SARDARPATEL OTHERFACETS Editor Dr. Anirban Ganguly Director, Dr. Syama Prasad Mookerjee Research Foundation Editorial Assistance Amarjeet Singh Research Associate & Programme Co-ordinator Devesh Kandelwal Research Associate Nandan Singh Bisht Research Assistant Published by : Dr. Syama Prasad Mookerjee Research Foundation, 2013 11, Ashok Road, New Delhi - 110001 E-mail :
[email protected] Telephone: 011 - 48005769 “The Statue of Unity is not the Bhakti of a person but it is the Bhakti of a thought! Sardar Patel's message of unity must keep echoing in every part of the country & Statue of Unity will spread this message across India.” ShriNarendraModi SardarPatel:TheIronMan CONTENT INTRODUCTION 1-2 1. DR.SYAMA PRASADMOOKERJEE'STRIBUTETOSARDAR PATEL 5 2. REMINISCENCES 6 3. RECONSTRUCTIONOFSOMNATH:SARDAR'SPLEDGE 7-9 4. SARDAR PATEL,COMMUNISM&INDIA'SCOMMUNISTS 10-15 5. SARDAR PATEL &INDIANMUSLIMS 16-20 6. SARDAR PATEL ALSOSPOKEFOR THEBELEAGUEREDHINDUS 21-22 7. SARDAR PATEL'SINSIGHTONCHINA-TIBET-BORDER 23-28 8. SARDAR PATEL &HYDERABAD ACTION 29-32 9. SARDAR PATEL,PAKISTAN&JAMMU&KASHMIR 33-36 10. SARDAR PATEL &JAWAHARLAL NEHRU:DIFFERENCESof TEMPERAMENT& APPROACH 37-44 11.ENDNOTES&REFERENCES 44-46 1 INTRODUCTION Sardar Patel and his mighty legacy of national service have, over the years, been blanketed over by the Congress Party with its penchant for dynastism and sensationalism! Dr. Rajendra Prasad, once movingly wrote about this lack of gratitude towards Sardar's great contribution as the architect of India's unity. “That there is today an India to think and talk about”, wrote Prasad, “is very largely due to Sardar Patel's statesmanship and firm administration. Yet we are apt to ignore him.” One of Sardar Patel's leading biographers had this to say about the neglect and the contrast, “Falling in 1989, the centenary of Jawaharlal's birth found expression on a thousand billboards, in commemorative TV serials, in festivals and on numerous other platforms.