All You Need to Know About Sardar Vallabh Bhai Patel

In this Short Byte for your UPSC exam preparation, we will share some important facts about the Iron Man of India, Sardar Vallabh Bhai Patel. He was the first Deputy Prime Minister of India from 1947 to 1950. 

“There is something unique in this soil, which despite many obstacles has always remained the abode of great souls.” Sardar Vallabh Bhai Patel

• Sardar Vallabh Bhai Patel was born on October 31, 1875, in Gujarat. 
• In 1911, he went to England and enrolled at the Middle Temple Inn in London to pursue Law.
• After returning from London, he was not keen on active politics. However, his meeting with Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi in Godhra, 1917 was a big turning point in his life. 
• In 1918, Patel quit his job and joined the Kheda Satyagraha to fight for the exemption of taxes (in 1918).
• In 1920, Patel joined Gandhi’s Non-Cooperation Movement.
• Following Bardoli Satyagraha, women of the Bardoli village gave him the title of “Sardar” because of his active participation and his role in the Satyagraha.

Also, have a look at another UPSC Short Byte comprising crucial facts about Mahatama Gandhi.

• In 1930, during the Civil Disobedience Movement, the British arrested Sardar Patel and put him on trial without witnesses.
• The 1931 Karachi Session of the Indian National Congress was presided over by Sardar Patel.
• During Quit India Movement (1942), the British arrested Patel. He was imprisoned from 1942 to 1945.
• Sardar Patel also played an important role in the Mutiny of the Royal Indian Navy (RIN) of 1946.
• After Independence, he became India’s first Deputy Prime Minister.
• He was also the first Home Minister of India. As the first Home Minister and Deputy Prime Minister of India, he was responsible for uniting all 562 princely states in the country to build the Republic of India. 
• He is also called ‘Bismarck of India’ and ‘Iron Man of India’.
• He was also the Chief Architect of India's Steel frame, i.e., the Civil services in India.
• He died in Bombay on 15th December 1950. Posthumously, in 1991 he was awarded Bharat Ratna, the highest civilian award of India.

“A war based on Satyagraha is always of two kinds. One is the war we wage against injustice and the other we fight against our own weaknesses.”- Sardar Vallabh Bhai Patel

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