Patel would smile wryly when asked how he kept India from dismembering, how he persuaded or bullied the princely states into submission, and strung India into one entity, much to the dismay and dis-satisfaction of the British, who did their best to ensure, that the India they leave behind remained at best a geographical expression, far less a nation that would survive more than 7 decades.
The specter of Sardar was enough to bring the princely states into submission. Sardar was a part of the landed pleasantly himself, but not of the Zamindar type.
The Rajkot satyagraha, where he participated with the peasantry, had sent a very strong signal to the Thakur of Rajkot that Patel would be last to support them against the people.
The Princely States had been reduced to status of paltry puppets propped up by the British as indirect and disingenuous tools of oppression. All states had British residents breathing down their necks, and administered their kingdoms not only on the directions of the British but also at the pleasure of the British.
The Rajkot Satyagraha had had the impact of establishing the character of Patel. It had also established that the power of the people will be far to great to resist after the support of the British is gone.
While Patel was himself a great grassroots leader, he always showed deference to Gandhi. When Gandhi addressed rallies, Patel often stayed silent. When Gandhi gave a call for Swadeshi, Patel was one of the first to cast his western clothes away and thereafter wore only a Kurta and Dhoti and never even a topi or a cap.
Once, at the Yerawada jail, Gandhi asked Patel, what post he would like to take, after gaining independence - he would become a sadhu - was his reply. The lure of power or pelf was non-existent for Patel. But for some reason, Gandhi had an unwavering soft corner for Nehru, and not Patel, while it was the latter who shared in measures far greater, similarities with Gandhi, nevertheless, it was Nehru who got benefits which in retrospect I would say did dis-service to the country far more than the benefits that came from Nehru.
On the day of his assassination, Gandhi and Patel briefly conferred with each other. That day, Gandhi agreed to let Patel “demit” office at the laters insistence, however Mountbatten vehemently opposed it. “Patel has his feet on the ground, while Nehru has his head in the clouds” he spurted very matter of factly. And Patel somehow agreed to stay.
This blog is not meant to be an encomium for Patel, but somewhere in my heart I do hold Gandhi responsible for debilitating the future of the country he so toiled for, by several of his prejudices that people like Patel and Bose fell victim to.
