Tribute to Sardar Patel

Author(s): Friends of Sardar Patel Awrd Association UCLA
Publisher: USA Friends of Sardar Patel Awrd Association UCLA
Catalog link: https://jainqq.org/explore/529501/1

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Tribute to Sardar Patel
वज्रात् अपि कठोरानि
मृदुनि कुसुमात् अपि || (Tougher than diamond, Tender as flower) ©ctober 31, 1875. December 15, 1950

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Tribute to
Bharat Ratna Sardar Patel
On the occasion of
Establishment of the Sardar Patel Award
at UCLA
October 31, 1999

Editor
D. R. SarDesai
Published by Friends of Sardar Patel Award Association &
Navin and Pratima Doshi Chair in Indian History, UCLA
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Friends of the Sardar Patel Award Association
Advisor:
Chairman:
President:
Uka Solanki
Vice-Presidents: Dr. Vikram Kamdar & Dinker Shah
Secretary:
Treasurer
Dr. D.R. SarDesai,
Emeritus Professor of History, UCLA Lalchand Gaglani
Jitendra Mehta
Sumant Patel
Members at Large: Rashmi Desai
Pratima Doshi Navin Doshi Ramesh Doshi Dr. Gita Mehta Kanu Parikh Gordhan Patel
Naresh Patel
Bhupen Randeria Bhanu SarDesai
Sarv Singh Virendra Shah
Sarita Vasa Harkishan Vasa
Doshi Chair in Indian History, UCLA
Chair: Dr. D.R. SarDesai
Advisory Committee:
Vice-Chancellor Kumar Patel
Dr. Shiva Bajpai
Navin Doshi
Indra Gandhi
Dr. Vikram Kamdar Bhupesh Parikh
Dinesh Patel
UCLA History Department Chair: Professor Brenda Stevenson
UCLA Dean of Social Sciences: Professor Scott Waugh

Provost, College of Letters and Science: Professor Brian Copenhaver
Vice-Chancellor, Graduate Division: Professor Claudia Mitchell-Kernan
Chancellor: Professor Albert Carnesale

Sub-Committees for the Program
Tribute to Sardar Patel
On October 31, 1999 Reception Committee
Vice Chancellor Kumar & Shela Patel Dr. D.R. & Bhanu SarDesai Navin & Pratima Doshi Uka & Nalini Solanki Naresh & Rama Patel Jitendra & Meena Mchta
Banquet Committee
Sumant & Chandrika Patel Pratima Doshi Bhanu SarDesai Dr. Anjana Kamdar Dinker & Aruna Shah Gordhan Patel
Concept Presentation Committee Jayendra and Indira Bhatt Navin & Pratima Doshi Lalchand and Nalini Gaglani Vikram and Anjana Kamdar
Anil and Gita Mehta Jitendra and Meena Mchta Minal Mehta
Kanu and Indira Parikh Vice Chancellor Kumar and Shela Patel
Naresh and Rama Patel Sumant and Chandrika Patel Dr. D.R. and Bhanu SarDesai Dinker and Aruna Shah Karishma Shah Tejal Shah
Virendra and Urvashi Shah Uka and Nalini Solanki Harkishan and Kusum Vasa Sarita Vasa
Publicity Committee Dr. D.R. SarDesai Harkishan Vasa
Sarita Vasa Lalchand Gaglani Bhupen Randeria Pinakin Pathak
Theater & Exhibition Committee Ramesh Doshi
Arvind Joshi Vikram Kamdar Pinakin Pathak Bhanu SarDesai Niru Jayaraman
Finance Committee
Sumant Patel Kanu Parikh Shashikant Patel Pratap Dholakia Navin Doshi
Coordinator: Dr. Sangeeta Gupta

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Our Distinguished Guests.......
Thinking of Sardar Patel - D.R. SarDesai....
Sardar Patel Award A Genesis - Vikram Kamdar..
The Human Side of Sardar Patel Amin Kureshi..
Introduction to Time Magazine Story.......
Table of Contents
Time Magazine Cover.........
Excerpts from TIME Magazine..
What Sardar's Contemporaries said about Sardar.
Wit and Wisdom of Sardar Patel.
Sardar and Bardoli - Dahyabhyai V. Patel......
Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel - Minal Mehta.......
Sardar's Leadership Sarita Vasa.....
Sardar's Handwriting....
Sardar Patel- A Chronology..
Sardar Patel - A Bibliography..
Sardar Patel in Pictures.......
Sardar Patel Award at UCLA - List of Donors.
Sponsors of "Tribute to Sardar Patel" on Oct 31, 1999..
Acknowledgements...
The Sardar - A Poem by "Scorpio"..

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Our Distinguished Guests
mbassador Rajendra M. Abhyankar, M.A. (Econ), University of Delhi; joined the Indian Diplomatic Service in 1968 when he was working for his Ph.D. in Econ at the University of Bombay.
A
Wide experience of bilateral and multilateral work as Deputy High Commissioner of India in Sri Lanka, 1982-84; High Commissioner to Cyprus 1987-90, Joint Secre tary Ministry of External Affairs, 1990-92; Ambassador of India to Turkey and concurrently to the Republic of Azerbaijan, 1996-1998.
Currently, Consul General of India in San Francisco with jurisdiction over 14 states in western United States.
Speaks French, Italian, Greek, Arabic, and Turkish apart from four Indian languages.
Z
ev Yaroslavsky represents the Third Supervisorial District, comprising much of the City of Los Angeles, including the San Fernando Valley, Hollywood and Los Feliz, the Wilshire corridor, and West Los Angeles; the cities of Beverly Hills, West Hollywood, Santa Monica, Malibu, Agoura Hills, Calabasas, Hidden Hills, Westlake Village and San Fernando; and unincorporated areas including Topanga and the Santa Monica Mountains.
He formerly served on the Los Angeles City Council, first elected in 1975 and subsequently re-elected in 1977, 1981, 1985, 1989 and 1993. Yaroslavsky was elected to the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors in June 1994, assuming office on December 5, 1994, and was subsequently reelected on June 2, 1998. He also serves on the Board of Directors of the Metropolitan Transportation Authority, and as a member of the Los Angeles Coliseum Commission.
Since joining the Board, he has firmly established his leadership in budget matters, repeatedly challenging an entrenched "business-as-usual" mentality that has severely compromised the County's ability to provide critically needed health, welfare, and justice services in a fiscally prudent manner.
Born on December 21, 1948, Supervisor Yaroslavsky is a lifelong resident of the district he represents. A graduate of UCLA (Master's, History, 1972; Bachelor's, History and Economics, 1971). He is married with two children.
R
ajmohan Gandhi b. August 7, 1935, grandson of Mahatma Gandhi and of Chakravarti Rajagopalachari, First Indian Governor-General of Independent India; writer, commentator and former member of the Rajya Sabha, Upper House of the Indian Parliament.
Chief Editor, Himmat Weekly, Bombay 1964-81; Member, Press Council of India, 1982-84; Resident Editor, Indian Express, Madras, 1985-87.
Fellow, Woodrow Wilson Center, Washington, D.C., 1984-85; Visiting Professor, George Mason University, 1995; George A. Miller Visiting Professor of History, University of Illinois (1997); and International Council Visiting Professor of History & Politics, University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign (1999); currently Research Professor, Centre for Policy Research, New Delhi (since July, 1992).
Honorary Doctorate of Laws, University of Calgary, 1997; Honorary Ph.D., University of Tokyo, 1997; Honorary Professorship, State University of Osh, Kyrgyz Republic, 1996.
Publications include: Rajaji, A Life, New Delhi, 1997; The Good Boatman: A Portrait of Gandhi, New Delhi, 1995; Patel, A Life, Ahmedabad, 1990; Eight Lives: A Study of the Hindu Muslim Encounter, Albany, New York, 1986; Revenge and Reconciliation: Understanding South Asian History, New Delhi, Penguin (forthcoming).
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Thinking of Sardar Patel
Dear Admirers of Sardar Patel:
It is a great pleasure, indeed, to present this booklet to you on the momentous occasion of the establishment of a national academic award in the name of Sardar Patel at UCLA.
Sardar Patel belonged to that galaxy of men and women of extraordinary talent in India who gave up their lucrative careers and a luxurious lifestyle for a life of sacrifice and long prison terms in an uphill struggle against the might of the British Empire to bring human rights to a one-sixth of the human race. Among these, the triumvirate of Gandhi, Nehru and Patel was universally regarded as standing shoulders above the others in the last phase of wresting freedom from an alien rule and building a new society based on the “revolution of rising expectations", to borrow a phrase from the erudite Adlai Stevenson.
Ordinary people in India, conversant with the message in the Gita, regarded these three great leaders as yugapurushas, with a specific mission to accomplish on earth. During the short period the Mahatma lived after India's attainment of independence, his mission was regarded by millions to have been completed, his potent weapons of fasting and satyagraha against alien domination being considered irrelevant and sometimes obstructionist in the functioning of an indigenous democracy. However, his message and methods retained their relevance for distant climes in the struggles for human dignity and freedom. Nehru was believed to have played his full innings, in the cricket terminology familiar to Indians, with many brilliant fours and sixes, as he helped provide India with a fairly strong and durable political, legal, social, scientific, academic and India economic infrastructure even while projecting India's image and role on the global stage far out of proportion to its economic or military strength.
Only Patel was considered to have been snatched away by death before his time. How many times even today do we hear in India, in private meetings and in public gatherings, when things go wrong or not so well, a sighful statement like “If only the Sardar had lived a little longer....." His genius for organization and public administration was universally recognised in India and in knowledgeable circles overseas. Thus, the TIME magazine, generally regarded as being indifferent to happenings in India, projected Patel on its cover page in January, 1947, a few months before India's independence and in its largely laudatory cover story, it described him as the only leader who could provide solutions to problems that seemed insuperable for India on the eve of British withdrawal from the sub-continent. We have in this little booklet, reprinted the TIME cover and extracts from the cover story.
Sardar is often portrayed as a stern, severe man with a dour face. After all, did he not "liquidate" some 565 princely states in a matter of months, brought the obdurate Nizam to his knees through "police action," dealt firmly with riots and the refugee problem, generally projected an image of a no-nonsense Home Minister and Deputy Prime Minister of India? Few are aware of the human side of this so-called “Iron Man of India," that Gandhiji had insisted on having his company in Yeravada jail not only because Sardar "mothered" him but because Sardar's wit and humor served as an anti-depressant. We have, therefore, provided in this booklet some vignettes, including from two persons very much with us (may they live long and in good health), which testify to Sardar's human side. We have also published what his contemporaries thought of him. And for those who want to pursue a further study of Sardar's life and work, we have listed an extensive bibliography and a chronolgy chronicling the most important events of his life.
In the following article, Dr Vikram Kamdar has faithfully recorded the development of the idea of commemorating Sardar Patel at UCLA from a one-time conference to a permanent endowment for an annual national award. I should add a couple of points one of which Dr Kamdar left out from his account out of modesty. The initial idea of holding a conference was his, developed further at his house over a couple of meetings of the "core" group. Secondly, I should add that as far as is now known, the proposed Sardar Patel Dissertation Award of $10,000 annually is the largest such award in social sciences, humanities, fine arts and education in the U.S. We, the Friends of the Sardar Patel Award Association, hope that this will attract students of even higher caliber than now to the field of India Studies, that it will goad them to strive for excellence in their dissertations and that it will have a trickle-down effect on the study of India at college and school levels generally in the country and that over the years, the winners of this prestigious award ,who will hopefully style themselves "Sardar Patel Scholars", would be readily identifiable as scholars of great merit.
D.R SarDesai Emeritus Professor of History, UCLA
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Sardar Patel Award Genesis
Birth of An Idea
n opportunity was presented to Mr. Lalchandbhai Gaglani by Dr. Barindra Desai, President, Sardar Patel Memorial Society of North America, to show the highly acclaimed movie 'Sardar' in Southern California and to raise a fund for a charitable organization. A thought came to the core group of what was later to be the Friends of Sardar Patel Award Association (FSPAA) to hold a seminar on the life and contributions of Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel at UCLA under the auspices of the Navin and Pratima Doshi Chair. Prof. D.R. SarDesai expanded the thought into a proposal to create a Sardar Patel Fellowship at UCLA for a Ph.D. student in history or political science addressing modern India, and thereby perpetuating the memory of and thus a true tribute to Sardar Patel. After much discussion, Vice Chancellor Kumar Patel suggested to have an annual award in the name of Sardar to be awarded at an annual event, for the best doctoral dissertation on any aspect of Modern India - social sciences, humanities, education, or fine arts from any U.S. university. Such a prestigious Sardar Patel award would appreciably raise the level of interest and initiate research in Studies of India in the U.S. and thereby contribute to a deeper and better understanding between the two countries. It was estimated that an endowment of $250,000 would be sufficient to generate an annual income to confer an award of $10,000. The award could be established in the History Department, in which the Doshi Chair was housed. The members of the core group were excited with this unique opportunity and thought that the goal of fundraising was reachable. This idea was then presented to UCLA by Prof. SarDesai and was accepted by the Chair of the History Department Professor Brenda Stevenson.

