Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel jayanti 2023, Ekta Diwas: The 148th birth anniversary of Iron Man Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel will be celebrated across the country on 31st October. Apart from being a great visionary politician-administrator of independent India, he was also a distinguished lawyer, barrister and senior leader of the Indian National Congress. Patel is one of those few great leaders and freedom fighters whose contribution not only before independence but also after independence cannot be forgotten. After independence, Sardar Patel played the most important role in uniting the entire nation. He is also called the Iron Man of India and Bismarck of India. Vallabhbhai Patel’s birth anniversary is celebrated as National Unity Day in the country. He had a strong, steadfast and determined personality.
Know here 10 special things about Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel –
1. Got married at the age of 16
Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel was born on 31 October 1875 in a farmer family in Nadiad, Gujarat. He was the fourth child of his parents. He got married at the age of 16. He was only 33 years old when his wife died.
2. How he came into social life from advocacy, was influenced by Gandhiji
Sardar Patel was well versed in law. He went to London and studied barrister and after coming back started practicing law in Ahmedabad. Inspired by the ideas of Mahatma Gandhi, he participated in India’s independence movement. Sardar Patel’s first and major contribution to the freedom movement was in the Kheda struggle in 1918. There was a drought in Kheda at that time and the British government had refused to provide tax relief to the farmers. Patel led this movement and left advocacy and entered social life.
3. How is the name Sardar associated with it?
He also successfully led the farmers’ movement in the Bardoli Satyagraha held in 1928. After the success of the Bardoli Satyagraha movement, the women there gave the title of ‘Sardar’ to Vallabhbhai Patel. Gandhiji called him Sardar of Bardoli.
Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel Jayanti Speech: Easy speech on Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel Jayanti and Unity Day
4. After independence, the princely states were merged into the country.
The great freedom fighter Iron Man Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel was the first Deputy Prime Minister and Home Minister of India. After achieving independence, his contribution in building a united India by unifying the princely states cannot be forgotten. He created Indian unity by merging 562 small and big princely states into the Indian Union. His excellent leadership and administrative ability is credited for the geopolitical integration of India.
5. Who said Iron Man?
After independence and partition, another major problem facing India was related to the princely states. Gandhi told Patel, “The problem of the princely states is so difficult that you alone can solve it.”
Due to his courageous actions and strong personality, Mahatma Gandhi had given the title of Iron Man to Sardar Patel. He is also known as Bismarck of India.
6. Statue of Unity
On 31 October 2018, the world’s tallest statue “Statue of Unity” in front of Sardar Sarovar Dam of Narmada in Gujarat was dedicated to Patel ji, which indicates “his contribution to the unity of the country”. This statue of Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel is a 182 meters (597 ft) high iron statue. This is the tallest statue in the world. The height of the Statue of Liberty is only 93 meters.
7. Father of All India Services
Sardar Patel was the first person in independent India who understood the importance of Indian Civil Services and called its continuity essential for the Indian Union. It was the vision of Sardar Patel that the Indian Administrative Services would play an important role in keeping the country united. He laid great emphasis on strengthening the Indian Administrative Services. He called civil services a steel frame.
8. Important role in constitution making
Being a senior member of the Constituent Assembly of India, Sardar Patel was one of the key leaders who shaped the Constitution. He was the chairman of the provincial constitution committees.
9. National Unity Day on Patel Jayanti
The foundation of any country lies in its unity and integrity and Sardar Patel was the architect of the unity of the country. For this reason his birthday is celebrated as National Unity Day. It started from 2014.
10. Sardar Patel ji died on December 15, 1950 in Mumbai. In 1991, Sardar Patel was posthumously awarded ‘Bharat Ratna’.