Reclaiming Sardar Patel: The person & the leader

The Iron Man's exceptional qualities as a realist and a fighter were moulded early in his life, his comradeship with Jawaharlal Nehru was cemented by their loyalty to Gandhi

- Rajmohan Gandhi

Since India will be celebrating the 150th anniversary of Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel's birth on October 31 this year, let me recall some qualities of his that have been forgotten. The first is the care he took of his four brothers, three of whom were older than him, and of his only sister Dahiba, who was the youngest sibling. Being a 'middle' son, Vallabh as a boy did not receive much respect or affection, which made him a realist and a fighter. However, a largeness of heart made Vallabh, who possessed a sharp brain as well, a funder of his five siblings, whose father Jhaverbhai, never rich, had over time lost much of what he possessed.

The brother benefiting the most from Vallabh's helpfulness was the one born just before him: the brilliant Vithalbhai Patel, also a hero of our freedom movement, who would die from illness in 1933 in Europe, after Subhas Bose had nursed him there. Earlier, from 1925 to 1930, when the British were in control, Vithalbhai had served as the president of what was called the Central Legislative Assembly (CLA). Although enjoying prestige, this CLA had no powers.

Much prior to that, Vithal and Vallabh had travelled, one after the other, from Gujarat's Borsad town, where the brothers were formidable pleaders, all the way to London to become barristers. Diligently saving money, Vallabh had quietly obtained from Thomas Cook & Son, the travel company, a passport as well as passage on a ship to England. Addressed, quite properly, to "V.J. Patel, Pleader, Borsad", the envelope containing the documents was taken by the postman to the home of Vithal, who too was "V.J. Patel, Pleader, Borsad". "As your older brother," said Vithal to Vallabh, "I cannot go to England after you. I will go with your passport and your ticket."