Vallabhbahi Patel, known as the Iron Man of India, has famously left behind a great legacy. He was one of those in the forefront of the Freedom movement, functioned as India’s first Deputy Prime Minister and Home Minister under Jawaharlal Nehru, and is credited with the unification of India as it exists today.
Patel’s great contributions were done in a matter of less than four years. His untimely demise in 1950 added to his cult status among large sections of the Indian populace, mostly Gujaratis. He lived and died as a Congressman. It, however, is curious to notice the way some others — read the BJP, which traces its genesis to the erstwhile Jan Sangh of the RSS shade — are trying to appropriate the legacy of Patel.
It goes to show, if anything, that the BJP has no hero with a national stature that it can project now. This being so, the political slug-fest centering around Patel’s 142nd birth anniversary celebrations Tuesday could have been avoided. It is indeed sad that the BJP has deemed it fit to drag Patel for its election purpose.
It is widely known that the Patedar community in Gujarat is upset with Modi. To think that by reviving Patel’s ghost for electoral ends the BJP shall benefit, speaks of a crude mindset. While everyone feels the BJP is certain to win the upcoming Gujarat Assembly polls, the desperation of the Modi-Shah duo may indicate otherwise.
Jawaharlal Nehru, as India’s first Prime Minister, laid firm foundations for the growth of India. It is a debatable point whether successive generations of leaders lived up to that stature. Nehru’s vision to make India great had seen Independent India strengthening its base both in agriculture and industry through the building of dams and irrigation facilities to help the farms raise their output and in the setting up of steel plants to help push the industrialisation process. However, successive governments have failed to keep up the same pitch.
Nehru’s exposure to the outside world helped him shape India’s destiny in better ways. His weakness however was his straight thinking, adherence to principles and his care to avoid confrontations. Patel, the antithesis of Nehru, with a deeply agrarian mindset, balanced the great Indian show with a firmness that is remembered.
But for Patel’s strong will, what is now Hyderabad ruled by the Nizam could have gone with Pakistan, the same way as East Bengal became East Pakistan. As is recorded in history, it was also Patel who insisted on sending the Indian security forces to Goa to annex it from the Portuguese.
Patel also muscle-flexed his way to incorporating some of the princely states that showed an unwillingness to join the Indian Union, especially in areas such as Orissa. A rustic rashness perhaps punctuated Patel’s actions.
His contributions to the unification of India after the British left are thus written in letters of gold. All this is not to say Patel did these things on his own. Rather, he persuaded his PM to take such strong decisions that, looking back, were awe-inspiring.
Vallabhbhai Patel’s leadership qualities were such that he dared to act when he was convinced of the need to take a step in national interest. New generations of leaders are often seen doing things the other way round. Populism takes precedence over people’s — and the nation’s — interests.
