Essay on Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel for Students and Children in 1000+ Words

In this article, read an essay on Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel for students and children in 1000+ words. This includes early life, education, career, major works, and death of Vallabhbhai Patel.

Essay on Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel for Students and Children (1000+ Words)

Vallabhbhai Jhaverbhai Patel, popularly known as Sardar Patel, was a leading pathfinder in the Indian history of freedom struggle. He was appointed as the First Deputy Prime Minister of India. He was a barrister and also served for Indian National Congress. 

He is considered as the founding father of the “Republic of India” where he played a pivotal role in integrating the provinces freed from the British Rule. He also took part in the Quit India Movement, which shook up the British that ultimately led to the freedom of India.

Early Life and Education of Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel

Vallabhbhai Patel was born on 31st October in 1875 at Nadiad, Gujrat. He went to school at Nadiad, Petlad, and Borsad. He completed his matriculation at the later age of 22. He seemed to be an unambitious boy destined for a commonplace job. 

Although, he was planning to study in Law. He wanted to see himself as a successful barrister. He passed through a tough phase during his preparation for the Law examination. He had to stay away from his family for a long period to continue his studies. 

He even had to borrow books from the other lawyers. He passed the examination within two years. During many years he saved money. Now, after becoming an advocate, he earned the reputation of one of the fierce and skilled lawyers. 

He also took care of the people suffering from the plague. But when he became a victim of the disease, he sent his family away from him and recovered slowly.

He was married to Jhaverben Patel. He started his practice in Godhra. He was elected as the first chairman and founder of “Edward Memorial High School” Borsad, today known as Jhaverbhai Dajibhai Patel High School. 

His wife was suffering from cancer and couldn’t survive. He got the news during a cross-examining the witness in court but didn’t get distracted and won the case. At 36, he traveled to England and completed the Law study.

Career and Major Works of Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel

He fought for the post of sanitation commissioner of Ahmedabad in 1917 and finally got it. He had various clashes with the British on civic issues.

But he never showed interest in joining politics. Although, after several meetings with Mahatma Gandhi, he eventually got interested and joined the freedom struggle of India.

1. Fight for Self-Rule

Vallabhbhai Patel became the Secretary of Gujarat Sabha, which is known as the Gujarati arm of the Indian National Congress. He also organized the relief efforts in the wake of plague and famine in Kheda.

When Gandhi asked the Gujarati activists to devote themselves to the struggle, Patel volunteered to encourage the people to respond in the request of Gandhi. He delivered a speech addressing the whole nation to sign the Gandhi’s petition of “Swaraj” which means self-rule.

2. Satyagraha in Gujarat

Backed up by the Indian National Congress, Patel started the village-to-village campaign to gain support for a statewide revolt by refusing to pay taxes. He formed a network of volunteers to work in the villages.

This revolt waved a huge tide, and lots of activists were arrested. Although, Vallabhbhai Patel negotiated with the Government and took them out of the jail. As a result, he emerged as a hero. In 1920 he was elected president of the newly formed Gujarat Pradesh Congress Committee.

He supported Gandhi’s non-violence movement. He rejected all the British goods and adopted to use locally produced cotton clothes. He also worked extensively against alcoholism, untouchability, and caste discrimination, and for the empowerment of women. 

Patel was elected Ahmedabad’s municipal president in 1922. He took the opportunity in serving the people. He concentrated on improving the infrastructure, supplying electricity, reformation in the school system. 

In the year of 1927, the state affected by the torrential rainfall which led to floods. He arranged the flood relief centers to tackle the situation and extend the helping hand.

In 1923, when Gandhi was in prison, Vallabhbhai Patel was urged by members of Congress to lead the Satyagraha in Nagpur against a law that prevented the raising of the Indian flag. Patel negotiated with the Government to release all the prisoners and made them lift the ban against raising the national flag. 

Later that year, he could reunite the villagers against paying taxes. Because of their wave of protests, the Government was compelled to withdraw the tax. This showed the ability of Sardar Patel to tie the huge number of people in one string.

When the Dandi Salt March was going on in full swing, Patel was arrested and put on trial without a witness. After the arrest of Gandhi, the movement got intensified until both of them were released. 

After the release, he was elected the President of Congress of Karachi session, where Congress ratified the pact and committed itself to the defense of fundamental rights and civil liberties. He also protested against untouchability. 

After the Round Table Conference in London went in vain, both Gandhi and Patel were arrested and were in the same jail. There, they built a close relationship between them. The mutual respect grew day by day, even after they have some arguments.

In 1936, it was seen that Subhas Chandra Bose, the then president of Congress, was more in favor of violent movement which contradicts the policy of Gandhi’s Movement. He led the other senior leaders to protest against it which resulted in the resignation of Bose.

Even after the death of his elder brother, he found that all his property was given to Bose. He raised some legal questions regarding the witness and signature. The legal case was won by Vallabhbhai Patel, and he handed over all the properties to Vithalbhai Memorial Trust.

3. Quit India Movement

After the start of World War II, he supported the decision to withdraw from the central and provisional legislature. He also speaks in favor of Indian Independence immediately after the war. 

But when the British rejected the proposal, he ignited the fire in the nationalist’s mind by his speech to start Quit India Movement. He always pushed and gave an extra inch to the movement by his leadership, his speech which encouraged the entire nation.

4. Role in integrating India

Indian history will always remember him for his inhuman effort to build an integrated India after freedom. After the abolition of the British rule, all the provinces wanted to build their own country with their administrative system. 

But Vallabhbhai Patel knew that their strength would be very less with so many small countries and always prone to attack from foreign countries. No one would have understood the importance of united India better than him.

After independence, Congress came up as a majority, but the Muslim League demanded a separate country for the Muslims. The proposal was criticized. Hence, Vallabhbhai Patel realized that the partition of India was the only option to tone down the outrage based on religion. 

After the partition, both Congress and Muslim League wanted to integrate the provinces under their administration. In this matter, Vallabhbhai Patel played a vital role. He went from province to province to discuss the pros and cons regarding joining the Congress. 

He convinced the provinces to sign the Instrument of Accession, which binds the state to be integrated with India. It was a humongous effort, which he alone did. On the other hand, the Muslim League led by Mr. Jinnah attacked Kashmir to force them to join Pakistan. 

The then Hindu king requested military help for signing the Instrument of Accession. For this effort, he is called the “Iron Man of India”. In honor of his contribution, a statue called “Statue of Unity” was built, which is the tallest statue in the world.

Death

His health declined in 1950. He had blood in his cough. His health got worsened further. He was frequently losing his consciousness and was confined in bed. He flew to Bombay for further treatment. 

The huge crowd gathered in Santacruz Airport to greet him. To spare him from further stress, he landed in Juhu Aerodrome, where the then Chief Minister received him. After the second massive heart attack, he died on 15th December 1950 at Birla House in Bombay.