Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel

The full name of Vallabhbhai Patel is Vallabhbhai Jhaverbhai Patel and very famously called
Sardar Patel. Sardar was his name in India and everywhere else, the word is popular in Hindi,
Urdu and Persian languages which also means 'chief'. He is an Indian barrister who also
contributed majorly to Indian Independence as a senior leader of the Indian National Congress
party. During the Indo-Pak war in 1947, his role as Home Minister was vital as during the
struggle, he guided the independent nation to unity through integration. He truly was at the
helm of integrating and merging the British provinces that were allotted to India with the new
Independent India, leading the task of forging a united front.

Born to Jhaverbhai Patel and Ladba and being one of six children, he lived a very sheltered life.
His was a landowning family who was capable of providing for themselves. Sardar Vallabhbhai's
birthplace was Nadiad, which was a part of the Central Gujarat Community Leuva Patel Patidar
community.

He always endured everything and through it, he never complained about anything which other
children his age indulged into. He travelled to Nadiad, Petlad, and Borsad for attending schools
and gaining an education and meanwhile he also taught himself. He got married at the tender
age of 16 to Jhaverben Patel in the year 1891. He was often mocked by other people in his
community as it took him longer than usual to pass his matriculation exams. People questioned
his intelligence and mocked him telling him he couldn't go far or do great things in his life.

He was a hard worker, and after his exams, he saved up funds with the aim of attaining a Law
degree. He became a barrister after his British Law Education. They became a family of four
when his wife Jhaverben gave birth to a daughter and a son in 1903 and 1905 respectively. He
and his family were now living in Godhra where he was called to the bar (which means a bar
exam which one has to pass to commence the practice of law and argue on behalf of others in
the court). He passed his bar exam and practised professionally for many years and became a
very skilled lawyer with a good reputation.

During his law study, he lived away from home and his family in England for two years and
studied with the help of other lawyers by borrowing books from them, He converted his lack of
financial resources into opportunities.
When Gujarat too like the rest of the world was hit with Bubonic Plague, he tended to his
friends who suffered from it and later he was down with it too. He always has believed in the
sacrifice for others. During this period, he isolated himself from his family for their safety and
spent his time in a dilapidated temple in his healing days.

In 1909 when he was questioning a witness in court, he received a written message about his
wife's demise who was suffering from the relapse and after-effects of emergency surgery for
cancer. And without flinching, Vallabhbhai Patel went on with his case and even won. He never
again gave in for marriage and decided to live as a widower. It was his stoic nature that he had
built since childhood that has helped him through many such tough situations.

He was focused on making a better place for society to survive and encouraged education
when he built a school "Edward Memorial High School" in Borsad, he was the founder and
the chairman today is known as Jhaverbhai Dajibhai Patel High School. In 1917 in
Ahmedabad, he ran in the election for the Sanitation Commissioner role after a lot of
persuasion from his friends and won.

He did not have a very high opinion about Mahatma Gandhi until he met with him later that
year in October 1917. His perspective and life altered and he joined the independence
movement of India. It was an immediate decision.

He garnered a favourable position and a lot of support from other Congressmen when he
demonstrated excellent commitment in convincing the villagers and other civilians to revolt
against tax pay. He was elected as the President of the Gujarat Pradesh Congress Committee; in
1920 and offered his services till 1945.

He supported Gandhi during his time in jail by the Satyagraha movement in 1923 in Nagpur
when there was a ban against raising the Indian Flag. He gathered many volunteers who
supported him in this movement and also reached a settlement negotiating the release of other
prisoners and allowing public hoisting of the national flag. The steep tax issues again rose when
there was a famine in April 1928 after his return to fulfil his municipality duties and this time he
was able to gain even more support to completely negate the tax payment.