Drive to Learn

Born in a farmer family, Sardar Patel worked on the land with his father. However, his dreams
were to go beyond the borders to study in England and become a lawyer. Money was short but
his determination to learn was strong. Due to lack of funds he was unable to travel and complete
his education in the promising land of England. His learning spirit did not dampen. Patel
borrowed books from friends and worked hard to become a lawyer, which he did!
Sheer determination and commitment to goals is a quality that leaders would benefit imbibing
irrespective of the organization they work in. A motivated learner can inspire the entire team (in
Patel’s case, the entire nation) to commit to continuous learning and up-skilling themselves.

The Power of Negotiation

Among the many achievements that India’s first Home Minister and Deputy Prime Minster is
credited with is the capacity to effectively negotiate. Sardar Patel led the mission to unify India
from the front. Apart from the British colonial provinces that had been allocated to India, Patel
is credited with negotiating with 562 princely states to join the Indian Union. Patel achieved this
feat in an incredible three-week period leading up to August 15th deadline with the support of
the master-bureaucrat V.P. Menon. Engineering the accession of these states to form a
‘patchwork quilt’ called India was met with resistance at some states – but Patel went to great
lengths to ensure that a deal was reached. Patel’s negotiation skills hold key lessons for
corporate leaders worldwide – working tirelessly, exploring all possible options and ensuring
win-win scenarios.

Donning Many Hats

Sardar Patel donned several roles as a leader during pre and after independence period. He was
the first Home Minister and Deputy Prime Minister of India who played a major role in the
freedom struggle of India and helped its integration into a united nation. Patel also acted as
Supreme Commander-in-chief of the Indian Army during political integration of Indian and
Indo- Pakistan War of 1947. Patel was also the chairman of the committees responsible for
minorities, tribal community, and fundamental rights. As a robust statesman, Sardar Patel had
the vision to
create a vibrant administrative system. He was also the man who conceptualized some of the great
policies to keep our country secured from border attacks. In the context of a business enterprise, a
leader has to play multiple roles. First, a leader has to ensure a collaborative environment just like Patel
did to create a unified India. Advising, inspiring, and spearheading are some of the few examples of the
long list of leadership tasks and Patel had all these traits as he played a spearheading role for
independent India. Irrespective of the size of the business, the services it provides, or the growth it aims
to achieve, the drive behind it comes from leadership. So, if leaders need to influence and make an
impact, much can be learned from Patel’s approach as they try to make a difference in their
organization.

Key Tаkeаwаys frоm the life оf Sаrdаr Раtel

 Wоmen in оne wаy аre extremely соurаgeоus. Men dо nоt endure the miseries tо the extent
wоmen dо. Sо lоng аs wоmen аre nоt suffiсiently eduсаted аnd inсulсаted with nаtiоnаl sрirit,
till then there will be nо рrоsрerity.

 Yоung men аnd wоmen аre tо build-uр а strоng сhаrасter. А nаtiоn's greаtness wаs refleсted
in the сhаrасter оf her рeорle. It wаs sullied by selfishness, suсh а рeорle соuld nоt рrоsрer
оr асhieve greаt things.. Selfishness hаd its рlасe in life аs everyоne hаd tо lооk tо his оwn
needs аnd thаt оf his fаmily, but it соuld nоt be mаde the be- аll аnd end-аll оf life.

 Freedоm is gоing tо be built uр frоm bоttоm аnd nоt gоing tо fаll frоm аbоve.

 Сhаrасter is very essentiаl fоr reаl suссess. Оne whо hаs nо сhаrасter саn suссeed neither
in роlitiсs nоt in соmmerсe. Соmmerсiаl mоrаlity is very neсessаry in business. Withоut
hоnesty аnd mutuаl соnfidenсe it is imроssible tо асhieve suссess. Intelligenсe is аlsо
neсessаry fоr suссess in the соmmerсiаl field. Fаte аlsо hаs its оwn рlасe but withоut
сhаrасter аnd соmmerсiаl mоrаlity everything else fаils.
 The eduсаtiоn system shоuld be sо reоriented thаt yоung men were tаught tо dо things with
their оwn hаnds in the аgriсulturаl аnd industriаl fields.

 In the histоry оf this соuntry there hаs never been suсh соnsоlidаtiоn аs hаs been tоdаy.
Indiаn histоry hаs shоwn in the раst аnd, if we tаke а lessоn frоm раst histоry, then it is
оur duty tо рreserve аnd соnsоlidаte the hаrd eаrned freedоm fоr whiсh mаny рeорle hаve
mаde tremendоus sасrifiсes.

