nationwide to sign Gandhi's petition demanding Swaraj—self-rule—from Britain. 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 ofplague 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 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.
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