Accommodation and respect for diversity were the planks on which the Indian National Congress was founded, but these roots are not as strong as they were before (“Sardar Patel, a shared inheritance”, October 31). The Congress sidelined not only Sardar Patel but also other leaders who came later such as P.V. Narasimha Rao. If the party has to rise again, it has to acknowledge its mistakes and try to remember those great leaders who not only did yeoman work in terms of uniting the country (Sardar Patel) but also helped the economy (P.V. Narasimha Rao). There are many of us who are waiting to see the glory of lost Congress principles and its original ideology bloom again.
N. Krupakar,
Kadapa, Andhra Pradesh
Today, when someone remembers Sardar Patel or Jawaharlal Nehru, no one remembers them as leader of a party called the Congress but as leaders, who along with Mahatma Gandhi, Netaji, and several others represented the idea of India and its citizenry in its entirety. The legacy of all our national leaders forms an integral part of our great Indian heritage. In his article, the writer himself calls Sardar Patel a conservative and elucidates the diversity in the ‘then Congress’ which represented all sections of society. But does he also mean that in this period, India did not have a section of population which identified itself as “conservative and right-leaning”? Was this section not represented in the rich, diverse and glorious Constituent Assembly of ours?
Prince Ashutosh
Naugachia, Bhagalpur, Bihar
What Sardar Patel did was to unite a splintered subcontinent of people of differing hues, culture, ethnicity and language who had for a millennium lived independently. This was no easy task but the shared yoke of British oppressive rule gave a common cause for all. Unity and diversity are two sides of the same national coin. After seven decades of independence the two faces of the coin are even more relevant. One has to coexist with the other to lend value to the currency. If the emphasis in the 1940s was on unification, it is now on redistributive federalism. A new Sardar is now needed to steer the nation’s future course who would channel our abundant and welcome diversity towards an inclusive growth. That must be the message for this occasion.
R. Narayanan,
Ghaziabad, Uttar Pradesh
In the present context of a political culture of blame-games and mutual accusations, “India first” is totally forgotten by most political leaders. Therefore, the nation pays a heavy price in terms of people’s life and welfare. We became free because all leaders and millions of common people were totally dedicated in working for India’s future. Every leader of all political parties should learn the best lesson of cooperation, friendship and commitment, which was demonstrated by Patel and Nehru together, for the sake of India.
E.P. Menon,
Bengaluru
The article is an insightful analysis of understandable political rivalry for the Patel legacy. The writer’s referring to Patel as a Congress patriot, conceding, unlike some others, room for non-Congress patriots gives us a lead. Therefore, I can see nothing wrong in other such patriots also celebrating the memory of Patel. Also the BJP, if execrable in the eyes of some, has every right to save its soul through such celebration. I believe that the Indian National Congress’s insecurity stems from nothing other than its present irretrievable bankruptcy. It’s men and women have little to show for themselves except some distant memories. They often forget that it was the Congress movement which won freedom for the country and not the Congress party. If Patel had lived longer he might have also been as disillusioned with the Congress party as Rajaji became. The writer is right in saying that Patel is a shared heritage. Let us allow that heritage to be shared alike by all, and liberally.
R. Venugopal,
Chennai
The contribution of the Iron Man of India in his relentless battle to unify the nation is exponential. It is an accepted fact that but for the concerted efforts and pivotal role played by the Sardar Vallabhai Patel, India would not have got the Hyderabad (Deccan) from the monarchy and Goa from Portuguese. It is ironical that such a great personality of yore is being forgotten by a certain political class for the reasons best known to it. The incumbent government is paying rich tributes — which is not taken kindly by its opponents — and extolling him for unification of all States, which is praiseworthy. The moot question is this: why he was sidelined?
H.P. Murali,
Bengaluru
Sardar Patel was a great freedom fighter and had many great qualities such as being hardworking, possessing patience, patriotism, and focussed in his struggle and devotion for the country. He was a major pillar of the Congress and country. How can we forget how he struggled to unite the country? Can this be ever matched? He was indeed the Bismarck of India. It will be a great tribute to him if we focus our efforts to unite the country, regardless of religion, caste and creed, so that his inheritance and dream will always remain forever.
Anwer Husain
Kanpur, Uttar Pradesh
The Iron Man of India not only ensured not nation building in its hour of crisis but also proved his credentials as being the spine of the Grand Old Party, the Congress. It is shameful that most Indians have not recognised his contributions in their truest sense till date. The writer’s reminiscence of the trio’s (Gandhi-Nehru-Patel) political acumen serves as a cue to modern politicians on how one has to maintain decency and decorum even when one differs with the other in opinion. Equating Patel with Congress, for which Congress has to be beholden forever, is a moving tribute especially on his anniversary. The present day Congress is affected by nepotism, only spews undignified remarks about its political opponents and does not have the political maturity or a tall leader to take its back to its pinnacle again.
E.S. Chandrasekaran,
Chennai
The article was a handsome tribute to the incomparable Iron Man of India. Had it not been for his far-sighted vision, steely nerves and single-mindedness of purpose, there would have been no ‘present-day India’. The nation owes him an everlasting debt of gratitude for its unification. The writer has has said “Sardar Patel was the Congress’s spine. The Congress was Sardar Patel’s life”. But the undeniable fact is that the Congress simply forgot him after his demise. It is another matter that the party possesses a rare knack of forgetting and leaving in the ‘wilderness’ many of its past leaders and illustrious Indians. It may be poetic justice that the Congress is now paying a heavy price for its glaring faults and ‘loss of memory’. It is not fair to accuse the BJP or Hindutva of “co-opting” Patel as it has only ‘adopted’ a Patel left unsung, unwept and ‘unhonoured’ by the Congress for which he had given his ‘blood, sweat, tears’ and whole spirit. One of the good after-effects of the Hindutva “co-opting” the forgotten Congress leaders and other lustrous Indians is that the Congress has grudgingly started remembering and honouring them. Resultantly, many among the young generation of India are hearing about or knowing them for the first time. So far so good as it is ‘advantage India’.
C.G. Kuriakose,
Kothamangalam, Kerala
Despite all the fine attributes of Nehru’s statesmanship, it must be conceded that he was unreasonably uncharitable to Patel who was, at times, upbraided in public. This attitude of Nehru towards Patel led, and continues to lead, to many unanswered questions. Why did not Gandhi, the apostle of Ahimsa, try to correct Nehru? Did Gandhi feel that any further discomfort within the Congress was not good for the party and nation, and hence a mere spectator? Was Nehru entertaining the idea of some within his family becoming politically relevant in the future and not tolerate the emergence of a rival candidate? What about Patel himself? He was a fine soul who maintained equanimity. He was not a wily politician if certain recorded observations are any indication. To him, the nation’s well-being was paramount and for this he endured humiliation. He never got his due and even at this point of time it looks he did not care one bit. His charisma lies in his being an unsung hero.
V. Lakshmanan,
Tirupur, Tamil Nadu
The article only covered up the fact that other than the father of the nation, no leader outside the ‘Gandhi-Nehru’ family has been celebrated in the post-independence Indian National Congress. Many leaders have suffered this fate and their legacy has been selectively ignored in subordination to the family. P.V. Narasimha Rao, the father of economic reforms, is a prime example of this. It is high time the grand old party corrected its mistakes and gave a chance to leaders outside the family. Merit should count.
Adwaith R. Krishna,
Malappuram, Kerala
