National Unity Day

We can have a good and bad memory associated with a date. But how we would want to remember the date is our choice; 31st October provides us with such a choice. While the 31st October is widely known for an event in 1984 in which country's only woman and one of the most popular Prime Ministers ever was assassinated; followed by a wide scale application of misdirected hatred in which thousands of her own countrymen lost their lives. On the other hand 31st October is also the day on which one of independent India's most popular and powerful leaders, a leader who gave shape to the map of Indian union, was born.

Thanks to propaganda the death of Indira Gandhi has for decades received much more public attention than the birth of Sardar Patel. The assassination of a reigning prime-minister was an unfortunate event but even more unfortunate were the reprisals unleashed on a particular community whose lineage of serving the sub-continent is unparalleled. While a leader was glorified, an entire community was vilified. In simple terms the events on or after 31st October, 1984 represent the 'divisive' facet of India and brings to fore the deep cracks within our diverse country.

On the contrary it would not be exaggerating to say what Sardar Patel achieved in the few years between independence and his death in 1950 united India as a nation is it we know today. If you tend to disagree, then have a look at this map of India at the time of independence. More than 35% of the entire sub-continent area was at that point of time under the control of princely states numbering more than 500. All of whom had no obligation to join the Indian union and could have declared independence on their own.

Our colonial masters were very happy to leave behind a disintegrated country which would have fought years of civil war to settle their territorial disputes. It would have ultimately led to a sub-continent split into scores of small countries; may be something like the Soviet blocs of Eastern Europe. The seventh largest country in the world would have been Argentina and not India. But that was not to be since India had a certain Sardar Patel as the Home Minister. It was the only time when a Home Minister was the Commander-in-Chief of India's armed forces (later on President) and only time when the Home Minister was equally if not more important that the Prime Minister. While the PM was more focused in stamping India's presence at the global stage, the Home Minister was very much aware that the situation at home has to steadfastly handled.

The chaos that was, is unimaginable. On one hand there were millions displaced and tortured by the partition caused by an imaginary line. And on the other side was the task of stitching together the country with a hostile neighbor breathing over the shoulder. With the help of his trusted secretary V.P. Menon, Patel was able to achieve accession of most of the princely states through diplomacy and negotiations. In some cases, as like for Junagadh, Hyderabad and ultimately Kashmir force had to be used.

It is quite doubtful had it not been for their contributions, whether the nation that we see on map today would have ever come into shape. A case in point is surely that of Kashmir, in which the advisories from Patel and his team were sidestepped by the higher authorities until the very last moment, resulting in a quagmire of never ending dispute between the two neighboring countries which now yearly drains millions from exchequer along with loss of lives. It is noted that Patel's cautious view points w.r.t to relationships with China were also over looked and for which country paid the price later.

As a political leader Sardar Patel's contributions before Independence had been many but his achievements in the integration process remains unparalleled. Considering the diverse and divisive landscape, integrating most of the states within just 2 years post independence is a super-human achievement. His other contributions in curving out an efficient bureaucracy in the form of IAS and IPS and laying the seeds of White Revolution though formation of Amul's parent cooperative society tend to get ignored in comparison.

In memory of such a tall act, today the tallest statue in the world will be inaugurated by the Prime Minister. Though it is quite debatable whether it is the most appropriate way to honor this great son of India by building an immovable statue for INR 3000 crore within just 3 years. It is interesting to note that one of the sub-contractors for this massive statute is a Chinese firm.

It almost seems that it's payback time for all the years when his legacy had been pushed into oblivion and his contributions skillfully omitted from the pages of history text books in school. However, leaving those divisive thoughts aside let's celebrate the National Unity Day in memory of the 'Iron Man of India'. Hope soon to get awestruck by this magnanimous Statue of Unity.