Delivers first Sardar Patel Memorial Lecture
The Vice President of India, Shri M. Venkaiah Naidu has said that no Indian should fall prey to the hideous design of vested interests and anti-India proponents in fomenting trouble and weakening the unity and integrity of the country. He was delivering the first Sardar Patel Memorial Lecture, here today. The former Governor of Karnataka, Shri T.N. Chaturvedi and other dignitaries were present on the occasion. The Vice President also administered the Rashtriya Ekta Diwas pledge on this occasion.
The Vice President said that by remembering this great man, remembering his words and achievements, we gain immense enthusiasm, inspiration and job-oriented self-confidence. He further said that the views of Sardar Patel are ideal for all of us and quoted Sardar Patel as saying, "in a tough time the cowards find excuses, the brave people find the way". Inspired by Mahatma ji, Sardar Patel’s ideals were nonviolence, skill, hard work, ability and efficiency, he added.
The Vice President said that great qualities of Patel - loyalty to the leader, love for the motherland, unshakeable commitment to nationalism and complete steadfastness in completing the integration of diverse princely States with the Union of India without bothering about post or position. His was a monumental contribution in shaping the destiny of modern India and the country will remain ever grateful to him for ensuring its unity and integrity, he added.
The Vice President said that India’s progress in various fields and its march as one of the major economies should not be allowed to be obstructed by anybody and every Indian should strive to uphold and strengthen country’s unity and integrity.
Following is the text of Vice President’s Lecture:
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As we gather here to pay tributes to the Iron Man of India, Sardar Vallabh Bhai Patel, we must all be grateful to his vision, determination, deftness and pragmatism in preventing the balkanization of the country and achieving the herculean task of politically integrating more than 560 princely States with the Union of India.
He was a true nationalist, who placed the interests of the country above everything else. Nothing else except the country mattered most to him. It would be apt to describe him as the unifier of India and what was achieved by him during the turbulent days of partition remains unparalleled in modern history.
He coaxed and persuaded rulers of princely States to merge with Indian Union and acted decisively by using force where it was required as in the case of Hyderabad when the Nizam not only nurtured ambitions to remain independent but also toyed with the idea of joining Pakistan. Codenamed ‘Operation Polo’, the swift action to liberate and integrate Hyderabad State with the rest of India took just four days and concluded on September 17, 1948.
He was a towering personality with a heart of gold and remained unwavering in his loyalty to his mentor and the Father of the Nation, Mahatma Gandhi, although the latter preferred Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru to Patel to be the Congress President in 1946 and paved the way for him to become the country’s first Prime Minister.
Without any ill-will, Patel withdrew his nomination from the race for the president’s post in favour of Pandit Nehru on the advice of Gandhiji. The following statement exemplifies the greatness of Sardar Patel and his national fervor. “We both have been lifelong comrades in a common cause. The paramount interests of our country and our mutual love and regard, transcending such differences of outlook and temperaments as existed, have held us together.”
I am mentioning that only to highlight the great qualities of Patel—loyalty to the leader, love for the motherland, unshakeable commitment to nationalism and complete steadfastness in completing the integration of diverse princely States with the Union of India without bothering about post or position.
He was a man of principles and character. His was a monumental contribution in shaping the destiny of modern India and the country will remain ever grateful to him for ensuring its unity and integrity.
Here, I would like to recall what Maulana Azad had stated on Patel: “He made his choice out of the two courses that come before a man, namely would he live for his country or for himself. Sardar chose his country”.
Praising the monumental contribution of Sardar Patel in unifying India, Pandit Nehru said: “History will record it in many pages and call him the builder and consolidator of the new India”.
Gandhiji and Sardar Patel shared a unique relationship and at times differed on certain issues. In fact, Gandhiji lauded him for remaining firm on his convictions and said “All honour to Sardar for holding fast to his convictions”.
In his address at the Benaras Hindu University following Gandhiji’s assassination, Patel said: “I claim to be nothing more than an obedient soldier of him like the millions who obeyed his call. There was a time when everyone used to call me his blind follower. But, both he and I knew that I followed him because our convictions tallied”.
There are many interesting facets to Sardar’s life - he was a successful lawyer, a people’s leader, most dependable organizational man, an administrator par excellence, humane, compassionate and of course a nationalist above all.
It is unfortunate that even 70 years after attaining Independence, various fissiparous tendencies are raising their ugly heads and attempts are being made to threaten the unity and integrity of the country.
No Indian should fall prey to the hideous design of vested interests and anti-India proponents in fomenting trouble and weakening the unity and integrity of the country. India’s progress in various fields and its march as one of the major economies should not be allowed to be obstructed by anybody and every Indian should strive to uphold and strengthen country’s unity and integrity.
JAI HIND!”
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