By Dr. Vikram Kamdar
Dream Realized
nd
In March of this year, it was decided to have a grand celebration of the inception of the Sardar Patel Award at UCLA by showing the movie 'Sardar' followed by a banquet. October 31 1999, the 124th birthday of Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel, was decided for the program. The first fundraising event at Gaylord Restaurant on May 2 with Mr. Ukabhai Solanki as the guest of honor became a grand success. Spirited and moving speeches by Dinkar Shah, Naresh Patel, Jayendrabhai Bhatt, Geeta Mehta, Amit Desai and at clear and articulate presentation of the concept by Dr. D.R. SarDesai touched the hearts and minds of friends. The generous contribution of Mr. Solanki triggered the enthusiasm and over $100,000 was pledged. Thanks to several fund raising events arranged by various committee members and individual efforts of many the target of $250,000 has almost been reached. During these months a large number of Friends of Sardar Patel Award have worked hard to raise the money and to organize this event today. Our special guest Mr. Rajmohan Gandhi has agreed to come from India to grace this occasion. All through this process Mr. Lalchand Gaglani has remained a guiding force, starting with a vision, organization, coordination and perseverance. Prof. D.R. SarDesai has been the brain and the backbone of the entire project. Without his vision, knowledge, wisdom, hard work, organizing capacity, and vast experience this dream would not have been realized.
Vision of the Future
T
his establishment of the Sardar Patel Award is a humble attempt in line with several contributions made to centers of learning by the Indian American community. One such was recently initiated by Navin & Pratima Doshi in Southern California by a generous donation to UCLA. These are the initial bricks for the India Center we would soon want to build at UCLA.
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The Human Side B DAR PATEL
-By Amin Kureshi'
his incident relates to Hazrat Nizamuddin
Awilia's Dargah, a Muslim holy shrine in Delhi, which is well known throughout In
dia. Many Muslims in Ahmedabad have been followers of this Dargah. In the absence of its chief administrator, the electricity bill was not paid for the Dargah and, therefore, the electricity was turned off. This news reached Ahmedabad in a few days.
The Muslim followers in Ahmedabad were very disturbed by this occurrence and collected funds to pay the bill and restore electricity to the Dargah in Delhi. The task of taking the money and making the payment was given to a young man, the author, Mr. Kureshi.
When I reached Delhi, I found that the Dargah was well lit and that the electricity had already been restored. Through investigation, I found that Sardar Patel had also heard the news that the Dargah was without electricity and had personally paid the electricity bill. Moreover, he and his daughter, Manibehn had visited and paid their respects to the famous shrine.
I was deeply touched and moved by this happening. I wanted to meet with Sardar Patel personally to pay respects on behalf of all Muslim followers of Hazrat Nizamuddin in Ahmedabad.
When Sardar's P.A. told me that he had a busy schedule and did not plan to meet anybody, I thought of sending a note. I took a small piece of paper and scribbled "Amin Kureshi of Ahmedabad" and pleaded with Sardar's P.A. "please send this to Sardar and if he orders me to go, I will leave.” That piece of paper was sent to Sardar and promptly came the reply with Sardar's assistant, “Don't let that gentleman go away, I will see him in half an hour." Both the P.A. & I were surprised.
As soon as Sardar came out he scolded me: "Are you an unwanted son of your parents or what? Why have they sent you here amidst the atmosphere of riots in Delhi?" When I told him about the purpose of his visit to Delhi, Sardar said: "Tell our friends in Ahmedabad that Sardar is still in Delhi. I am here to worry and take care of everybody's problems." Then all of a sudden I was startled when Sardar asked, “Have you had something to eat, young man? Oh! You must not have eaten. Just wait here and after an hour we will go home together." Sardar took me home and we had dinner together. Sardar then told me, "My man will be here soon with your ticket to Ahmedabad. I will send a police escort with you to take train to Ahmedabad. The situation is very bad in Delhi at present my son! No one will know if a young lonely Muslim boy like you is butchered somewhere."
After fifty years I am still here and offering my tribute to Sardar. Life and death are one's destiny but how can I forget a man who was so human in his concern for others?
Translated from his article in the Gujarati newspaper, Sandesh published on the 50th Anniversary of India's Indpendence in 1997.
destiny baxt how can I forget
en for other
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Did you know that Sardar Patel appeared on the cover of TIME Magazine and formed the focus of the cover story as early as January 1947, several months before India's Independence? Sardar's genius for organization and public administration was very well-known throughout India. The TIME Magazine's cover and cover story underline his reputation overseas as one who had the unique ability to solve what appeared to be nascent India's intractable problems.
Sardar was at that time Minister for Home, Information, and Broadcasting in the "Interim Government” (September 2, 1946 - until the sub-continent's partition on August 14-15, 1947) with Jawaharlal Nehru as Vice-President of the Viceroy's Executive Council.
Our profound thanks to TIME magazine and to Dr. Vandana SarDesai, who discovered the magazine issue and made it available for us.
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Government which took its good time to relieve dis- Money Makes the Mare Go. After Bardoli, Patel tress. Patel initiated an unheard-of fund-raising drive became recognized as the Congress Party's chief orgafor the relief of the flood victims. Supplies were moved nizer and disciplinarian. He checked up on what into the flood areas by hundreds of volunteers wading Gandhi's followers ate, drank, and wore. He passed on through waist-deep water, carrying boxes and sacks on the party lists in provincial elections. He approved partytheir heads. When lumber was required for construct- sponsored legislation, and personally drafted much of ing small bridges or building houses, Patel arranged for it. No detail was too unimportant or sordid for Boss it all without making a single approach to the Govern- Patel. Recently he took charge of negotiations between ment. It seemed a miracle to Indians when all the lum- the Congress Party Ministry in Bombay and the Westber arrived on the scene in the needed sizes. By the time ern Indian Turf Association, which wanted to renew its the Bombay provincial representatives got there, no license for the Bombay racetrack. Patel, who has never official assistance was needed.
seen a horse race, knew what the traffic would bear. He Nothing like it had ever been seen before in India. upped the license fee from half a million rupees to three Here at last was organization by and for Indians. million.
Although he has handled millions in party funds, Somber Masterpiece. Now that India seems to Patel has no personal love of money. With his daughter require miracles of organization if its Government is to Maniben, who acts as his secretary (she has accompasurvive, Indians recall Patel's organizational masterpiece, nied him on most of his sojourns in British prisons), the Bardoli no-tax campaign of 1928. Despite the fact he now lives in a little suite in his son Dahyabhai's that crops had been bad for several years in the Bardoli Bombay house. He eats little, drinks no alcohol, quit district, a 25% tax increase was ordered by the Govern- smoking when he first went to jail. In recent years he ment assessors. This was precisely the opportunity has had serious stomach trouble. His only exercise is a Gandhi had been waiting for to launch the first real walk when he rises, at 4:30 a.m. His only recreation is experiment in mass civil disobedience.
bouncing a ball across the room to his grandchildren. Patel took charge. Dressed in simple dhoti and shirt, He has never seen a movie. He cares little about the he trudged from village to village, day after day, exhort- world outside his country. Of 300 books in his Bombay ing the peasants at every stop to stand fast and pay no library, every one is by an Indian, mostly about India.... taxes. “Some of you are afraid your land will be confiscated,” he said in one speech. "What is confiscation?
To bring under control this vast Will they take away your lands to England?” In another speech he set forth the principle that was to govern
interplay of seemingly irresistib every Congress struggle of the future: "Every home must forces and immovable bodies would be a Congress office and every soul a Congress organi
e take more than the fanaticism of zation." Under Patel's orders the peasants' buffaloes, which the Government might have taken, were brought
doslem Leaguer Mohamed Ali Jinna right into the peasants' houses. No servants would work
more than Jawaharlal Nehru's for the Government collectors. Nobody would sell them
i eloquent idealism more, perhaps, food or give them water. Some property was, of course, confiscated and sold, but bidders were few. In all Bardoli
than Gandhi's combination of a not one rupee was collected in direct taxes.
unysticism and manipulation. India A stunned Government finally asked Gandhi for
a needed an organizer. It had one. terms. The upshot was a 6/4%, not a 25% increase in taxes. Patel emerged from Bardoli with a new and ex
Gandhi listened to God and passed alted status. He received the unofficial title of “Sardar," on his political ideas to Vallabhbhai... meaning captain or leader, which he has carried ever
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What Sardar's Contemporaries said
About Sardar
ne of the greatest joys of my life was that I had
an opportunity of staying in prison with Sardar. I knew his invincible courage and his burning love for our country, but never had I the good fortune of spending so much time with him as I was able to do during these sixteen months. His affection and overwhelming love reminded me of my mother. I would never have imagined that he possessed such qualities of maternal affection. If I was in the slightest degree indisposed he would be immediately by my side and pay personal attention to the slightest of my needs. -Gandhiji some time after spending sixteen months with Sardar in Yeravada jail in 1932-33, quoted in Kewal L. Panjabi, The Indomitable Sardar, Bombay, 1977, p. 92
very soft heart. Those who had the good fortune of coming in close contact with him knew what an amount of milk of human kindness was flowing though his veins. Like Mahatma Gandhi, he would look into the details of every problem that came up before him and he would not be satisfied unless he had probed the thing to its depth....His success was due to his power of organization, attention to details - which are often neglected - confidence in the people whom he inspired and led, and their unflinching confidence in him, his utter selflessness and fearlessness; and, above all, his courage and determination which never wavered even in the most adverse circumstances. - Rajendra Prasad, First President of India
.... It is a great story [of his life) as all of us know, as the whole country knows, and history will record it in many pages and call him the builder and consolidator of the New India...But perhaps to many of us here he will be remembered as a great captain of our Forces in the struggle for freedom and as one who gave us sound advice in times of troubles as well as in moments of victory, as a friend and colleague on whom one could invariably rely, as a tower of strength which revived wavering hearts when we were in trouble. We shall remember him as a friend and a colleague and a comrade above all; and, I who have sat here on this bench side by side with him for these several years, will feel rather forlorn and a certain emptiness will steal upon me when I look at this empty bench.... --From Jawabarlal Nehru's Address to the Parliament on Friday, December 15, 1950, the day of Sardar's death
Vallabhbhai was a dutiful son, a kind and loving brother, a generous friend and a kind parent. He was soft and tolerant to a degree which very few know. His appearance, demeanor and paucity of words earned him the nickname, “The Iron Man of India.” This was only partially true. So far as the interests of the country, the selfrespect of the Nation, loyalty to Bapu and the Congress were concerned, he was an iron man; he would not compromise these with anybody or allow the opponent any quarters. But essentially in his outlook and relations with humanity, he was soft as butter all through his
life.
- GV Mavlankar, First Speaker, Indian Parliament
The Sardar ... had a mind which could grasp complicated situations almost instantaneously. He could see things straight and after he had once considered and made up his mind on any matter, it was most difficult, if not impossible, to dislodge him. This does not mean that whenever one differed from him, one had to yield... He was utterly fearless and would not hesitate to call a spade a spade....Behind a forbidding exterior, he had a
Sardar Vallabhbhai became the Sardar of the people, because he never abandoned courage even amidst mightiest storms and perilous situations. He was indeed a most gallant horseman of Gandhiji's Non-Violent Army. Never did he waver or flinch from duty. To my mind, the two most outstanding achievements of Sardar will ever remain enshrined in the annals of Indian History. They are: his Satyagraha of Bardoli (1928), and his marvelous work for the unification of the country, - Vinoba Bhave, Foremost Disciple of Mahatma Gandhi
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Sometimes a comparison is made between Sardar Patel and Bismarck, the creator of German unity. The comparison is inept and inaccurate. Germany...was an ag glomeration of numerous states...and they had to be suppressed by a policy of "Blood and Iron." Bismarck had to fight three wars to accomplish unity; India escaped such a catastrophe owing to the skill of her statesman, Sardar Patel, and the patriotism of her princes. India's problem was of a vaster magnitude; the German problem pales into insignificance before it.
Ishwari Prasad, Eminent Historian
In welding together the Indian states into the Indian Union, Sardar Patel had, within the shortest span of a year or two, covered the track of centuries and accomplished what even Ashoka and Akbar had attempted and failed.
- Alladi Krishnaswami Ayyar, Member Constituent Assembly
Courageous, resourceful, powerful in his preferences and prejudices, realist to his fingertips, he [Sardar] built the edifice of India's strength and stability stone by stone.... But behind this power and strength was a peasant's simplicity which nothing would corrupt, the loyalty to those to whom he gave his affection; and an untamable spirit...dedicated to the cause of the Motherland.
-Kanhaiyalal (KM) Munsbi, Eminent lawyer jurist, author, statesman, and founder, Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan
The great Emperor Samudragupta was styled "Sarvarajochcheta" - the uprooter of Kings. Parshurama, the incarnation of Vishnu, was distinguished for having destroyed kings, but no one knows whether the Kings he destroyed prayed for the long life of their destroyer. In the case of Sardar Patel, however, every ruler so uprooted prayed for the destroyer's long life.
K.M. Munshi
...Sardar had that sixth sense of spotting the right man for the right job and then totally relying on him to deliver the goods. This paid rich dividends in administrative efficiency. Nobody who worked under Sardar suffered for want of confidence. Sardar gave confidence in the fullest measure and got in return unflinching loyalty in an equally good measure....

