Q: Which leader is known as the ‘Iron Man of India’?
A: Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel.
A: Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel.
This question above was my first introduction to Vallabhbhai Patel - fondly known as ‘Sardar’ for his leadership abilities - as I started getting my lessons in Indian history as a child. Having grown up admiring mainly Gandhi and Nehru, I only happened to have an occasional glimpse of the personality that ‘Sardar’ was. The portrayal of him as an antagonist of Subhash Chandra Bose, as found in one of Bose’s biographies, didn’t help his image in my mind. Also, the recent hijacking of Patel's persona by the Hindu Right/Radicals that projected Patel as one of their own, cast doubts in my mind about the greatness of this man. I started thinking of him as just another leader who happened to be an acolyte of Gandhi and hence got into the limelight. Man, how wrong I was!
As I started indulging more in Indian history, especially its post-Independence days, I grew more curious to learn about Patel. Was it really possible for a narrow-minded leader with a communal slant to have united the country without using much force and bloodshed? How could a leader, who prioritized the welfare of only Hindus, have managed to fuse the country of various ethnicities, languages and divisions of other kinds, into one strong nation? As these questions started tugging at my mind and made me feel guilty about carrying a negative opinion of a leader about whom I knew next to nothing, I decided to do what I do best - read.
‘Words of Freedom’ is an excellent book series by Penguin Publishers, which carries the speeches and writings of many of the past greats of India. Wisely selected essays and articles in these books give one a basic yet clear idea about the personality and thought-flow of the chosen great man - or woman. I picked up this book that carries the words of Patel as a first step towards learning about him.
I must confess, I have now got immense respect for Sardar Patel after going through this book. Here is a leader who didn’t mince his words, a character not conducive to a successful public life in a corrupt society like ours. He was a man who called a spade a spade, was practical in his thoughts and deeds, had a will of steel, had pragmatic approach towards the society and the challenges. He had his dreams and visions of course, but he also saw the path towards the same in a clear manner. He wasn’t a starry-eyed ideologue hoping to form an Utopian Indian society. And, he DEFINITELY wasn’t communal!
I am stressing on the last sentence, because that’s how he was projected to me by my friends in Hindu as well as other-than-Hindu religions. He was someone who saw Indians as just that – Indians. He wouldn’t have treated you in any special manner just because you belonged to a particular religion, caste or sect. Also, he wouldn’t have mollycoddled you if you played ‘minority’ card. He had this ability to see the people based on their merit. No wonder he wasn’t and still isn’t popular among many.
His vision, his equanimity, his pragmatism, his moral strength, his indomitable will, his love for his country - are all nicely captured in this short book. A commendable job by Penguin Publishers.
But as the book progresses chronologically, towards the end you get a feeling that Sardar Patel died a disillusioned and disenchanted man, with his love for his country accentuating his pain for the ways in which the country had started deteriorating. Corruption, communal violence, lack of focus on the purpose on hand – that of strengthening the nation, and the citizens' plunging into selfish motives have all hurt him badly. Any sensitive reader could realize the pain and yet that undying hope in his words.
Wish this nation had had the fortune of seeing Sardar alive and in good health for another decade at least. He would have definitely changed the course of this country’s post-independence history and progress. A great leader in his own right, he was content to have kept to the shadows of the Gandhi during his time, staying on in the sidelines even after Gandhi’s demise, playing the role of an able and apt ally for Nehru. Iron Man, indeed!
As I started indulging more in Indian history, especially its post-Independence days, I grew more curious to learn about Patel. Was it really possible for a narrow-minded leader with a communal slant to have united the country without using much force and bloodshed? How could a leader, who prioritized the welfare of only Hindus, have managed to fuse the country of various ethnicities, languages and divisions of other kinds, into one strong nation? As these questions started tugging at my mind and made me feel guilty about carrying a negative opinion of a leader about whom I knew next to nothing, I decided to do what I do best - read.
‘Words of Freedom’ is an excellent book series by Penguin Publishers, which carries the speeches and writings of many of the past greats of India. Wisely selected essays and articles in these books give one a basic yet clear idea about the personality and thought-flow of the chosen great man - or woman. I picked up this book that carries the words of Patel as a first step towards learning about him.
I must confess, I have now got immense respect for Sardar Patel after going through this book. Here is a leader who didn’t mince his words, a character not conducive to a successful public life in a corrupt society like ours. He was a man who called a spade a spade, was practical in his thoughts and deeds, had a will of steel, had pragmatic approach towards the society and the challenges. He had his dreams and visions of course, but he also saw the path towards the same in a clear manner. He wasn’t a starry-eyed ideologue hoping to form an Utopian Indian society. And, he DEFINITELY wasn’t communal!
I am stressing on the last sentence, because that’s how he was projected to me by my friends in Hindu as well as other-than-Hindu religions. He was someone who saw Indians as just that – Indians. He wouldn’t have treated you in any special manner just because you belonged to a particular religion, caste or sect. Also, he wouldn’t have mollycoddled you if you played ‘minority’ card. He had this ability to see the people based on their merit. No wonder he wasn’t and still isn’t popular among many.
His vision, his equanimity, his pragmatism, his moral strength, his indomitable will, his love for his country - are all nicely captured in this short book. A commendable job by Penguin Publishers.
But as the book progresses chronologically, towards the end you get a feeling that Sardar Patel died a disillusioned and disenchanted man, with his love for his country accentuating his pain for the ways in which the country had started deteriorating. Corruption, communal violence, lack of focus on the purpose on hand – that of strengthening the nation, and the citizens' plunging into selfish motives have all hurt him badly. Any sensitive reader could realize the pain and yet that undying hope in his words.
Wish this nation had had the fortune of seeing Sardar alive and in good health for another decade at least. He would have definitely changed the course of this country’s post-independence history and progress. A great leader in his own right, he was content to have kept to the shadows of the Gandhi during his time, staying on in the sidelines even after Gandhi’s demise, playing the role of an able and apt ally for Nehru. Iron Man, indeed!
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