The negligence of a few could easily send a ship to the bottom,

but if it has the wholehearted co-operation

of all on board, it can be safely brought to the part.

-Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel

Sardar Vallabhbhai Jhaverbhai Patel was born on 31st Oct in the year 1875, Nadiad, Gujarat, India. He was one of the popular leaders of the Indian National Congress during the struggle for Indian independence. Although during the first 3 years of Indian independence after 1947, he had been appointed as the Deputy PM, minister of home affairs, minister of information, and minister of states.

HIS CAREER TOUCHED HEIGHTS

->As a decent lawyer, Patel Ji distinguished himself in presenting an unassailable case in a precise manner and in challenging police witnesses and British judges.

->Strongly determined to grow his career in the legal profession, Patel migrated to London in the month of Aug 1910 to study at the Middle Temple.

->Leading barrister in criminal law, reserved and courteous, he was acknowledged for his superior etiquettes and his championship in bridge at Ahmedabad’s fashionable Gujarat Club.

->From 1917 to 1924 Patel served as the first Indian municipal commissioner of Ahmedabad and was its elected municipal president from 1924 to 1928.

->Vallabhbhai Patel had first made his mark in 1918 when he planned mass campaigns of peasants, farmers, and landowners of Kaira, Gujarat.

->In 1928 Patel Ji successfully led the landowners of Bardoli in their resistance against increased taxes.

Here's a poem on his stature that touches everyone's heart-

Statue of Unity

At 182 meters, the world’s

Full of insects.

I feel too distant from

What was once, my people.

I dressed too simply

For today’s prime ministers.

How can they know me?

I strove to secure borders,

Not hearts, like Gandhiji.

No border is secure

Among insecure hearts.

History is a mad elephant

That tramples over

The madness of men;

We could not secure anything.

There is no unity

If temples fight mosques,

If prayers are divided.

Unity is not a divided tree,

Rose for me,

Thorns for others.

You need to wound your

Fingers

To pluck the flower of love.

The past is a country

Of the dead,

You cannot wake it up

With harangues.

The dead are mourning

Their stubborn follies.

When you meditate,

You don’t want to hear

Lecture or praise.

You drove away so many

Of my people,

Those who help the Narmada

Breathe,

Those who keep your eyes

Green.

Do not make any statue

Commit such a crime.

The statue you built

Aiming the tallest is the

Loneliest of all.

Neither the sun nor laser

Will drive away my darkness.

You measure my mettle

With metal,

That is just a metaphor.

The farmers go hungry and

Dispossessed,

While engineers grow fat.

My shawl can’t hide

The woe of such unfairness.

If you could see with

My eyes up here,

The Narmada weeps

Below my feet,

Below the bridge of broken time.

Statue of Unity

Sardar Vallabhai Patel's The Statue of Unity in Gujarat, India is a massive monument dedicated to him, which is located in the Indian state of Gujarat, facing the Narmada Dam, 3.2 km away from Sadhu Bet near Vadodara. Approximately at the height of 182 meters, it is the world's tallest statue. Its related structures are spread over 20000 square meters and are surrounded by an artificial lake spread across 12 km.

Inaugurated by India's PM Narendra Modi on 31st of Oct 2018, the 143rd anniversary of Patel's birth. The height of the statue in meters has been picked to match the total assembly constituencies in Gujarat.

POPULARITY IN MASS MEDIA

• 1947: Patel was featured on the cover of Time magazine.
• 1976: Kantilal Rathod directed a documentary on Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel.
• 1982: In Richard Attenborough's Gandhi (1982), actor Saeed Jaffrey portrayed Patel.
• 1993: The biographical film Sardar was produced and directed by Ketan Mehta and featured noted Indian actor Paresh Rawal as Patel; it focused on Patel's leadership in the years leading up to independence, the partition of India, India's political integration, and Patel's relationship with Gandhi and Nehru.
• 2000: Arun Sadekar plays Patel in Hey Ram - a film made by Kamal Hasan.