There were a good number of political prophets who believed that the liquidation of 556 and odd Princely States would be a task so stupendous that it would take a few years before India was consolidated as a single nation under one flag. Sardar almost performed a miracle in getting all these states to agree to his proposals. This could not have been achieved merely by getting tough and applying stern measures. Sardar's supposed toughness was happily blended with a sense of humour which was so infectious that everybody around him was almost mesmerized by it...
Although he deprived the Princely States of many of their rights and privileges yet I have hardly. come across a prince who has anything but love and reverence for Sardar. They all said and even say today that he was a man of his word and he could get things by persuasion rather than by coercion. -SK Patil, President, Bombay Pradesh Congress Committee and Central Government Cabinet Minister, India
What Sardar Patel did to unify India by integrating the Princely States in the Indian Union is an achievement without parallel in India's history, and with few parallels in the history of other countries. Its uniqueness lies in its wholly pacific character, for not a shot was fired to effect the change, of which the importance to the strength and prosperity of India is truly incalculable. What vision, what combination of patience, persuasion and persistence went into the creation of this new unity... That fulfillment...will be a worthy monument to what, in the perspective of history will, perhaps, stand out as his greatest service to the new India. -Girija Shankar Bajpai, First Secretary-General, Ministry of External Affairs, & Ambassador of India to the US So far as the interests of the country, the self-respect of the Nation, loyalty to Bapu and the Congress were concerned, he was an iron man: he would not compromise these with anybody or allow the opponent any quarters.
G.V. Mavlankar
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Wit And Wisdom of Sardar Patel
“Work is undoubtedly worship but laughter is life."
-Sardar Patel
I do not believe in any caste or community. The whole of India is my village and men of all communities are my friends and relations...All are children of the same God. After a man dies, does anyone ask if the corpse is that of a Brahman or a Chamar?
- Sardar Patel quoted in Narahari Parikh, Patel, 11 p.456
On WWII... The battles of today...take place in the skies. Wars take place under water. Both sides are robbers. Both are fighting in the name of God. Both claim to worship Christ. Both call themselves civilized and claim to preach to uncivilized people....
When such a devastating war is going on in the world, only one person (Gandhi] keeps his feet solidly on the ground and says that those who fight with the sword will be destroyed by the sword.”
-Sardar Patel quoted in Narahari Parikh, Patel, II p.455
August 1, 1942, a week before Gandhiji's call to "Quit India"
The Congress has been charged with stabbing Britain in the back. It is really a question of pushing them off our chest.
For the people of a country which wishes to be independent there can be only one burning desire: to drive out their present rulers and to do everything possible to prevent others from taking their place.
This struggle will be all-embracing...Congress will welcome non-payment of taxes, civil disobedience, and such direct actions as will obstruct the government.
Let the railwaymen refuse to work on behalf of the railways. Let the post and telegraph men go on strike. Let government servants give up their service. Let teachers and students keep away from schools and thus cooperate in bringing to a standstill the entire administrative machinery.
If there is your wholehearted support, the struggle will be over and won in a matter of days. The British will have to quit.
- Sardar Patel quoted in Rajimohan Gandhi, Patel, A Life p. 314 (A week later, on Aug 9, Gandhiji asked the British to quit India. Activities all over the country came to a standstill.]
In response to Sir Samuel Hoare's, (Secretary of State for the Dominions), statement in the House of Commons questioning India's fitness for independence, Sardar said in Oct 1940:
"If you lose the war, you will have lost everything, and even if you win, you will have suffered so heavily that your victory will be an empty one. At the end of the war, I declare no nation will remain subject to another. A great revolution is going to sweep the people everywhere. We shall see a new world emerge out of the fiery ordeal of this war."
-quoted in Durga Das, Sardar Patel's Correspondence, 1945-50, Vol. X, Ahmedabad, Navjivan, 1974, p. xxv.
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On October 9, 1947, Sardar went with Manibehn to Pataudi, in the district of Gurgaon, because the Nawab of Bhopal, whose daughter Sajida was married to the Nawab of Pataudi, was anxious about the couple's safety. After embracing the ruler of Pataudi, Sardar asked him whether he wished to come to Delhi. The Nawab said that his place was with his people. His Begum said that her place was with her husband. Thereupon Sardar sent for the leading Hindus from the neighboring villages and "pledged them to the security and safety of the family and the Muslims there." Returning to Delhi, he wired Nawab Hamidullah in Bhopal: "Situation well in hand. You need have not anxiety."
On October 11, 1947, Sardar Patel took an ill and coughing Gandhi to a meeting organized by Delhi's Gujaratis, who wanted to donate money for the Mahatma's Harijan fund. Asked to speak at the meeting, Sardar protested: "He is to receive the purse and I am to do the speaking - that is most unfair." "See," he went on, "how quickly the old man has recovered to relieve you of your money." "The Sardar will not miss a laugh even at the foot of the gallows," Gandhi exclaimed.
On Sardar Patel asking Mahadev Desai, Gandhiji's companion and secretary, to send a cake of soap and his shaving things, the jail superintendent butted in: "No razor allowed, but we shall allow all facilities for a shave.
"I know what kind of a shave you will give me," retorted Patel. The jailor, who was the superintendent's subor dinate, courageously proposed a compromise. "In this case, sir," he said, addressing his superior, "a razor might be allowed, provided he does not keep it in his possession. We shall give it to him when he wants it." "But why not give me a razor and allow me to shave the others?" said Sardar.?? I will then have work to my credit." As Mahadev put it, "even the little parts of that inhuman machinery called the jail department could not help creaking with laughter." Recovering his dignity, the jailor pointed out to Sardar, "You may have your soap but it should not be scented soap.
Patel declined to say anything before a court to which he was brought but the loquacious Malaviya began “a discourse and disquisition." A tired Sardar interrupted him, saying "Kya bhains ke paas Bhaagavat padhte hain?" - "Does one read the Bhagavat to a buffalo?" "What was that?" the European judge asked. I was telling him," Sardar Patel said with a straight face, "that the lathi charge had been ordered by the Home Member who was watching the procession from the VT terrace."
Sardar Patel to Gandhiji: "In today's Bombay Chronicle it is stated that the Government has decided not to release prisoners until 1935, and that Gandhiji would be kept in jail for at least 3 years. Gandhiji: "Look was I not saying that I would be in jail for five years?" Sardar: "You are behaving like the thick-skinned person who was told that a babul tree was growing on his back!!! He replied, 'Excellent, it will now give me shade."
"Sardar Vallabhbhai is with me. His jokes make me laugh until I can laugh no more, not once but several times a day." So wrote the Mahatma to Srinivasa Sastri, after the latter had inquired whether solitude did not lead to depression.
One morning, over breakfast, Shantilal Shah told Sardar Patel about a caller who was threatening to go home and kill himself if denied a ticket to run in an election race. Handing Shah a knife, the Sardar said: "Tell him he doesn't need to go home. He can kill himself with this here." Later in the day Sardar said to Shah, ""No one wanting to take his life asks for permission."

