15/11/2020 Vallabhbhai Patel - Wikipedia

in the good sense of the word, in what had been Provinces in the old India, organises the prestigious
creative in the Indian States. Neither was easy. To the ordinary stresses of a annual Sardar Patel
transition caused by the withdrawal of trained personnel which had wielded
all power for a hundred years was added the strain of partition, and the Memorial Lectures, and
immense human upheavals and suffering that followed it. The fate of our other charitable
new State hung in the balance during those perilous months when millions organisations. Dahyabhai
moved across the new frontiers under conditions which are still vivid— Patel was a businessman
indeed, too vivid—in our memories, and therefore, need not be described. who was elected to serve in
That despite some oscillation the scales stayed steady was due not only to the
the Lok Sabha (the lower
faith of the people in its leaders, but to the firm will and strong hand of the
new Home Minister. house of the Indian
Parliament) as an MP in
Official Records of Patel's death[97] the 1960s.[127]

For many decades after his

death, there was a
perceived lack of effort from the Government of India, the national media, and the Congress party
regarding commemoration of Patel's life and work.[128] Patel was posthumously awarded the Bharat
Ratna, India's highest civilian honour, in 1991.[129] It was announced in 2014 that his birthday, 31
October, would become an annual national celebration known as Rashtriya Ekta Diwas (National
Unity Day).[130] In 2012, Patel was ranked third in Outlook India's poll of the Greatest Indian.[131]

Patel's family home in Karamsad is preserved in his memory.[132] The Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel
National Memorial in Ahmedabad was established in 1980 at the Moti Shahi Mahal. It comprises a
museum, a gallery of portraits and historical pictures, and a library containing important documents
and books associated with Patel and his life. Amongst the exhibits are many of Patel's personal effects
and relics from various periods of his personal and political life.[133]

Patel is the namesake of many public institutions in India. A major initiative to build dams, canals,
and hydroelectric power plants in the Narmada River valley to provide a tri-state area with drinking
water and electricity and to increase agricultural production was named the Sardar Sarovar. Patel is
also the namesake of the Sardar Vallabhbhai National Institute of Technology in Surat, Sardar Patel
University, Sardar Patel High School, and the Sardar Patel Vidyalaya, which are among the nation's
premier institutions. India's national police training academy is also named after him.[134]

The international airport of Ahmedabad is named after him. Also the international cricket stadium of
Ahmedabad (also known as the Motera Stadium) is named after him. A national cricket stadium in
Navrangpura, Ahmedabad, used for national matches and events, is also named after him. The chief
outer ring road encircling Ahmedabad is named S P Ring Road. The Gujarat government's institution
for training government functionaries is named Sardar Patel Institute of Public Administration.

Rashtriya Ekta Diwas

Rashtriya Ekta Diwas (National Unity Day) was introduced by the Government of India and
inaugurated by Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi in 2014. The intent is to pay tribute to Patel,
who was instrumental in keeping India united. It is to be celebrated on 31 October every year as
annual commemoration of the birthday of the Iron Man of India Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel, one of the
founding leaders of Republic of India. The official statement for Rashtriya Ekta Diwas by the Home
Ministry of India cites that the National Unity Day "will provide an opportunity to re-affirm the
inherent strength and resilience of our nation to withstand the actual and potential threats to the
unity, integrity and security of our country."[135]

National Unity Day celebrates the birthday of Patel because, during his term as Home Minister of
India, he is credited for the integration of over 550 independent princely states into India from 1947
to 1949 by Independence Act (1947). He is known as the "Bismarck[a] of India".[136][137] The

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