Sardar Vallabhbhai Jhaverbhai Patel(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. Therefore he is also regarded as the "Bismarck(1st Chancellor of the German Empire) of India" and "Iron Man of India". In India and across the world, he was often addressed as Sardar, which means Chief in Hindi, Urdu, and Persian.
He was raised in the countryside of Gujarat in a 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. Hailed as the Iron Man of India, he is also remembered as the
"Patron Saint" of India's civil servants for establishing modern all-India services. Patel was also one of the earliest proponents of property rights and free enterprise in India.
Biography
Sardar Vallabh Bhai Patel was born at his maternel uncle's house Desai Vago in Nadiad in Leva Patidar community of Gujarat. He belongs to Kurmi ,
Landlords community. 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, in the Anand district of the 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. 1.5 million 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
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.
 |
| Azad, Patel and Gandhi at an AICC meeting in Bombay, 1940 |
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 hundred thousand 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 a Home Minister, Patel
merged all parts of India under federal control but Jammu and Kashmir was left out because of Nehru. After that Patel started campaign for constituent assembly elections.
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
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 five hundred thousand to a million people. The estimated number of refugees in both countries exceeds 15 million.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
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.
Somnath temple Restoration
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| Somnath temple ruins, 1869 |
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| Sardar Patel ordered Somnath temple reconstructed in 1948. |
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| Hyderabad state in 1909. Its area stretches over the present Indian states of Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Maharashtra. |
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.
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, knowing that he lacked
Nehru's youth and popularity. He believed 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 one million 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 nationalist 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. 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. Ironically his image and name are used by leaders of parties against Indian National Congress
than the party to which he belonged. Many right wing conservatives try
to portrait him as a staunch Hindu supporter at the time of partition
wherein the fact lies much different as he was committed to citizens of
the country irrespective religions,casts etc.
Among Patel's surviving family, Manibehn 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.
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 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, 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.
Institutions and monuments
- Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel University of Agriculture & Technology, Modipuram MEERUT. (U.P)
- Sardar Patel Memorial Trust
- Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel National Memorial, Ahmedabad
- Sardar Sarovar Dam, Gujarat
- Sardar Vallabhbhai National Institute of Technology, Surat
- Sardar Patel University, Gujarat
- Sardar Patel Vidyalaya, New Delhi
- Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel National Police Academy, Hyderabad
- Sardar Patel College of Engineering, Mumbai
- Sardar Patel Institute of Technology, Mumbai
- Statue of Unity, Gujarat
- Sardar Patel Institute of Public Administration, Ahmedaad
- Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel Foundation, Delhi
- Sardar Patel Education Trust, Anand
- Sardar Patel College of Communications & Management, Delhi
- Sardar Patel Public College, Delhi
- Sardar Patel College of Education, Gurgaon
- Sardar Patel Medical College, Bikaner
- Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel Institute of Technology, Vasad
- Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel International Airport, Ahmedabad
- Sardar Patel Stadium
- Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel Stadium, Ahmedabad
- Sardar Patel Institute of Economic & Social Research
- Vallabh Vidhyalay, Bochasan, Anand
- Sardar Vallbhbhai Patel Vidyalay, Vadodara
- Sardar vallabhbhai patel polytechnic college,bhopal(m.p.)
Artistic depictions of Patel
- 2000: Arun Sadekar plays Patel in Hey Ram – a film made by Kamal Haasan.
- 1993: The biopic Sardar was produced and directed by Ketan Mehta and featured noted Indian actor Paresh Rawal as Patel; it focused on Patel's leadership in the years leading up to independence, the partition of India, India's political integration and Patel's relationship with Gandhi and Nehru.
- 1989: In a satirical novel "The Great Indian Novel" by Shashi Tharoor, the character of Vidur Hastinapuri is simultaneously based on Patel as well as the mythological character Vidura.
- 1982: In Richard Attenborough's Gandhi (1982), actor Saeed Jaffrey portrayed Patel.
- 1976: Kantilal Rathod directed a documentary on Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel.
Further reading
- Life and work of Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel, ed . Parshottam Das Saggi, Foreword by C. Rajagopalachari. Overseas Publishing House, Bombay.
References
source-wikipedia.com
|
- Menon, V.P (1961), The story of the integration of the Indian States, Orient Longmans, OCLC 260719
- Menon, V. P. (1957), The Transfer of Power in India, Princeton University Press, OCLC 4352298
- Nayar, Pyarelal (1958), Mahatma Gandhi: the last phase, Navajivan Pub. House, OCLC 1652068
- Hodson, H.V (1997), Great Divide; Britain, India, Pakistan (New Ed ed.), Oxford University Press, USA, ISBN 0-19-577821-9
- Campbell-Johnson, A ([1953] (1951)), Mission With Mountbatten, Dutton, OCLC 1302764
- Munshi, K.M. (1967), Pilgrimage to freedom, 1902–1950, (Indian constitutional documents) (1st ed.), Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan, OCLC 5433579
- Shankar, Vidya (1974–75), My Reminiscences of Sardar Patel (2 volumes) (1st ed.), Macmillan, New Delhi, OCLC 2119134