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Sardar and Bardoli
INCIDENT 1:
Whenever Vallabhbhai Patel visited Bardoli, thousands of people, mostly farmers, came from many villages in the district to hear him. Normally, food for out-of-town people was arranged by the Bardoli Ashram or other associated institutions in Bardoli.
During one such visit, Vallabhbhai observed that the people had brought their own food. After talking with the villagers, he learned that the Bardoli Ashram, as well as other institutions, were prohib
age.
ited by law to feed more than 50 people at any one time because of a food shortThis law was made at the time when B.G. Kher was Chief Minister and Morarji Desai was Home Minister of the then province of Bombay.
Vallabhbhai was very annoyed when he learned of this law and immediately called Mr. Kher and Mr. Desai and informed them that he planned to personally supervise the cooking and feeding of all the people who were assembled. He further informed them that the shortage was not the fault of the farmers, but was due to poor administration and distribution practices by the state. This law was impractical and inappropriate and must be repealed. The people in the administration should understand the situation before enacting such type of law. Shortly after that, the law was repealed.

INCIDENT 2:
During the Bardoli satyagraha, Vithalbhai L. Patel, my cousin, joined the movement and was one of the volunteers who performed many different duties. As part of Gandhiji's social reform movement, one of their tasks was the cutting of Khajuri date palm trees. The juice of these trees was used in the production of alcohol (toddy).
During the tree-cutting exercise, a tree fell on Vithalbhai and killed him. Sardar Patel heard of this tragic incident and attended Vithalbhai's cremation along with Rajendra Babu, Maulana Azad and Morarji Desai. After the cremation, Sardar consoled Vithalbhai's mother by telling her that her son had achieved "virgati"
By Dahyabhai Vanmali Patel
- he had become a true martyr and would be remembered for a long time.
Sardar Vallabhbhai was a kind, warm and compassionate human being who made it a point to get to know most of the volunteers - which was a rare quality in the life of a busy leader.
INCIDENT 3:
During the Bardoli satyagraha, a meeting was called by Sardar Vallabhbhai at a small village in Bhuvasham, about 5-6 miles from Bardoli. As it was common in those days, hundreds of people came to attend the meeting
DAHYABHAI V. PATEL
Just before the meeting, it began to rain and the crowd began to disperse. Vallabhbhai got up on the stage and began his speech. He asked the people to remain where they were. He used the discomfort caused by rain to make a point. He asked the crowd how they were going to gain independence if even a little rain was a problem to them. He told them that they had a long way to go and they would encounter many real difficulties that must be overcome.
He then led a prayer for a few minutes asking nature to cooperate with them in this great cause. As it happened, the rain did stop. The people were really touched by this event.
Vallabhbhai had a remarkable ability to touch and motivate the people to overcome the difficulties that got in their way.
[Dahyabhai Vanmali Patel, a Freedom Fighter (Swatantrya Senani) was born in 1918 in a village near Bardoli, the site of Sardar's satyagraha. He met Gandhiji, Sardar Patel, and other prominent leaders of the Na tionalist Movement. Arrested for Vani Swatantrya Movement in 1940-41, the youngest person jailed for 6 months in Sabarmati and Yeravada jails; spent 16 months in jail again for participation in the Quit India Movement in 1942; served as a volunteer in the Bardoli Ashram working closely with Sardar Patel; participated with Maniben, his wife for over 60 years, in numerous rural and social welfare projects; Dahyabhai and Maniben live currently in Northridge, California.]
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Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel
By Minal Mehta
In the words of Jawaharlal Nehru, “History will record many things about Sardar Patel in its pages and will call him the Builder and Consolidator of new India..." Jhaverbhai Patel occupies a prominent place among the heroic men and women who
worked for India's freedom and helped not only to achieve it, but also to consolidate it. Although he came to public life relatively young, in his early forties, his thirty-three years of work in the cause of the nation are full of splendid achievements. Along with Gandhiji, Jawaharlal Nehru and other leaders, he dominated the politics of the country during the crucial thirty years from 1920 to 1950. He was not only a great leader of the masses but also a far-seeing statesman end able administrator who handled with consummate mastery and finesse the complex problems facing the new Government.
Vallabhbhai Patel was born on Oct. 31, 1875 at Nadiad in the Kheda district of Gujarat. He was a selfmade man who had worked with his father in the fields till he was seventeen. In 1893, when only 18, he married Zaverbai. In 1909 when he was about 34 years old, his wife died after an operation in a Bombay hospital. He never married again. In 1910, he went to England to study for the Bar-at-Law and was admitted to the famous Middle Temple Inn. He passed his final Bar-atLaw examination with first position and distinction for which he was awarded a cash prize of £50.
About this time, Gandhiji became the President of the Gujarat Sabha which held its first Political Conference at Godhra in November. Vallabhbhai's political career had a modest beginning. The first campaign organized jointly by Gandhiji and Patel was the Kheda Satyagraha from March to June 1918, in which though the victory was not decisive, the sturdy peasantry of Vallabhbhai's home district learnt the lesson of fearlessness.
The non-cooperation movement which Gandhiji launched on August 1, 1920 was a novel experiment in
human history. Vallabhbhai, however, gave his wholehearted support to Gandhiji's program; and even be fore the special session of the Congress was held at Calcutta in September, he used his influence with the provincial leaders at the Gujarat Political Conference in August. 1920 to persuade them to commit themselves to Gandhiji's program and to recommend its adoption by the Congress. Though the movement failed in its political objective, Vallabhbhai's work made a deep impact by changing the climate of opinion in Gujarat and eliminating from it the influence of old style moderate politicians.
Later in 1928, came the impressive Bardoli Satyagraha. The epic struggle of Bardoli which constitutes one of the most glorious chapters in the history of India's struggle for freedom, brought out in bold relief the basic traits of Vallabhbhai's personality-an indomitable will and perseverance, a fine sense of strategy end calculation complete identification with the espoused cause, total disregard of sentimentalism, an iron discipline imposed upon himself and those working with him and selflessness to the point of self-denial. Bardoli in fact, was an unique personal triumph for Vallabhbhai. It was in acknowledgement of the efficiency with which he conducted the movement that he was acclaimed as the 'Sardar', the leader, a title by which he came to be known to the nation ever since.
The Sardar is to many a hero and is often referred to
as an "iron Man" After being released from jail, Gandhiji spoke of the tender feelings Sardar showed towards him: "...I was well aware of his matchless bravery...if the slightest thing happened to me, he would be out of his bed. He superintended every detail in connection with my comforts."
The finest hour in the life of Sardar Patel came when he dealt with the incorporation of over 560 princely states in the Indian Union. Lord Mountbatten, who had frequently discussed this subject with him has written: "There is no doubt that the high-minded statesmanship which Vallabhbhai Patel displayed through
