Today, December 15 marks the
death anniversary of the country's first Home Minister Sardar Vallabhbhai
Patel. He is also known as Sardar Patel and the ‘Iron Man of India'. e
was the first deputy Prime Minister of India. He was born on 31 October
1875 in Kheda, Gujarat.
Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel was one
of the prominent leaders of the Freedom Movement of India. He was one of
the conservative members of the Indian National Congress. He is also
remembered as the "patron saint of India's civil servants" for having
established the modern All India Services system. He is also called
the "Unifier of India".
The Statue of Unity, the
world's tallest statue, was dedicated to him on 31 October 2018 and is
approximately 182 meters (597 ft) in height.
On Sardar Patel’s death
anniversary, Prime Minister Narendra Modi paid tribute to him. He wrote on
Twitter, “Remembering Sardar Patel on his Punya Tithi. India will always be
grateful to him for his monumental service, his administrative skills and the
untiring efforts to unite our nation.”
Home Minister Amit Shah also remembered
Sardar Patel on his death anniversary. He wrote, “Every moment in the life of
Iron Man Sardar Patel, the wonderful architect of unity and integrity of the
country who resides in the heart of every Indian, was dedicated to awakening
the spirit of one nation in India. His thoughts will always guide the country.”
Nitin Gadkari, Minister of Road
Transport & Highways, wrote, “Humble greetings to Bharat Ratna Sardar
Vallabhbhai Patel Ji, the architect of national unity and the creator of
Navbharat, on his death anniversary. #SardarVallabhbhaiPatel”
Sardar Patel was honoured by
members of Parliament. He was awarded honorary doctorates of law by Nagpur
University, the University of Allahabad and Banaras Hindu
University in November 1948. The government of India declared his birthday on October 30th as Rashtriya Ekta Diwas (National Unity Day).