Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel, popularly known as Sardar Patel was born on 31st October 1875. He was the First Deputy Prime Minister of India. He was one of the senior leaders of the Indian National Congress and played a major role in the country’s struggle for independence and managed its integration into a united, independent nation. During the political integration of India and the Indo-Pakistani War of 1947, he was chosen as the Home Minister of India.

He was born in the Nadiad district Kheda and was brought up in the state of Gujarat. He influenced the peasants from Kheda, Borsad, and Bardoli to join the non-violent civil disobedience movement against the British Raj, therefore becoming one of the most influential leaders in Gujarat. Also, he was appointed as the 49th President of the Indian National Congress.

As the first Home Minister and Deputy Prime Minister of India, Patel arranged relief efforts for refugees fleeing to Punjab and Delhi from Pakistan and managed to renew peace.

In September 1917, Patel gave a speech in Borsad, prompting Indians nationwide to sign Gandhi’s petition demanding Swaraj from Britain. After a month, he met Gandhi Ji for the first time at the Gujarat Political Conference in Godhra. Then he became the secretary of the Gujarat Sabha. The Kheda peasants requested for exclusion from taxation had been turned down by the British authorities. On this, Gandhi Ji wanted to fight for our rights, but he was busy with the activities in Champaran, so he asked someone to volunteer for this. Patel volunteered himself completely for this assignment, much to Gandhi’s delight.

His commitment to national integration in the newly independent country was complete and determined, earning him the sobriquet “Iron Man of India”. He is also commemorated as the “patron saint of India’s civil servants” for having discovered the modern all-India services system. He is also called the “Unifier of India”. The world’s tallest statue, the Statue of Unity, was dedicated to him on 31 October 2018 which is nearly 182 meters in height.