Skip to main content

Sardar Patel was iron man, Indira Gandhi iron lady, both had 'tough' frame of mind

By Shaktisinh Gohil*
Come October 31, and we have functions to mark events relating to two great personalities who have played very important role in the making of India. They are Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel and Indira Gandhi. Like many other friends in public life, I also have to attend functions involving these two leaders at some places as speaker, while at some as guest.
Despite two representing two different phases of India – pre- and post-Independence India, they had some common qualities which made Sardar Patel Iron Man of India and Indira Gandhi Iron Lady of India. Both were quite sensitive to the needs of people and committed to the cause of India. At the same time, they had a tough frame of mind and strong will to take their convictions to ultimate conclusions.
With the rise of parochial regionalism at the cost of unity and integrity of the country, we need nationalistic spirit of these two leaders today more than that of any other time. We have to think in terms of common man. The need of the hour is more today because the world is under market driven economy and it is the common men whose interests are to be safeguarded.
We have rising regional kshatrapas who are trying to bend the federal structure of the Constitution to satisfy their insatiable hunger for power and indiscriminate and unjustified use of power for personal gratification. It calls for something like bringing over 600 provinces in the fold of India.
By all means Sardar was a national leader with a clear vision of strong and integrated India. His all actions show this. Despite a strong personality and boldness to disagree with leaders like Gandhiji and Jawaharlal Nehru, Sardar remained integral part of the team that led India to freedom.
In the case of Indira Gandhi, whether it was nationalization of banks or nuclear test, only two factors were predominant – people and India. Nuclear test by India or intervention in Bangladesh clearly established India as an independent power with its decisive say. That is the reason even today people remember these two leaders when it comes to thinking India as an entity, an independent country with its own voice and image in the world.
These were the leaders whom people loved and adored for their qualities. They did not stage manage applause and laurels to show that they were mass leaders. No doubt these leaders were firm and committed in their views, but this was guided by their sensitivity to common people and the spirit of united and integrated India.
Congress had number of leaders with prime ministerial mettle and Gandhiji was the unifying force of this network of genius and talent. This prowess of knowledge and talent made them humble. It brought to them strength to stand dissent and dissolve differences for the common cause of national interest.
Sardar had done many things, besides unifying princely states. He was a great administrator. He was a man who had grounded himself through ground realities of India. This was reflected in his role in Kheda satyagraha, his role in municipalities and role as president of the Gujarat Pradesh Congress Committee for 20 long years.
When Sardar Patel offered to resign over a difference, Nehru wrote back: “No, you will not resign. I will resign” 
At the time of partition, riots broke out in Amritsar. Here is an excerpt of his address to people from his car:
“Here, in this same city, the blood of Hindus, Sikhs and Muslims mingled in the bloodbath of Jalianwala Bagh. I am grieved to think that things have come to such a pass that no Muslim can go about in Amritsar and no Hindu or Sikh can even think of living in Lahore. The butchery of innocent and defenceless men, women and children does not behoove brave men…
:I am quite certain that India’s interest lies in getting all her men and women across the border and sending out all Muslims from East Punjab. I have come to you with a specific appeal. Pledge the safety of Muslim refugees crossing the city. Any obstacles or hindrances will only worsen the plight of our refugees who are already performing prodigious feats of endurance.
“If we have to fight, we must fight clean. Such a fight must await an appropriate time and conditions and you must be watchful in choosing your ground. To fight against the refugees is no fight at all. No laws of humanity or war among honourable men permit the murder of people who have sought shelter and protection. Let there be truce for three months in which both sides can exchange their refugees.
“This sort of truce is permitted even by laws of war. Let us take the initiative in breaking this vicious circle of attacks and counter-attacks. Hold your hands for a week and see what happens. Make way for the refugees with your own force of volunteers and let them deliver the refugees safely at our frontier.”

It is the time that we think about India as a country and inculcate the spirit of nationalism of these two leaders associated with October 31. I feel that there is a deliberate attempt to undermine the stature of Sardar by some leaders. Sardar had banned RSS. Now we have RSS pracharak and RSS-appointed Prime Minister claiming Sardar Patel’s legacy. What can be more ironical?
The people of the nation know: Sardar Patel had said nobody in this country spreads more poison than RSS. BJP is a party without any role models, without any credible mentors. Hence, it is now trying to hijack Sardar.
Sardar was a secular man. And till he died, he was with the Congress. Sardar and Nehru did not compete with each other. They complemented each other. They had differences. When Sardar Patel offered to resign over one such difference, Nehru wrote back to him saying: “No, you will not resign. I will resign.”
---
* In charge Bihar and national spokesperson, All-India Congress Committee. Website: http://www.shaktisinhgohil.com

