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Sardar Vallabh Bhai Patel Punyatithi
● India's 'Iron Man' Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel was born on October 31, 1875 in Nadiad village of Gujarat (in present).
● Patel's father Jhaverbhai had been a soldier in the army of Rani Lakshmi Bai of Jhansi. His mother's name was Ladbai.
● He urged the people of India to unite (Ek Bharat) and build a leading India (Shreshtha Bharat) together.
● This ideology is still reflected in the 'Atmanirbhar Bharat' initiative which seeks to make India self-reliant in all senses.
● He led the Indian Constituent Assembly's Consultative Committee on Fundamental Rights, Committee on Minorities and Tribal and Excluded Areas and Provincial Constitution Committee.
● He worked extensively against alcohol consumption, untouchability, caste discrimination and women's emancipation.
● He integrated National Independence Movement with Kheda Satyagraha (1918) and peasant interests in Bardoli Satyagraha (1928).
● Sardar Patel is also remembered as the 'Patron Saint of Indian Civil Servants' for having established the modern All India Services.
● As India's first Home Minister and Deputy Prime Minister, Sardar Patel played a key role in the integration of about 565 princely states into the Indian Union.
● In that time, some princely states like Travancore, Hyderabad, Junagadh, Bhopal and Kashmir were refusing to join Indian state.
● He used force to unite the princely states of Junagadh ruled by the Nawab and Hyderabad ruled by the Nizam, both of them did not want to merge their respective states with the Union of India.
● When Gandhi announced the Non-Cooperation Movement in 1920, Patel supported him and worked tirelessly to organize it.
● Another major campaign led by Patel was the Bardoli Satyagraha in 1928. Here again, he asked the farmers to not to pay increased tax to the government because of flood and famine in the region. After the success of this campaign, his companion gave him the title of 'Sardar'.
● Patel was arrested in Dandi during Salt March (1930). After his release following the Gandhi-Irwin Pact, he was elected as the President of Congress at the Karachi session in 1931. He was arrested again in 1932.
● He supported the Quit India Movement and inspired people to fight with an emotional speech given on 7 August 1942.
● Sardar Patel passed away on 15 December 1950 in Bombay at the age of 75 following a massive heart attack.
● He was posthumously awarded with Bharat Ratna in 1991. His birth anniversary is celebrated as National Unity Day since 2014.
Statue of Unity
The Statue of Unity has been built in honour to Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel. It was inaugurated on October 31, 2018, on his 143rd birth anniversary.
● Statue of Unity is the world’s tallest statue (182 m). It is 23 meters higher than China's Spring Temple Buddha statue and almost twice the height of the Statue of Liberty (93 meters high) located in America.
● In January 2020, it was listed among Eight Wonders of Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO).

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