Who is known as Iron Man of India ?

In April 1928 Patel returned to the independence struggle from his municipal duties in Ahmedabad when Bardoli suffered from a serious double predicament of a famine and a steep tax hike. After cross-examining and talking to village representatives, emphasising the potential hardship and need for non-violence and cohesion. Patel initiated the struggle with a complete denial of taxes.

Patel organised volunteers, camps, and an information network across affected areas. The revenue refusal was stronger than in Kheda, and many sympathy satyagrahas were undertaken across Gujarat.

He negotiated a settlement that included repealing the tax hike and returning seized property and land.

It was during the struggle and after the victory in Bardoli that Patel was increasingly addressed by his colleagues and followers as Sardar.

The Congress worker elected Patel as president of Congress for its 1931 session in Karachi.

Gandhi and Patel were arrested in January 1932 when the struggle re-opened, and imprisoned in the Yeravda Central Jail. During this term of imprisonment, Patel and Gandhi grew close to each other, and the two developed a close bond of affection, trust, and frankness.

He refused a British offer for a brief release to attend the cremation of his brother Vithalbhai, who had died in 1934. The British government finally released in July of the same year.

Patel’s position at the highest level in the Congress was largely connected with his role from 1934 onwards in the party organisation.

He became the Congress’s main fundraiser and chairman of its Central Parliamentary Board. He played the leading role in selecting and financing candidates for the 1934 election.

In addition to collecting funds and selecting candidates, he also determined the Congress’s stance on issues and opponents. Not contesting a seat for himself, Patel nevertheless guided Congressmen elected in the provinces and at the national level.

In 1935 Patel underwent surgery for haemorrhoids. He continued to direct efforts against the plague in Bardoli and again when a drought struck Gujarat in 1939.

Patel clashed with Nehru, opposing declarations of the adoption of socialism at the 1936 Congress session. He believed was a diversion from the main goal of achieving independence.

In 1938 Patel organised rank and file opposition to the attempts of then-Congress president Subhas Chandra Bose to move away from Gandhi’s principles of nonviolent resistance. But criticism arose from Bose’s supporters, socialists, and other Congressmen that Patel himself was acting in an authoritarian manner in his defence of Gandhi’s authority.

Soon he was arrested in 1940 due his participation in civil disobedience and imprisoned for nine months. He also opposed the proposals of the Cripps’ mission in 1942. Patel lost more than twenty pounds during his period in jail.

While Nehru, Rajagopalachari, and Maulana Azad initially criticised Gandhi’s proposal for an all-out campaign to force the British to quit India. Patel was its most fervent supporter. Patel urged that the campaign start without any delay.

Gandhi strongly pressured Congress to approve an all-out campaign of civil disobedience. The AICC approved the campaign on 7 August 1942.

The British Government arrested patel on 9 August. The Government imprisoned him with the entire Congress Leadership from 1942 to 1945 at the fort in Ahmednagar.

The British government released Patel in 15 June 1945. Soon he realized that the British were preparing proposals to transfer power to India.

In the 1946 election for the Congress presidency, Patel stepped down in favour of Nehru at the request of Gandhi. The election’s importance stemmed from the fact that the elected president would lead independent India’s first government.

When a delegation of Gujarati farmers came to him citing their inability to sell their milk production. Patel exhorted them to organise the processing and sale of milk by themselves. He guided them to create the Kaira District Co-operative Milk Producers’ Union Limited, which preceded the Amul milk products brand.

Vallabhbhai Patel also pledged the reconstruction of the ancient but dilapidated Somnath Temple in Saurashtra. He oversaw the restoration work and the creation of a public trust.

When Nehru pressured Dr. Rajendra Prasad to decline a nomination to become the first President of India in 1950 in favour of Rajagopalachari. He angered the party, which felt Nehru was attempting to impose his will.

Vallabhbhai Patel had been featured on the cover page of the January 1947 issue of Time magazine.

When the Pakistani invasion of Kashmir began in September 1947, Patel immediately wanted to send troops into Kashmir. But, agreeing with Nehru and Mountbatten, he waited until Kashmir’s monarch had acceded to India. Vallabhbhai Patel then oversaw India’s military operations to secure Srinagar and the Baramulla Pass, and the forces retrieved much territory from the invaders.

Patel strongly advised Nehru against going for arbitration to the United Nations, insisting that Pakistan had been wrong to support the invasion and the accession to India was valid. He did not want foreign interference in a bilateral affair.