{"id":58112,"date":"2025-10-31T18:58:55","date_gmt":"2025-10-31T13:28:55","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/?p=58112"},"modified":"2025-11-01T11:23:00","modified_gmt":"2025-11-01T05:53:00","slug":"sardar-patel-vision-national-unity","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/current-affairs\/31-10-2025\/sardar-patel-vision-national-unity","title":{"rendered":"Sardar Patel\u2019s Vision &amp; Meaning of National Unity"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p><strong>Syllabus: GS1\/History<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Context<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>On October 31st, the Prime Minister of India led the nation in commemorating <strong>Rashtriya Ekta Diwas (National Unity Day)<\/strong> at Ekta Nagar, Kevadia, Gujarat, marking the<strong> 150th birth anniversary of Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel.<\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>About Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong>Born: 31st October 1875<\/strong> in the Leuva Patel Patidar community at <strong>Nadiad, Gujarat.<\/strong><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Education<\/strong>: A <strong>law graduate, <\/strong>later, went to <strong>England<\/strong> to study further, and became a <strong>barrister<\/strong>, and began his legal practice in <strong>Ahmedabad<\/strong>, Gujarat, after returning to India.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Contribution to India\u2019s Independence Movement<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Sardar Patel met with <strong>Mahatma Gandhi in October 1917<\/strong>, which inspired him to dedicate his life to India\u2019s freedom struggle.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>He began his public career in <strong>1917<\/strong> as the <strong>Sanitation Commissioner of Ahmedabad<\/strong>, and later served as <strong>Chairman of the Municipal Committee (1924\u20131928)<\/strong>.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>He joined the<a href=\"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/current-affairs\/29-12-2022\/indian-national-congress-inc-foundation-day\" data-type=\"link\" data-id=\"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/current-affairs\/29-12-2022\/indian-national-congress-inc-foundation-day\"> <strong>Indian National Congress (INC)<\/strong><\/a> and initially led the <strong>Satyagraha movement in Gujarat<\/strong> to protest against British oppression.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Later, he took an <strong>active role in the Quit India Movement (1942)<\/strong> and worked closely with Gandhiji to mobilize people for independence.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-table\"><table class=\"has-background\" style=\"background-color:#ebecf0\"><tbody><tr><td><strong>Sardar Patel &amp; Satyagraha<\/strong><br>&#8211; <strong>Kheda Satyagraha (1918)<\/strong>: It sought <strong>remission of land revenue<\/strong> following a devastating crop failure. The three-month-long peaceful protest compelled the British government to grant relief, despite intense official oppression, including arrests and confiscations.<br>&#8211; <strong>Bardoli Satyagraha (1928): <\/strong>Sardar<strong> <\/strong>Patel led the farmers\u2019 resistance with discipline and unity, when the British authorities increased land revenue by <strong>22% to 60%<\/strong>.<br>1. The success of the movement earned Patel the title <strong>\u2018Sardar\u2019<\/strong>, conferred upon him <strong>by Mahatma Gandhi,<\/strong> and elevated him as a key leader in India\u2019s <strong>Civil Disobedience Movement<\/strong> and a symbol of organized resistance.<\/td><\/tr><\/tbody><\/table><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Architect of National Integration (Post Independence)<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Sardar Patel became the <strong>first Home Minister<\/strong> and <strong>Deputy Prime Minister<\/strong> of India.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>One of his most significant contributions was the <strong>integration of over 560 princely states<\/strong> into the Indian Union.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>He was considered the <strong>de facto Supreme Commander-in-Chief of the Indian Army <\/strong>during the crucial period of political integration of India and the Indo-Pakistani War of 1947.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>His vision culminated in later milestones \u2014 <strong>merger of Goa (1961), Sikkim\u2019s accession (1975), and the abrogation of Article 370 (2019), fulfilling his dream of complete unity.<\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Legacy of Sardar Patel<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong>The Iron Man of India: <\/strong>Sardar Patel\u2019s life was a remarkable example of determination, unity, and leadership. His strong belief in \u2018Unity in Diversity\u2019 and his leadership for a common cause made him the <strong>Iron Man of India<\/strong>.\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong>Rashtriya Ekta Diwas (National Unity Day) <\/strong>was<strong> instituted in 2014<\/strong> to celebrate the monumental role in unifying over 560 princely states into the Indian Union after independence.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Recognition and Bharat Ratna Award:<\/strong> Sardar Patel was awarded by<strong> Bharat Ratna<\/strong>, India\u2019s highest civilian honor, in <strong>1991<\/strong>, <strong>41 years after his death in 1950<\/strong>.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Sardar Patel\u2019s legacy teaches that <strong>unity is not inherited \u2014 it must be rebuilt in every generation.<\/strong> It demands constant defence against forces of <strong>indifference, ignorance, and regionalism.<\/strong>\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>As India grows and diversifies, Patel\u2019s message endures: <strong>Our strength lies not in sameness, but in solidarity.<\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Patel\u2019s vision of unity was about <strong>federation \u2014 a union of minds and hearts bound by shared heritage<\/strong>.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.thehindu.com\/news\/national\/sardar-patels-vision-and-the-meaning-of-national-unity-today\/article70221709.ece\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Source: TH<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p><strong>Context<\/strong><\/p>\n<li class=\"ms-5\">On October 31st, the Prime Minister of India led the nation in commemorating Rashtriya Ekta Diwas (National Unity Day) at Ekta Nagar, Kevadia, Gujarat, marking the 150th birth anniversary of Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel.<\/li>\n<p><\/p>\n<p><strong>About Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel<\/strong><\/p>\n<li class=\"ms-5\">Born: 31st October 1875 in the Leuva Patel Patidar community at Nadiad, Gujarat.<\/li>\n<li class=\"ms-5\">Education: A law graduate, later, went to England to study further, and became a barrister, and began his legal practice in Ahmedabad, Gujarat, after returning to India.<\/li>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/current-affairs\/31-10-2025\/sardar-patel-vision-national-unity\" class=\"btn btn-primary btn-sm float-end\">Read\u00a0More<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":15,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[21],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-58112","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-current-affairs"],"acf":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/58112","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/15"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=58112"}],"version-history":[{"count":5,"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/58112\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":58166,"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/58112\/revisions\/58166"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=58112"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=58112"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=58112"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}