The BJP is making a crude attempt to appropriate the legacy of Sardar Patel. Yes, the unification of India was a major project for him, but there were other leaders and officials including Nehru himself backing him and working on this tirelessly. To be fair, the issue was the people’s will and this is how the whole process happened peacefully and almost spontaneously. It is a moot point as to how Sardar Patel would have handled Hyderabad and Junagadh had the people here backed their rulers. As for the Congress, had Patel lived longer and helped Nehru through the very difficult 1950s, it would have certainly given him the lead position he deserves. The fact remains that Nehru was left alone in that period to navigate the nation. That is why it was not just the Congress party, but almost two generations of people of those times who gave him the pole position in history (“Sardar Patel, a shared inheritance”, October 31).
M. Balakrishnan,
Bengaluru
Gopalkrishna Gandhi’s argument that the Congress “unwittingly”’ de-opted Sardar Patel is too ingenuous. The fact is that the Congress consciously gave pride of place to the Nehru family. That being the case, how is it that it is “execrable” if the BJP adopts him as a national icon? Great Indians belong to every Indian and if somebody celebrates “discarded icons”, it has to be appreciated and not berated. Sardar Patel is shared inheritance and to argue that the Hindu right has no right over him is not in good taste.
P.N. Ballukraya,
Chennai
I couldn’t fathom the meaning of “Congress patriotism” which has been used in the article. Does the writer think that there are terms such as ‘BJP patriotism’ or ‘CPI(M) patriotism’ in India? I do remember his questioning the nationalism and patriotism being defined by the BJP in another context and in another article. One thing is clear.
For the Congress, Sardar Patel was a non-entity as long as it was winning elections. For the Congress, it has always been the Nehru family and its descendants. Given the political situation the Congress finds itself in post- 2014, it is trying hard to rediscover Patel.
Duggaraju Srinivasa Rao,
Vijayawada
