Student (Navjot Kaur Msc IT) prepared speech on national unity day and Explained to the students.
1) Sardar Patel, who is known as “Iron Man of India” and Bismarck of India, is one of the most influential politicians and freedom fighters of India.
2) He became the first Deputy Prime Minister of India and the first Home Minister after independence.
3) He was born on 31st October 1875 in Nadiad, a small village in Gujarat.
4) Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel’s biggest contribution was organizing the princely states and incorporating them in the federal structure. In June 1948, Lord Louis Mountbatten, India’s last viceroy, left office and urged the Nizam one last time to consider acceding to India. With Mountbatten gone, Patel decided to take direct action and sent the Indian army into Hyderabad in September. On September 18, Operation Polo was terminated and Hyderabad was absorbed into India.
Compared to the accession of Hyderabad and Junagadh, where Patel had to use force or the threat of it, Kashmir’s case was more complicated. The tribal invasion and Patel’s persuasion finally led the Maharaja to hand over signed accession papers to Menon on October 26, 1947. Patel lost no time in sending the Indian Army to Srinagar. By the end of the year, the invaders were pushed back across the Jhelum. Winter halted the progress of the operation. The Pakistan army arrived on the scene by the time the winter ended, forcing a stand-off between the two countries at what is describe today as the Line of Control.
5) For this reason, every year we celebrate 31st October as “National Unity Day “.
6) Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel was posthumously(after the death) awarded the Bharat Ratna Award in 1991.
7) The word ‘Sardar’ means a chief leader. This title was bestowed upon him by Mahatma Gandhi during the freedom struggle.
As a freedom fighter who did not cooperate with the British, he was jailed many times during the struggle for independence.
After India was free from British rule, Sardar Patel worked hard to bring the entire country together for a strong national integration. This is why he is called the ‘Iron Man of India’.
8) His birth anniversary is observed as ‘Rashtriya Ekta Divas’ or the ‘National Unity Day in India so that we never forget his message of strength in being united.
9) Sardar Patel’s statue in Gujarat is known as the Statue of Unity. It is a popular destination, being the tallest statue in the world.
