Recommended by: Rasananda Panda

Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel was one of India’s most prominent founding fathers. A lifelong Gandhian and Congressman, he is remembered today for the major role he played in the country’s struggle for freedom, and during the tumultuous early years of the newly independent nation, the sagacity with which he dealt with the accession and integration of the princely states with the Indian union, the banning of the RSS after the assassination of Mahatma Gandhi, and the firmness with which he managed the breakdown of law and order after Partition. In the years after his death in 1950, his stature has only grown and many parties have tried to co-opt him to serve their political ends.
A man of unimpeachable integrity and firm convictions, Sardar Patel never shied away from stating his views on any issue no matter how contentious. This anthology brings together his key writing and thinking on a variety of subjects including the accession of princely kingdoms, Indian secularism, the need to protect the interests of minorities, his differences with Nehru, his reverence for Gandhi, his distaste for sectarian politics, his belief in the idea of a plural India, and much else besides.

Contents:

'I am just a soldier' : the formative years
The party strategist
Social issues
The administrator
Communal issues
Princely states and integration
Nehru and other colleagues
A plain, blunt man