Comments

TRENDING

Insider plot to kill Deendayal Upadhyay? What RSS pracharak Balraj Madhok said

By Shamsul Islam*  Balraj Madhok's died on May 2, 2016 ending an era of old guards of Hindutva politics. A senior RSS pracharak till his death was paid handsome tributes by the RSS leaders including PM Modi, himself a senior pracharak, for being a "stalwart leader of Jan Sangh. Balraj Madhok ji's ideological commitment was strong and clarity of thought immense. He was selflessly devoted to the nation and society. I had the good fortune of interacting with Balraj Madhok ji on many occasions". The RSS also issued a formal condolence message signed by the Supremo Mohan Bhagwat on behalf of all swayamsevaks, referring to his contribution of commitment to nation and society. He was a leading RSS pracharak on whom his organization relied for initiating prominent Hindutva projects. But today nobody in the RSS-BJP top hierarchy remembers/talks about Madhok as he was an insider chronicler of the immense degeneration which was spreading as an epidemic in the high echelons of th

Central pollution watchdog sees red in Union ministry labelling waste to energy green

By Chythenyen Devika Kulasekaran*  “Destructors”, “incinerators” and “waste-to-energy (WTE) incineration” all mean the same thing – indiscriminate burning of garbage! Having a history of about one and a half centuries, WTE incinerators have seen several reboots over the 19th, 20th and 21st centuries. 

First-of-its-kind? 'Eco-friendly, low cost' sewage treatment system installed in Gujarat

Counterview Desk Following the installation of the Unconventional Decentralized Multi-Stage Reactor (UDMSR) for sewage treatment, a note on what is claimed to be the  first-of-its-kind technology said, the treated sewage from this system “can be directly utilized for agricultural purposes”, even as proving to be a “saviour in the times of water crisis.”

A Hindu alternative to Valentine's Day? 'Shiv-Parvati was first love marriage in Universe'

By Rajiv Shah*   The other day, I was searching on Google a quote on Maha Shivratri which I wanted to send to someone, a confirmed Shiv Bhakt, quite close to me -- with an underlying message to act positively instead of being negative. On top of the search, I chanced upon an article in, imagine!, a Nashik Corporation site which offered me something very unusual. 

Indo-Bangla border: Farmers facing 'illegal obstacles' in harvesting, transporting yields

  Counterview Desk  In a representation to the chairperson, National Human Rights Commission, human rights defender Kirity Roy, who is secretary, Banglar Manabadhikar Suraksha Mancha (MASUM), has said that Border Security Force (BSF) personnel are creating "illegal obstacles" for farmers seeking to harvest their ripened yields and transport them to the market in village Jhaukuthi of Cooch Behar district.

Wasteland, a colonial legacy, being used to 'give away' vast tracts to Ratnagiri refinery

By Fouziya Tehzeeb* William D’Souza, a 55-year old farmer from Kuthethur, Mangalore, was busy mixing cattle feed when we arrived at his doorsteps. Around 25 km from the bustling city of Mangalore, Kuthethur is a lush green village with thick vegetation. On the way to William’s house the idyllic view gets blocked by the flares and smoke arising from the Mangalore Refinery and Petrochemicals Limited (MRPL).

'Flawed' argument: Gandhi had minimal role, naval mutinies alone led to Independence

Counterview Desk Reacting to a Counterview  story , "Rewiring history? Bose, not Gandhi, was real Father of Nation: British PM Attlee 'cited'" (January 26, 2016), an avid reader has forwarded  reaction  in the form of a  link , which carries the article "Did Atlee say Gandhi had minimal role in Independence? #FactCheck", published in the site satyagrahis.in. The satyagraha.in article seeks to debunk the view, reported in the Counterview story, taken by retired army officer GD Bakshi in his book, “Bose: An Indian Samurai”, which claims that Gandhiji had a minimal role to play in India's freedom struggle, and that it was Netaji who played the crucial role. We reproduce the satyagraha.in article here. Text: Nowadays it is said by many MK Gandhi critics that Clement Atlee made a statement in which he said Gandhi has ‘minimal’ role in India's independence and gave credit to naval mutinies and with this statement, they concluded the whole freedom struggle.

CAA disregards India's inclusive plural ethos, 'betrays' ideals of freedom struggle: PUCL

Counterview Desk    "Outraged" at the move of the Central government to implement the Citizenship Amendment Act, 2019 (CAA 2019) weeks before the election, the top rights group, People's Union for Civil Liberties (PUCL), has demanded that the law be repealed. 

Buddhist shrines were 'massively destroyed' by Brahmanical rulers: Historian DN Jha

Nalanda mahavihara By Our Representative Prominent historian DN Jha, an expert in India's ancient and medieval past, in his new book , "Against the Grain: Notes on Identity, Intolerance and History", in a sharp critique of "Hindutva ideologues", who look at the ancient period of Indian history as "a golden age marked by social harmony, devoid of any religious violence", has said, "Demolition and desecration of rival religious establishments, and the appropriation of their idols, was not uncommon in India before the advent of Islam".

Sections of BSF, BGB personnel 'directly or indirectly' involved in cross border smuggling

By Kirity Roy*  The Border Security Force (BSF) of India and the Border Guard Bangladesh (BGB) of Bangladesh met for 54th Director General level meeting at Dhaka, Bangladesh, on 5th to 9th March, 2024 to discuss on minimizing killings at border area, illegal intrusion, trafficking of drugs and other narcotics, smuggling of arms and ammunitions and other crimes at bordering areas. Further, the summit had an agenda to discuss on overall development in 150 yards area at both sides of the border and design an activity plan for the same.