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out these very difficult negotiations made it possible to find a solution." All the princes had entered into agreement with the paramount power end all were jealous of their rights and privileges. To persuade such a motly crowd to come to terms with the new India was a Herculean task. Sardar Patel appealed to their sense of patriotism and said: "We are at a momentous stage in the history of India. By common endeavor we can raise the country to a new greatness while lack of unity will espouse us to fresh calamities. I hope the Indian States will be aware that anarchy and chaos will overwhelm great and small in a
common ruin if we are unable to act together in the minimum of common tasks.
UN Dhebar in a commemorative lecture on Sardar
Patel on September 5, 1975 said: "His contribution is oftentimes compared to that of Bismarck of Germany. If one goes, however, into the history of Germany as related by H.G. Wells, one would understand the great difference between the two. First the integration of states that took place in India was on a much vaster scale. Secondly, it had to be worked out in much greater depth in India. Thirdly, there were quantitative differences in the process adopted in the two countries."
Sardar Patel is remembered for his heroism and courage in accomplishing an indomitable task-that of unifying and creating a strong nation from a divided, impoverished country. He was a unique visionary who saw in India and its people a unique sense of individuality. yet recognized that without unity the strength of its people would not exist.
The Sardar is to many a hero and is often referred to as an "Iron Man". However, being born in America, I and having grown up here, it is difficult for me to reconcile this image. Having only learned about Sardar Patel recently, I have come to realize how important his contributions were to India and to the state of Gujarat in particular. I have renewed pride in the heritage and history of Gujarat and India. I also have new hope that other leaders like Sardar Patel will bring India to a path of greatness and prosperity. While at this time, India is enduring many changes and the people are experiencing turmoil, I now have more faith that others will fol low in the footsteps of Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel and other leaders like him, such that this turbulent time will soon come to an end.

Gaden's Leadership
By Sarita Vasa
As I am learning about leadership, I find myself asking many ques tions. I constantly wonder, what kind of leadership will be the most effective? What kind of leadership will create a structure that is self-sustainable? Which kind of leadership will touch the most people? I was surprised to see that many of the answers to my questions about leadership can be answered through the actions of Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel.
Through Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel's life, I am able to see how some of the best leaders are invisible. I find myself shocked by how much he did, and how little people know about him..
It is amazing to me that Sardar Patel is responsible for bringing 565 princely states into the Indian Union, leading to the creation of modern India. I can't even begin to imagine the time, dedication and talent that such a task must have taken. And, I also cannot imagine what the fate of India would be without the contributions of Sardar Patel.
It makes me proud to know that in Sardar Patel's honor, an award is being created at UCLA for the best doctoral dissertation on Modern India. As a UCLA Alum, I am excited to come from a school that is dedicating time, energy and resources into a worthwhile activity. It is expected that this kind of award will initiate change upon how India is viewed in the United States, and how policy towards India is formulated. And, ultimately, each of these dissertations will create the framework for activism, which was the trademark of Sardar Patel's work.
As a UCLA Alum, I am excited
to come from a school that is dedicating time, energy and resources into a worthwhile activity.

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Below are specimens of Sardar's writing in Gujarati and English. The one in Gujarati dated May 29, 1933 was addressed to Gandhiji from Yeravada Central Prison when Gandhiji broke his fast. The letter was censored by the jail authorities. The letter in English dated November 8, 1933 was written to Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru from Nasik Central Prison to which Sardar was "transferred" from Yeravada Prison
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Page #21

Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel
A Chronology
Oct 31, 1875
1893
1897
1900
1902 April 1904 1905
Nov 1905 Jan 11, 1909 July 1910 1912
Jan 1913 Feb 13, 1913 March 1914 1915
1917
Born in Nadiad, Kheda District, Gujarat, fourth son of Jhaverbhai Patel, a farmer of Karamsad and Ladbai Patel; primary schooling up to English Third standard at Karamsad Married to Jhaverba of Gana, a village 3 miles from Karamsad Passed matriculation exam in Nadiad Passed the District Pleader's Examination; practices in Godhra; contracts bubonic plague from a court official whom he nursed during an epidemic in Godhra Shifted legal practice to Borsad, made a name as a criminal lawyer Daughter Mani (later known as Manibehn) born Saved enough money to go to England to become a barrister but gave it away to his elder brother Vitthalbhai who wished to become barrister first Son Dahya born Wife Jhaverba dies after a surgical operation in Bombay Vallabhbhai leaves for England, admitted to Middle Temple Took final examination after 6th term instead of the usual 12, ranked first in first class; won a prize of fifty pounds, left for India the day after the exam; brother Vitthalbhai elected as member of the Bombay Council Vallabhbhai becomes Barrister (Bar-at-Law) of Middle Temple Inn Returns to India; practices in Ahmedabad; becomes the foremost criminal lawyer Jhaverbhai, Vallabhbhai's father, dies at the age of 85 Member, Gujarat Sabha, which was converted into Gujarat Provincial Congress Committee in 1919; Secretary, Gujarat Provincial Conference of which Mahatma Gandhi was the President. Elected councilor of Ahmedabad Municipality; Chairman, Sanitary and Public Works Committee First direct contact with Mahatma Gandhi Organized famine relief in Ahmedabad district; established a temporary hospital in Ahmedabad with a grant from Municipal Board to Gujarat Sabha to combat severe influenza of epidemic; successfully led “No-Tax” agitation against land revenue recovered by Government from drought affected Kheda district farmers Discards western dress and adopts khadi, dhoti, kurta and chappals; burnt all his foreign clothes; won all open seats in the Ahmedabad Municipal elections, collected one million rupees for the Tilak Swaraj Fund and enrolled 300, 000 members for Indian National Congress from Gujarat; decides with Gandhi to establish Gujarat Vidyapeeth Chairman, Reception Committee, Indian National Congress, 36th session, Ahmedabad; First Chairman, Gujarat Regional Congress Committee Satyagraha at Borsad, Gujarat - Against the Governments, "Haidiya" punitive tax imposed on the entire population of Borsad Taluka. Gandhi calls Vallabhbhai "King of Borsad" Leads Nagpur National Flag Agitation; collected one million rupees in Rangoon for Gujarat Vidyapeeth Elected President of Ahmedabad Municipality Unprecedented floods in Gujarat, Vallabhbhai obtained one crore (10 million) rupees from the Government for famine relief Resigned from the Presidency of Ahmedabad Municipality; presides over the Kathiawad Political Conference at Morbi
Nov 1917 1918
1920
1921
1922-23
1922
1923 1927
1928
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1928-29
1929
March 7, 1930
June 26, 1930 July 31, 1930
Dec 12, 1930
1931
Aug 1931
Oct 22, 1933
Jan 1932 Jul 1934.
1934
1935-1942
Nov 18, 1940
Aug 1941 August 1942
June 15, 1945 Sept 2, 1946
April 4, 1947 June 25, 1947
Aug 15, 1947
Nov 13, 1947 1948
Feb 15, 1948 April 7, 1948
April 22, 1948 Sep 13-16, 1948 Feb 26, 1949 Oct 7-Nov 15, 1949
Dec 15, 1950 1991