 Оur рrestige hаs gоne high beсаuse оf Mаhаtmа Gаndhi. Рeорle аre рrаising the mаnner
in whiсh we hаve асhieved integrаtiоn оf the Stаtes withоut viоlenсe оr blооdshed аnd by
рeасeful meаns аnd со-орerаtiоn аnd in а sрirit оf соrdiаlity.

 The need оf the hоur is tо inсreаses the weаlth оf the соuntry аnd this саn оnly be dоne
by рutting in mоre аnd mоre wоrk аnd thus inсreаsing рrоduсtiоn.

 Саste, соmmunity will rарidly disаррeаr. We hаve tо sрeedily fоrget аll these things. Suсh
bоundаries hаmрer оur grоwth

 Even аn inсh оf Kаshmir will nоt be yielded. Indiа wаnted tо be liberаl in setting аffаirs
with Раkistаn аnd wаnted tо live аnd let live. But if Раkistаn wаnted tо shell Indiа with
the mоney reсeived frоm Indiа, it соuld nоt be аllоwed.

 А drunkаrd саn never beсоme а mаn оf сhаrасter. He dоes nоt hаve sense оf gооd оr
evil. He is nоt аble tо соntrоl himself. Therefоre, give uр drinking fоrever.

 Nо оne shоuld sрit оn the rоаds, shоuld nоt thrоw remnаnts оf eаtаbles оn the streets, аnd
shоuld nоt mаke the рlасes dirty.

 Serve the рeорle withоut аny exрeсtаtiоn, аnd try tо be аs muсh рure аs роssible by mind,
wоrds аnd deeds. It yоu dо thаt muсh there is nоt рlасed fоr рessimism. It is but nаturаl
thаt when yоu аre аll аlоne mind runs а riоt, but if yоu соntinuоusly engаge yоurself in sоme
wоrk then the mind will be рeасeful.

 Nо distinсtiоns оf саste аnd сreed shоuld hаmрer us. Аll аre the sоns аnd dаughters оf
Indiа. We shоuld аll lоve оur соuntry аnd build оur destiny оn mutuаl lоve аnd helр.

 Idleness is the greаtest enemy оf mаn.

 Disсiрline аnd оrgаnizаtiоn meаn hаlf the bаttle wоn.

Sardar Patel As A Transformative Leader

Sardar Patel displayed Transformation Leadership style all through his life. Sardar is a title
which is given to the leader or chief in various Indian languages. Living up to his title, Sardar
Vallabhbhai Patel and his life are an inspirational journey, giving us much to learn from. Some
of the leadership
qualities and skills that we can draw inspiration from displayed by Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel are
listed here:

Sense of reality: He always adopted the straightforward approach, expressing what he thought
clearly and boldly. He did not let ideologies and principles drive him towards delusional fantasy
(Government, 2008).

Determination: He was determined and could anticipate the results before he began acting. He
was determined and focused with his efforts and did not falter or fall weak once he had his eyes
set on the goal.

Invincible: He had the ability to fight against all odds and show the invincibility and resilience.
He took up the mammoth task of integration of a nation and was able to achieve it with his
focused efforts.

Decision making skills: Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel’s success can also be attributed to his
excellent and quick decision making skills. He always made the right decision at the right time.

Influence: Among the qualities of a great leader is their ability to influence their subordinates
and peers. Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel was an influential leader whose opinion was sought by the
other prominent leaders and he extended help and guidance to the people in need acquiring a
mass following.

Conflict resolution: He was able to convince all 562 states to unite and integrate into one nation
without any civil wars of protests. He was also able to handle to difficult negotiation and
conflicts of the Junagarh, Hyderabad and Kashmir, which is again a sign of exemplary leadership
(Krishna, 2002).

Adaptability: He could easily and effortlessly adapt to any situation. He was imprisoned a
number of times during the freedom struggle and he had to travel across the length and breadth
of the country at the time of integration. He displayed adaptability and flexibility in its truest
sense.

Planning and execution: The entire integration of the states was planned and executed by him.
He was responsible for the nomination of Pt. Jawahar Lal Nehru as the first prime minister, Dr.
Bhim Rao Ambedkar as the member of the constituent assembly and various other leaders. His
farsightedness and excellent planning are looked up to by leaders in even in the present day and
age.

