Preface
Writing a book on the life and achievements of an outstanding personality like Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel would always be a huge challenge for anyone, but for me personally, it was especially so for multiple reasons the primary one being the fact that I had only recently gone through the enormous task of examining this near contemporary history while writing a book, Nehru: A Troubled Legacy, that involved over three-four years' intensive research. On most of the issues and developments the two stalwarts, Nehru and Patel, were physically together but politically and intellectually wide apart. It was a stern intellectual test to analyse the events from two or more different perspectives and try to arrive at balanced and unbiased conclusions. Vallabhbhai has been variously perceived by historians and contemporary analysts as a 'superman', and a leader with 'superlative brains'. He was none of that. What he was, was a statesman gifted with the rare quality of astuteness and pertinacity in his approach to problems. Despite his stern exterior, he possessed a generous heart, but in the pursuit of larger objectives, he never allowed emotions or sentiment to weaken his resolve. Contrary to the general perception, Patel was totally committed to Mahatma Gandhi, yet at no time did he compromise with his deeply felt convictions. For instance, despite his abiding faith in the Mahatma's leadership, he deepred non violence, not as an ineluctable way of life, but in the circumstances then obtaining in India, as the only available weapon to compel British withdrawal from the country. And when the country achieved its objective, Patel was quick to advocate the creation of a strong defence force to guard its newly-acquired sovereignty, Vallabhbhai's realism rested on the sound principle that the cause is always greater than the man. His perceived ruthlessness in enforcing organisational discipline in the Congress Party was derived from the conviction that only as a strong party could the Congress qualify to play the role of a competent 'receiver' after the end of foreign rule. His leadership of the peasants' revolt in Gujarat and of the flag satyagraha at Nagpur were designed to drill and discipline his countrymen to a life of suffering and sacrifice as a means of winning national freedom. In his scheme of things, there was indeed no place for vacillation, selfishness and cowardice, which he fought against, not with kid-gloves, but with the mailed fist. And because he was essentially a man of action, he lived, not in words, but in deeds. Vallabhbhai has won for himself a glittering page in history as an annexationist and unifier far more resourceful and much bolder than Bismarck. Only a man of his resolute and persuasive abilities could have accomplished the unique feat of merging the five hundred odd mutually exclusive and fiercely self-regarding principalities into India's wider unity. The sacrifices demanded from the Princes were of staggering proportions and yet a majority of them willingly surrendered their most cherished possessions.
About The Book
Vallabhbhai Patel (1875-1950) left his mark not only on the map of India but also on the minds of her people. He is said to have bequeathed the idea of an integrated India to the nation, and is often called the 'Iron Man, with an uncanny foresight and a clear vision of where independent India's future lay. He was no superman, he was a statesman gifted with the rare quality of astuteness and pertinacity in his approach to problems. He was more than Bismarck in many ways. His decisive approach to the merger of the 565 princely States into the Union of India is a hair-raising story of grit, gumption and guts. It is the story of how a man, believed to be 'the accurate bowman of Gandhi's struggle... who knew no retreat' wooed, cajoled and coerced Princes' India into becoming a People's India. Patel was convinced, 'Small states cannot subsist as independent entities without endangering Indian unity and this book tells the bold and brazen story of how state by state, from Junagadh to Patna, Travancore to J&K, that is, two-thirds of the land mass was shepherded under Mother India's wings, by one man's steadfast commitment to the larger cause, 'no further division' of the subcontinent. India is today suffering the consequences of ignoring Patel's advise on Kashmir and China. Though it covers just five years of Sardar Patel's life and times, this is a work of historicity that every Indian must read to understand how India came to be the India that Google today shows us.
About The Author
RNP Singh is a Senior Fellow at the Vivekananda International Foundation, a Delhi-based think tank. A former officer of the Government of India's Intelligence Bureau, his distinguished service credentials earned him a coveted President's Police Medal, Indian Police Medal, the Sukriti and Kautilya Awards. A former Trustee and Director of India First Foundation, New Delhi and Managing Editor of two widely acclaimed Journals, Eternal India and Chirantan Bharat (Hindi), RNP Singh has written a number of books including Riots & Wrongs, Bangladesh Decoded, ISI ka Atank, Pakistan ki Haquiqat (both in Hindi) and Nehru: A Troubled Legacy (2015). His works have won wide recognition for their uniform excellence.
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