Leads the Bardoli No-Tax Campaign Satyagraha in Kheda District; Vallabhbhai called "Sardar" by the peasants. Calcutta session of the Indian National Congress endorses the title
Presided over Maharashtra Political Conference; tours Maharashtra
Arrested for canvassing Gandhi's salt Satyagraha; Lodged in Sabarmati jail, Ahmedabad. Went on hunger strike in jail requesting C class diet instead of A class provided to him because of his high status. Request granted!
Released
Rearrested in Bombay and sent to Yeravada jail for 3 months Rearrested and sentenced to 9 months imprisonment
Presides over Indian National Congress, 46th session, Karachi. Joins Gandhi in talks with Viceroy Lord Irwin in Simla.
Brother Vitthalbhai dies in a clinic near Geneva while Sardar was in prison (see below) Arrested during the Civil Disobedience Movement and jailed in Yeravada Prison along with Mahatma Gandhi; later joined by Mahadev Desai from Nasik jail. Daughter Manibehn and Kasturba Gandhi also jailed but for shorter periods.
Released on grounds of health - serious nose trouble.
Chairman, Congress Parliamentary Board; supervises Congress' ministries in eight provinces, 1937-1939; in charge of selection of candidates for elections
Arrested under Defence of India Act for participation in Satyagraha launched by Gandhiji to press Great Britain for a commitment on India's Independence Released from prison following a severe intestinal ailment
Arrested for participation in Quit India Movement; jailed in Ahmednagar Fort along with Nehru, Azad, and other prominent leaders; shifted to Yeravada prison in early 1945 Released from prison to participate in Simla Talks
Sardar joins the "Interim Government," as Minister for Home, Information, and Broadcasting (headed by Nehru as Vice-President of the Viceroy's Executive Council) Inaugurates the Vitthalbhbhai Patel Maha Vidyalaya at Vallabh Vidyanagar Government of India decides to establish a Department of (Princely) States under Sardar Patel
Sardar joins Independent India's Cabinet as Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Home, States, Information and Broadcasting
Visits Somnath Patan and decides to renovate the Somnath Mahadev Temple
"Doctor of Laws" degree conferred on Sardar by Nagpur, Banaras and Allahabad Universities on Nov 3, 25, and 27 respectively
Inaugurates Rajya Sangh of Bhavnagar
Inaugurates Rajasthan Sangh
Agreements to constitute Madhya/Bharat Sangh
"Police Action" in Hyderabad
"Doctor of Laws" degree conferred on Sardar by Osmania University
Served as Acting Prime Minister of India during Nehru's visit to the U.S., UK,
and Canada.
Sardar Patel dies in Bombay, cremated in Bombay
"Bharat Ratna," the highest Indian national award, conferred posthumously on Sardar Patel. The award was accepted by Sardar's grandson, Vipinbhai Patel. For Private & P22onal Use Only

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Sardar Patel-A Bibliography
The materials on Sardar Patel are presented below in two categories: those dealing principally with the life and work of Sardar and those containing considerable coverage of Sardar's role in the Freedom Movement and in the period following India's Independence. Each of these categories is further divided into Primary and Secondary materials.
Life and Work of Sardar Patel
Primary Sources:
Durga Das, ed. Sardar Patel's Correspondence, 10 vols. Ahmedabad, 1971-74. Gandhi, M.K. Letters to Sardar Patel, Ahmedabad, 1957.
Nandurkar, G.M.ed. Sardar Patel Centenary Volumes, 5 vols. Ahmedabad, 1975-8. Nandurkar, G.M.ed. Sardar's Letters; Post-centenary Series, 2 vols. Ahmedabad, 1980-1. Nandurkar, G.M.ed. Sardarshri na Patro, 5 vols. Ahmedabad, 1975-8.
Nandurkar, G.M.ed. Sardarshri ke Patra, 2 vols. Ahmedabad, 1981.
Patel, Vallabhbhai. On Indian Problems, New Delhi, 1949.
Patel, Vallabhbhai. For a United India: Speeches of Sardar Patel, 1947-50. New Delhi, 1967. Shankar, V. My Reminiscences of Sardar Patel, 2 vols. New Delhi, 1974-5.
Shankar, V. Ed. Sardar Patel, Select Correspondence. 1945-50, 2 vols. Ahmedabad, 1977.
Secondary Works:
Akkad, B.J., Sardar Vallabhbhai. Surat, 1950.
Alva, Joachim. Men and Supermen of Hindustan. Bombay, 1943.
Desai, Ishwarlal, ed. Bardoli Satyagraha. Surat, 1970.
Desai, Mahadev. The Story of Bardoli. Ahmedabad, 1957.
Dhanapala, D.B. Eminent Indians. Bombay, 1947.
Dutt, Krishnan. Sardar Patel in Bardoli Movement. Meerut, 1986.
Govinddas, Seth. Sardar Patel. Delhi, 1968 (in Hindi).
Joshi, Chhaganlal. Sardar ni Atmeeyata, Gandhinagar, 1976.
Khan, Abdul Majid. Leader by Merit: Sardar Patel and His Ideas. Lahore, 1946.
Krishna, B. Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel, India's Iron Man. New Delhi, 1996.
Kshirsagar, S.K. The Indomitable Sardar and the Triumph of Borsad, Vallabh Vidya Nagar, 1973. Kulkarni, V.B. The Indian Triumvirate. Bombay, 1969.
Limaye, M. Prime Movers. New Delhi, 1985.
Mehta, Asoka. Economic Consequences of Sardar Patel. Hyderabad, 1949.
Mehta, Shirin. The Peasantry and Nationalism: The Story of the Bardoli Satyagraha. Delhi: 1984. Panjabi, K.L. The Indomitable Sardar. Bombay, 1962.
Parikh, Narhari. Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel, 2 vols. Ahmedabad, 1971.
Patel, Manibehn. Borsad Satyagraha. Ahmedabad, 1972.
Patel, Manibehn, ed. Sardarshri ne Shraddhanjaliyo. Ahmedabad. Patel, P.U. Sardar Patel. Bombay, 1964.
Patel, Raojibhai. Hind ke Sardar. Ahmedabad, 1972.
Pathak, D., and Sheth, P. Sardar Patel, From Civic to National Leadership. Ahmedabad, 1980. Publications Division, Government of India. Sardar Patel. New Delhi, 1975.
Ravindranath, P.K., ed. Sardar Patel: A New Perspective, Bombay, 1978.
Saggi, P.D., ed. A Nation's Homage: Life and Work of Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel. Bombay, 1951.
Sardar Patel Jayanti Celebration Committee. Souvenir. Delhi, 1973.
Sarin, L.N. Sardar Patel. New Delhi, 1972.
Shah, Ghanshyam. "Traditional Society and Political Mobilization. The Experience of the Bardoli Satyagraha (1920-28)," Contributions to Indian Sociology, New Series 8, 1974. Shah, Gunwant. The Peerless Sardar. Ahmedabad, 1984.