Team player: In order to lead a team, a leader must play by the rules and display the
characteristics of a good team player. Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel was an excellent team player. He
continued to contribute and work towards the welfare of the country, even when his proposals
were not accepted
by the other leaders. He always had the best interest of the nation in his heart and this
was visible in all his actions (Talukdar, 2015).

Effective utilization of available resources: Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel thought on his

feet and made the best possible use of the resources available to him. Both the national
and corporate leaders can learn a lot by emulating his characteristics and qualities.

Patel as a Charismatic Leader

A charismatic leader who spoke straight from his heart, respected the opinion of those
who disagreed with him — Sardar Patel, strongly believed in the unity of Indians who
fought the British together and their ability to progress from ‘Swarajya’ to ‘Surajya’.
He was a staunch believer in equality, stood for women empowerment and self-
sufficiency through rapid industrialisation.

It is, perhaps, one of the earliest lessons from my school days. Our school was amidst
the pristine Himalayan range in the Garhwal region of the Uttarakhand (Uttar Pradesh
at that time). Our teacher gave us thin branches of pine trees and asked us to break
them, and we all did so easily. He then bound the sticks in a rope and asked us to break
the lot. We all tried one after another but could not break it. That example was etched
in my mind. In my journey to the Shiksha Mantralaya of the largest democracy of the
world, that was my first exposure to real shiksha.

Great teachers undoubtedly leave a lasting impression on the minds of the students.
Those lessons on unity and solidarity are an integral part of my personal and public
life.In medieval times, we have seen how the lack of unity amongst rulers cost us
foreign rule. In 1947, the ideas of Chanakya came back in the form of the great son of
the soil, Vallabhbhai Patel, a realist and pragmatic leader. The man who understood
the ground realities and took this task of uniting the princely states into a modern
nation-state. The iron man of India, he was the real architect of “Ek Bharat”.

In 2014, after the NDA came to power under the unifying leadership of our beloved
Prime Minister, the Government of India decided to celebrate the birthday of
Vallabhbhai Patel as the National Unity Day to recognise his monumental contribution
and service to the nation.

The Government of India under the leadership of Prime Minister Modi is engaging
with the legacy of Sardar Patel with all due considerations, respect and diligence. The
Prime Minister says that unity is “power, strength, progress and empowerment”.
Under his leadership, different ministries are organising exchange programmes, youth
festivals, language learning for the paired states under the Ek Bharat Shreshtha Bharat
initiative led by the Ministry of Education. The Prime minister has unparalleled
fervour, faith and firmness to take this integration to the next level.

Sardar Patel as a Servant Leader

Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel was cast in the same mould of leadership. He always
remained a servant of the people even after achieving fame as the ‘Sardar’. Seven
years after Bardoli Satyagrah that catapulted him into national prominence, he was
informed about the cases of plague in Borsad taluka of Gujarat. The disease started in
1932 and was spreading year after year. There were approximately 450 cases in 27
villages of Borsad taluka. Sardar Patel first sought advice from a doctor, Bhaskar
Patel, and got a clear picture of the situation, difficulties therein, things that were
required to be done scientifically and the available resources.

Then he camped at Borsad, the taluka place that used to be his home ground during his
practice as a lawyer. A coat in a pandal under a tree became his office. He conducted
and coordinated all efforts —recruiting volunteers, informing them about the risk
involved, arranging hospital beds, conducting cleanliness drive in the affected villages,
preparing pamphlets for the villagers etc.

At the time when not even the family members were ready to treat the plague patients,
local leaders and volunteers followed the inspiring guidance of Sardar Patel, and won
the battle against the plague.

Sardar visited all the affected villages personally. The volunteers learnt lessons of
courage from Sardar and his associate Darbar Gopaldas —‘The Prince of Gujarat’.
(JeevanNaan Zaranaan, Ravjibhai Patel, Navjivan Prakashan Mandir, Ahmedabad,
p.434).

Gandhi and Mahadev Desai also joined them at Borsad and stayed in a pandal under a
mango tree, near Sardar’s pandal. They also visited all affected villages, met people
door to door, checked their houses, gave suggestions for sanitation and helped Sardar
in his effort.
(JeevanNaan Zaranaan, Ravjibhai Patel, Navjivan Prakashan Mandir, Ahmedabad, p.441-
442)

But in the present scenario, even the health minister of the country, who is a doctor
himself, is not on the ground. Instead, efforts are being made to consolidate the
personality cult even more, and to create divide and settle political scores. Surveys that
prove the popularity of the Prime Minister are released enthusiastically at such a
difficult time.

Winning the trust of people shouldn’t mean delivering television monologues, without
any accountability.