New Delhi: Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Friday said that it was Prime Minister Narendra Modi who fulfilled Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel’s dream of a unified India by abrogating Article 370 from Jammu and Kashmir.
Flagging off the ‘Run for Unity’ on the 150th birth anniversary of the country’s first home minister, Sardar Patel, at the Major Dhyan Chand National Stadium here, Shah said that after India’s independence, the British decided to leave the country divided into 562 princely states.
“At that time, the entire world thought that it would be impossible to unite these 562 princely states into one nation. However, within a short span of time, Sardar Patel accomplished the monumental task of integrating all 562 princely states, and the map of modern India that we see today is the result of his vision and efforts,” he said.
Shah said regions such as Kathiawar, Bhopal, Junagadh, Jodhpur, Travancore, and Hyderabad made different kinds of attempts to remain separate, but Sardar Patel’s iron will and unyielding determination brought all of them together to form one united India.
“The only task that remained incomplete was Kashmir’s full integration with India due to Article 370, but Prime Minister Modi fulfilled that unfinished task of Sardar Patel — and today, we have before us a truly unified India,” he said.
Shah said Congress governments did not give Sardar Patel the respect he truly deserved; a great personality like him was awarded the Bharat Ratna after a delay of 41 years.
“Neither a memorial nor a monument was built anywhere in the country. It was only when Narendra Modi became the chief minister of Gujarat that he conceptualised the Statue of Unity and built a grand memorial in Sardar Patel’s honour,” Shah said.
He further added that the foundation stone of the Statue of Unity was laid on October 31, 2013.
Shah said that Sardar Patel’s leadership qualities became evident during the Bardoli Satyagraha of 1928, which was launched against the injustice done to farmers.
Under Sardar Patel’s leadership, the farmers began their movement, and what started in a small town soon grew into a nationwide farmers’ movement, compelling the British to accept their demands, he said.
The 182-metre-tall statue was completed in just 57 months using the iron from the farmers’ tools collected from across the country, he said.
He said that Sardar Patel was a farmers’ leader, and around 25,000 tonnes of iron used in constructing the statue came from melting farmers’ tools.
The colossal statue, made using approximately 25,000 tonnes of iron, 90,000 cubic meters of concrete, and 1,700 tonnes of bronze, has so far been visited by about 2.5 crore people, he said.
Earlier, he offered floral tributes at the statue of Sardar Patel at Patel Chowk here.
In an early morning message posted on ‘X’, Shah paid homage to the ‘Iron Man’ Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel, calling him a symbol of “national unity, integrity, and the empowerment of farmers.”
“Sardar Sahab strengthened the unity and security of the country by integrating the princely states and advanced the nation toward self-employment and self-reliance by connecting farmers, backward classes, and the deprived with cooperatives,” he said in his message.
Shah said his (Patel’s) firm belief was that the axis of the country’s development lies in the prosperity of farmers.
“He remained dedicated throughout his life to the welfare of farmers and the protection of their rights. It is the duty of every patriot to safeguard the nation that Sardar Sahab built, bound by the principles of justice and unity,” he said.
The Modi government has been observing October 31 as ‘Rashtriya Ekta Diwas’ or National Unity Day since 2014 to foster and reinforce its commitment to preserving and strengthening the nation’s unity, integrity, and security.
Various programmes recalling Sardar Patel’s contribution to the unification of India are being organised as part of the National Unity Day celebrations across the country on the occasion of his 150th birth anniversary, with a grand parade organised in front of his statue in Kevadia, Gujarat, where Prime Minister Narendra Modi will take the salute.