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Shankardass, Rani D. "Spokesman for the Peasantry: The Case of Vallabhbhai Patel and Bardoli," Studies in History, Vol. 2, No. 1 1986. Shankardass, Rani D. "Patelism Sans Gandhiism: An inadequate alternative to Nehruism," Mainstream, 9 January 1988. Shastri, Chandrasekhar. Rashtra Nirmata Sardar Patel (Hindi) Bombay, 1963. Shekhdiwala, J., ed. Sardar: An Anthology of Articles on Sardar Patel. Vallabh Vidya Nagar, 1976. Singh, G.P., ed. Sardar Patel: The Working of his Mind, Delhi, 1948. Singh, Mubarak. The Man of Few Words and Many Triumphs. Lahore, 1945. Tahmankar, D.V. Sardar Patel. London, 1970. Tiwari, A.R.G. Ordeal of the Leader. Vallabh Vidya Nagar, 1984. Varma, Mukutbehari. Loh Purush Sardar Patel (Hindi). Delhi, 1970.
Works with Substantial Materials on Sandar
Primary Sources: Azad, Abul Kalam. India Wins Freedom. Calcutta, 1959. Birla, Ghanshyamdas. In the Shadow of the Mahatma. Bombay, 1968. Campbell-Johnson, Alan. Mission with Mountbatten. London, 1972 edition. Choudhary, Valmiki, ed. Dr. Rajendra Prasad: Correspondence and Select Documents, 11 vols. New Delhi. Collected Works of Mahatma Gandhi. New Delhi, 1969-84. Desai, Mahadev. Day-to-day with Gandhi, Vols. 1 to 8. Varanasi. Desai, Mahadev. The Diary of Mahadev Desai, Vol. 1. Ahmedabad, 1953. Desai, Mahadev. Mahadevbhai ni Diary, 2 vols. Ahmedabad, 1949. Desai, Morarji. The Story of My Life, 2 vols. New Delhi, 1974. Dwarkadas, Kanji. Ten Years to Freedom. Bombay, 1968. Gopal, S. Jawaharlal Nehru, 3 vols. New Delhi. Gopal, S, ed. Selected Works of Jawaharlal Nehru, 15 vols. New Delhi, 1974-86. Government of India. White Paper on Jammu and Kashmir. New Delhi, 1948. Government of India. White Paper on Hyderabad. New Delhi, 1948. Government of India. White Paper on Indian States. New Delhi, 1950. Khare, N.B. Political Memoirs or Autobiography. Nagpur, 1959. Kripalani, J.B. Fateful Year. Bombay, 1948. Mahajan, M.C. Looking Back. Bombay, 1963. Mahtab, H.K. Beginning of the End. Cuttack, 1972. Mahtab, H.K. While Serving My Nation. Cuttack, 1986. Mansergh, N. and P.T. Moon. The Transfer of Power, 12 vols. London, 1970-83. Mishra, D.P. Living an Era, 2 vols. New Delhi, 1978. Moraes, Frank. Witness to an Era. London, 1973. Munshi, K.M. The End of an Era. Bombay, 1957. Munshi, K.M. Pilgrimage to Freedom. Bombay, 1957. Nehru, Jawaharlal. A Bunch of Old Letters. Bombay, 1960. Pandey, B.N., ed. The Indian National Movement 1885-1947. Select Documents. London, 1979. Patel, Raojibhai. Jeevan na Jharna, 2 vols. Ahmedabad, 1959. Phillips, C.H. and Wainwright, M.D, eds. The Partition of India. London, 1970. Pirzada, S.S., ed. Quaid-i-Azam's Correspondence. Karachi, 1977. Prasad, Rajendra. Autobiography. Bombay, 1957. Pyarelal. Mahatma Gandhi: The Last Phase, 2 vols. Ahmedabad. Sitaramayya, Pattabhi. Feathers and Stones. Bombay, 1946.
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Secondary Works: Abbas, K. A. Let India Fight for Freedom. Bombay, 1942. Ali, Chaudhuri Muhammad. The Emergence of Pakistan. New York, 1967; Lahore, 1973. Ashe, Geoffrey. Gandhi: A Study in Revolution. Bombay, 1968. Ashton, S.R. “Federal Negotiations with the Indian Princes 1935-1939", Journal of Imperial and Commonwealth History, 9, January 1981. Brecher, Michael. Nehru. London, 1959. Brown, Judith. Gandhi's Rise to Power. Cambridge, 1972. Brown, Judith. Modern India. New Delhi, 1984. Das, Manmathnath. Partition and Independence of India. New Delhi, 1982. Desai, Mrinalini. Manibehn Patel. Indore, 1983. Dhanagre, D.N. "Myth and Reality in the Bardoli Satyagraha 1928: A Study in Gandhian Politics," Australian Journal of Politics and History, 26, 2, 1980. Durga Das. India from Curzon to Nehru and After. London, 1969. Edwardes, Michael. Nehru. London, 1971. Gadgil, N.V. Government from Inside. Meerut, 1968. Handa, R.L., History of the Freedom Struggle in Princely States. New Delhi, 1968. Hodson, H.W. The Great Divide. London, 1969. Keer, D. Mahatma Gandhi. Bombay, 1973. Khaliquzzaman, Choudhry. Pathway to Pakistan. Lahore, 1961. Kripalani, J.B. Gandhi: His Life and Thought. New Delhi, 1970. Kumar, Ravinder, ed. Essays in Gandhian Politics. Oxford, 1971. Limaye, Madhu. Mahatma Gandhi and Jawaharlal Nehru, A Historic Partnership, 4 vols. Delhi: 1989. Lohia, Rammanohar. Guilty Men of India's Partition. Allahabad, 1960. Mavlankar, G.V. and Dalal, C.B. Rashtriya Chalvalma Ahmedabad Municipality No Falo. Ahmedabad: Menon, V.P. The Story of the Integration of the Indian States. Calcutta, 1956. Menon, V.P. The Transfer of Power in India. Calcutta, 1957. Moore, R.J. Escape from Empire. The Attlee Government and the Indian Problem. Oxford, 1983. Nanda, B.R, ed. The Nehrus - Motilal and Jawaharlal. London, 1962. Pandey, B.N. Nehru. London, 1976 Patel, G.I. Vithalbhai Patel: Life and Times, 2 vols. Bombay, 1950. Patel, S.H. The Congress Party and the Princely States. Bombay, 1981. Phadnis, Urmila. Towards the Integration of Indian States, 1919-1949. London, 1968. Prasad, Rajendra. India Divided. Bombay, 1946. Prasad, S.N. Operation Polo: The Police Action Against Hyderabad, 1948. New Delhi, 1972. Qureshi, I.H. The Struggle for Pakistan. Karachi, 1969. Setalvad, M.C. Bhulabhai Desai. New Delhi, 1968. Sharma, Hari. Princes and Paramountcy. Delhi, 1978. Singh, A.I. The Origins of Partition of India, 1931-47. New Delhi, 1987. Sitaramayya, Pattabhi. The History of the Congress. Allahabad, 1935. Sitaramayya, Pattabhi. The History of the Indian National Congress, 1935-47, 2 vols. Bombay, 1947. Tendulkar, D.G. Mahatma, 8 vols. Bombay, 1951. Wolpert, Stanley, Jinnah of Pakistan, Oxford, 1984 Wolpert, Stanley, Nehru, Oxford, 1996 Ziegler, P. Mountbatten. London, 1985.
Note: Most of these materials are available at UCLA's Young Research Library (formerly University Research Library)
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SARDAR PATEL

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As district pleader, Borsad (Gujarat)
Vallabhbhai as schoolboy
at Nadiad (Gujarat)
Vallabhbhai's mother Ladbai
The two brothers, Vithalbhai and Vallabhbhai (right), as Barristers-at-Law on the latter's return from England, 1913
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House in Karamsad (Gujarat) where Vallabhbhai Patel lived as a child
Vithalbhai and Vallabhbhai (right)
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Ladbai with her five sons, 1927 (From left to right): Vithalbhai, Somabhai, Kashibhai (standing), Narsinhabhai and Vallabhbhai.
With Gandhiji at a public meeting, 1927
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In 1923 during the Nagpur flag satyagraha and the Borsad satyagraha against punitive police tax.
With Bhulabhai Desai, November 14, 1931. Bhulabhai presented the case of the peasants. Standing behind Sardar Patel is his daughter Maniben Patel
With Gandhiji at Borsad
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CL
સજીવ બને ખવર
Jawaharlal Nehru and Sardar Patel being taken out in a procession in Ahmedabad, 1930
In a group of national leaders, 1931, seated between Dr. M.A. Ansari and Jawaharlal Nehru

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With Dr. Rajendra Prasad (left) and Jamnalal Bajaj at Wardha, August 8, 1939 (Dr. Rajendra Prasad 1st President of India,
Bajaj a Prominent Industrialist)
With Gandhiji and Dr. Rajendra Prasad (left) at the Delhi Railway Station, 1940
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WWW.ADANY
At the Congress Working Committee meeting, Wardha, February 1942
With Gandhiji
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199
The Triumvirate-Gandhiji, Jawaharlal Nehru and Sardar Patel-in intimate conversation at the All India Congress Committee meeting in Bombay, July 1946. Following the discussions, the Congress. agreed to participate in the formation of an Interim Government.

