In his column "Inventing a history" (Ticker, November 2) Mihir S Sharma makes strange arguments. What convinced him that Sardar Patel was "never as popular with Congress rank and file as Nehru"? On the contrary, Gandhiji called Patel "Sardar" precisely because he successfully led the Congress rank and file in many difficult struggles, including the "Bardoli Satyagraha". Nobody will believe the author's claim that Sardar Patel was not a "national vote getter" compared to Jawaharlal Nehru and hence, the latter prevailed. The claim is factually incorrect as well as logically irrelevant. The Congress was expected to have unchallenged control over electorate in free India, and in the list of qualities sought in the new leader the one of "vote-getter" would be near the bottom. What prevailed was Gandhiji's intransigence and none of Nehru's perceived qualities.
Mahesh D Bakhai Mumbai
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