India honors Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel by observing his birthday as “National Unity Day”. He was a great political leader in the history of India and played a significant role in unifying and building the nation.
Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel:
Often called the “Loh purush” of India, Sardar Patel played a marking role in India’s freedom struggle and nation-building. Born on 31st October 1875 to a farmer family, he belonged to a caste called Leva, a warrior class. Probably that is why he had such an intriguing personality, a mixture of humbleness and fearlessness.
Vallabhabhai Jhaverbhai Patel was popularly called Sardar Patel. He has been one the most well-known politicians in the history of India.
Post-Independence, under the term of Jawaharlal Nehru, he served as the First Deputy Prime Minister of India.
He is acknowledged as the founding father of the Republic of India. As he played an exceptional role in linking the independent princely provinces. He persuaded them to accept unifying and developing as one nation India.
National Unity Day: Starting
In 2014, on the birth anniversary of Sardar Patel, the PM of India Shri Narendra Modi announced to celebrate it as National Unity Day.
PM inaugurated the Rashtriya Ekta Diwas from an event “Run for Unity” organized to pay tribute to Sardar Patel on his birthday.
The government of India wanted to pay due homage to him. His birth anniversary was declared as a Rashtriya Diwas to remember and acclaim him for his visionary and vigorous attempts made towards unifying the country.
National Unity Day: Celebrations
Since 2014, India has been celebrating the day yearly by organizing events and observing commorations.
- Prime Minister of India Narendra Modi has dedicated a statue of Sardar Patel to the country. In 2018, on the occasion of the 143rd birth anniversary of Patel, in Gujarat, he inaugurated the “Statue of Unity”, the largest in the world. The statue is made of iron, is 182m high, and is an incredible model in the figurines.
- Sardar Patel National Unity award is given to the citizens/institutions/organisations of India for their notable and inspiring contributions made towards promoting the value of national unity and integrity.
- Schools organise cultural events on the occasion of National Unity Day. Children perform in poster making, essay writing, debates, quiz competitions, paintings, etc.
- Schools and colleges are called on to commemorate the day by observing a pledge which is
“I solemnly pledge that I dedicate myself to preserve the unity, integrity and security of the nation and also strive hard to spread this message among my fellow countrymen. I take this pledge in the spirit of the unification of my country which was made possible by the vision and actions of Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel. I also solemnly resolve to make my own contribution to ensure the internal security of my country.”
National Unity Day: Significance
The Home Ministry of the country made an official statement for the Rashtriya Ekta Diwas. Which is: “celebrating the national unity day shall be re-affirming the core strength and resilience of the nation to withstand the potential threats to the unity, integrity, and security of our Country.”
Indian Higher Educational Institutes Observing National Unity Day With a Pledge-taking Ceremony
All the higher education institutions shall observe the 31st of October’22 as the Nationa Unity Day (Rashtriya Ekta Diwas) by taking a pledge.
UGC is a statutory and central body for coordinating, determining, and maintaining higher education standards in India. AICTE is for planning and establishing proper coordination in developing technical education in the country.
The Pledge:
“I solemnly pledge that I dedicate myself to preserve the unity, integrity and security of the nation and also strive hard to spread this message among my fellow countrymen. I take this pledge in the spirit of the unification of my country which was made possible by the vision and actions of Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel. I also solemnly resolve to make my own contribution to ensure the internal security of my country.”
31st October is the birth anniversary of Sardar Patel, a freedom fighter who later became the first deputy Prime Minister of Independent India. He was a visionary and a national leader in a true sense. He is applauded for his role in nation-building, post-independence. He made commendable triumph efforts towards persuading princely states and bringing them under one nation – India.