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160
Members of the Interim Government after assuming office on September 2, 1946 (From left to right): Sarat Chandra Bose, Jagjivan Ram, Dr. Rajendra Prasad, Vallabhbhai Patel, Asaf Ali, Jawaharlal Nehru and Syed Ali Zaheer
Jawaharlal Nehru, Khan Abdul Ghaffar Khan, Sardar Patel, Maulana Abul Kalam Azad and Gandhiji at the All India Congress Committee meeting, Delhi, June 1947

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With Gandhiji during the Simla Conference, July 1945
Leaving the Viceregal Lodge in Simla after discussions, May 1946
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With Lord Pethick-Lawrence (extreme Left) who led the Cabinet Mission, Simla, May 1946
With Acharya Kripalani, Congress President, 1946
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A

With Lord Mountbatten, July 1947
Being sworn in as a member of the Union Cabinet on August 15, 1947 by Lord Mountbatten, Governor General. Also seen are Lady Mountbatten, Maulana Abul Kalam Azad and Baldev Singh (right); and Dr. Rajendra Prasad, Jawaharlal Nehru and the Chief Justice of India, H.J. Kania (left).
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Sardar Patel made an impassioned appeal for unity and peace at a public meeting in Patna, January 26, 1948
L
At a press conference in New Delhi, reviewing constitutional progress of the Indian states, January 29, 1948
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Arriving to inaugurate the Saurashtra Constituent Assembly at Rajkot, January 24, 1949
With peasants at Chittor, January 1949
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Receiving the degree of Doctor of Laws at Osmania University, Hyderabad, February 26, 1949

At the inauguration of the Greater Rajasthan Union, Jaipur, March 30, 1949
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AIR
Broadcasting to the nation, March 14, 1949.
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Signing the Constitution of India, January 24, 1950
With Dr. Rajendra Prasad and Maulana Abul Kalam Azad
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With Jawaharlal Nehru and Indira Gandhi
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In a garden
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At rest (December 15, 1950, Bombay)
"....By many of us here he will be remembered as a great captain of our forces in the struggle for freedom, and as one who gave us sound advice in times of trouble as well as in moments of victory...."
-Jawaharlal Nehru
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Memorial in Karamsad: Statue of
the two Brothers.
"The great Emperor Samudragupta was styled "Sarvarajochchheta - the uprooter of kings. Parshurama, the incarnation of Vishnu, was distinguished for having destroyed kings, but no one knows whether the kings he destroyed prayed for the long life of their destroyer. In the case of Sardar Patel, however every ruler so uprooted prayed for the destroyer's long life."
- Kanaiyalal Munshi.
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Sardar Patel Award at UCLA List of Donors
Patron-in-Chief ($25,000) Donor ($1000)
Kavita Solanki Ukabhai and Naliniben Solanki Bhakti N. and Savita B. Patel
Pratima Solanki Dashrath and Dina Panchal
Rao and Indira Yalamanchili Patron ($10,000) Gordhan and Saroj Patel
Bharatsinh and Vasu Zala Hamilton Brewart Insurance Agency BJMCAA
Jasvant Modi Navin and Pratima Doshi
Mahadev M. and Meena M. Bhatt Viren and Amita Mehta Mahesh and Sunita Bhuta
Contributors Ganpat and Manju Patel Pramod G. and Meera P. Chokshi
Madhubhai G. and Urmila M. Patel ($501.25) Naresh and Rama Patel
Narendrasingh R. and Sajanba N, Chudasama Empex Diamonds Inc. ($501)
CM Automative Systems Inc. (Chander Mittal) Kalpesh and Kanchanben Movalia ($501) Benefactor ($5000) Raul and Mandakini Doshi
J&J import-export ($500) Pradip and Rekha Choksi Pratap Dholakia
Jayaprakash & Leela Dhanak ($500) Sardar Patel Memorial Society, North America Sonia Doshi and Kevin McCarthy
Jhaveri Diamond Coporation ($500) Shobhana Gandhi Vishal Gupta c/o Pravin Dave
Balu and Bhanu Gadhi ($500) Jitendra and Meena Mehta Federation of Hindu Association, Inc.
Gautam Navin Gandhi (5500) Kumar and Shela Patel (FHA, Inc.)
Horizon Diamond Inc. ($500) Maganbhai and Taraben Patel Kumar and Padma Koneru
Roshni Suman Patel LeDone and Clark J. Sumant and Chandrika Patel Gita and Anil Mehta
LeDone (5500) Keshur L. and Hira K. Ram Kanu S. and Indira K. Parikh
Rahul Parikh ($500) Naresh and Priti Solanki
Anil D. and Maya A. Patel Harshad and Raksha Shah
G.S. and Minaxi G. Patel ($500) Anupam and Daksha Patel c/o Xrad Corp. Dinker and Aruna Shah
Harish and Damini Patel ($500) Bahechar and Kamla Patel Harkisan, Kusum, Anita and Sarita Vasa
Praful and Usha Patel ($500) Jagdish M. and Kumudben Patel Ajit and Rita Patel
Rakesh and Jayashree Patel ($500) Jashu L. and Pushpa J. Patel
Sam and Nee ($500) Jayantbhai and Pushpaben Patel Sponsor ($2500)
Jayant K. and Minal. Patel ($500) Kashiram and Kantaben Patel Babubhai and Kantaben Bera
Bharat and Minaxi Shah (5500) Vallabhbhai Bhakta Mohan M. and Taraben Patel
Jaswant and Usha Suthar ($500) Vijay D. and Madhu V. Chheda Natver A. and Kokila N. Patel
Suryakant B. and Ranjan S. Patel ($251) Lalchand and Nalini Gaglani Pravin Patel
Kothari and Company, Inc. ($251) Vikram and Anjana Kamdar Rasik N. and Subhadra R. Patel
Gemini Diamond Inc. ($250) Madhukar and Naina Kapadia Rajpoot Association of Southern California
Babubhai and Madhuben Mehta ($250) Manibhai and Savitaben Mehta Bhupen and Shubha Randeria
Ronak Sumant Patel (S250) Pankaj and Dakshaben Mowji Tulsi R. Savani
Brilliant Diamonds ($101) Bhupesh and Kumud Parikh Bharat and Dipti Shah
Jagdish Vora ($101) Rashmi Desai and Sarv Singh Kadam and Bhavna Shodhan
U.S. Diamonds ($101) Sashikant and Daksha Patel Dharam - Dave Solanki
Aesha Diamonds (S100) Shirish and Ramila Patel Harish Solanki
Rohit A. and Malti M. Desai ($100) Amrut and Hasuben Patel Jyoti Solanki
Paresh and Manish ($100) Note: The entire amount has bwen handed over to the UCLA Foundation to establish an Endowment for the Sardar Patel Award. The costs of the programs related to "rihule in Sardar Patel on October 31, 1999 have been met through hanquet and movie tickets and sponsorship recipts
Sponsors of “Tribute to Sardar Patel on Oct 31, 1999
Diamond Sponsor:
Gold Sponsors: Champak & Jashoda Modi
Anne Tahim, CPA of Instant Print of Inglewood
Paresh A. Shah, Attorney
Dinesh & Rajul Gala Platinum Sponsor:
of Gaia Foundation Shreyas Gandhi
Pramod & Kiran Mistry Bob Price,
of Citi-World Travelmart Executive Plan Design Dahyabhai & Maniben Patel
K.P. Gems and Diamonds International Doshi Apartments
Ramji & Kokila Patel Hamilton Brewart Insurance Grand Sponsor: State Bank of India
Silver Sponsors: Pravin J. & Sudha Mody, President,
India Sweets & Spices GBS Linens
Bargain Line Acknowledgements We are most grateful to the following for their generous assistance. Dr. Amrita Patel, President, Sardar Patel
Champak & Jashoda Modi
Mr. H.R. Shah of TV Asia Foundation, Vallabh Vidyanagar, and
of Instant Print of Inglewood
UCLA College of Letters and Science, Dr. Barindra Desai, President, Sardar Patel Dasharath Panchal for printing invitations
Development Office Memorial Society of North America, for
Dhiren Mehta, Photographer
B.L. Rao, for legal services making the film "Sardar" available
Nizam Cuisine of India
Jagdish Seth, Dr. Ramesh Japra of Dhiru and Sonal Kapadia for flowers
Jitendra Gaglani - Video
India Post Television Shirish Dayal and the Dance Company
Editors of India Post, India West, and of HMPS
India Journal for their extensive coverage
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Page #50
The Sardar With what pale lilies, with what roses red, Shall we do him honour, the man who is now dead? How shall we speak his eulogy, how shall his praise be sung, Who scorned all flowery eloquence, so alien to his tongue? Words are less than useless, he prized the iron act, Which wrong what others dreamed and planned into iron fact! A man among men he walked with forthright heart and soul, He saw the light shine steadily and swerved not from his goal, A peasant out of Gujarat, a man sprung from the soil, He hammered out a nation with iron will and toil! He claimed no special virtue, he asked no special right, He sought nor gave quarter when he fought his fight, He walked with kings and commoners with head held high, He looked at saints and sinners with keen and level eye, Witness all Ye friends and foes, witness near and far, Witness Vallabhbhai Patel whom men called the Sardar, Others taught us virtue, alone he taught us strength, He needs no grave bronze nor stone, this is his monument, A peasant son of Gujarat, a man sprung from the soil, He hammered out a nation with iron will and toil! - Scorpio 'Reproduced From Kewal L. Panjabi, The Indomitable Sardar, Bombay, 1977, p.246. PRINTED BY: INSTANT PRINT OF INGLEWOOD (310) 671-6118 - FAX (310) 671-6590