Today, we came across a very good piece on towering Congress leader Sardar Vallabh Bhai Patel in newsbred.com. The article throws light on Patel on how he has been totally neglected by his own party leaders and its cabal.
He had played a leading role in India’s struggle for independence and was a great unifier He had forged a united India by successfully integrating approximately 565 self-governing princely states that were released from British suzerainty by the Indian Independence Act of 1947.
Patel had persuaded almost every princely state to accede to India. His commitment to national integration in the newly independent country was total and uncompromising, earning him the sobriquet “Iron Man of India”.
Hindus are indebted to Patel for the reconstruction of the Somnath temple, which was destroyed by Muslim invaders. But this act of his was termed by the Congress and its cabal as an act of communalism. But, they turn a blind eye to Nehru’s communal persona when he played a stellar role in passing the Haj Committee Act in 1959.
Patel also has been termed anti-Muslim for introducing the Permit system which didn’t allow Muslims to claim their Indian citizenship even if they had gone to Pakistan for a visit after August 15, 1947.
But the cabal does not tell you that Patel had done this in retaliation to similar moves made in the West and East Pakistan. Sadly, such logic is usually trashed by them.
Now, let us examine whether Patel was anti-Muslim.
When Patel was the chairman of the committee on minorities and fundamental rights, he allowed Muslims and Christians the right to propagate their religion.
Men like KM Munshi and Purushottam Das Tandon had opposed him for allowing them to propagate their religions. But, the iron man did not concede and prevailed over them by reasoning that propagation of faith was central to Islam and Christian faiths. That is how you have the word “propagate” in Article 25 of the Constitution.
Patel also allowed Muslims and Christians the right to pursue their language and culture and control their own educational institutions. These rights are enshrined in India’s Constitution.
Patel had appointed Khurshid Alam Khan as the first Delhi Chief Commissioner. He also had appointed a Muslim as the Inspector General of the Special Police Force.
In 1947 communal violence, Patel had 10,000 or more Muslims shepherded to safety inside the Red Fort. During communal violence he had free kitchens opened for them.
He once rushed out in person in the middle of a night to save the Dargah of Nizamuddin Auliya.
These are some of the facts that prove his secular credentials than those who use it to push their agenda.