Sardar Patel

In News: Personnel of the CRPF 151 battalion at Kaliveru in Charla mandal organised bike and cycle rallies in connection with the “Rashtriya Ekta Diwas” (National Unity Day)

• National Unity Day marks the birth anniversary of Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel on October 31.

Sardar Patel:

• First Home Minister and First Deputy Prime Minister of India
• He earned the title of “Sardar” by women of Bardoli after spearheading a no-tax campaign by peasants there.
• The Iron Man of India was the chief architect of India’s steel frame — the civil services and is remembered as “patron saint of India’s civil servants”.
• Headed following Committees of the Constituent Assembly:

• Advisory Committee on Fundamental Rights.
• Committee on Minorities and Tribal and Excluded Areas.
• Provincial Constitution

• ‘Bismarck of India’ following his role in unifying the princely states.
• He was the President of INC 1931 session in Karachi.
• Toured during the Kheda campaign (1918) which was a success, supported Gandhi in Non-cooperation Movement (1920), was arrested during the Dandi Salt March (1930).
• He was awarded the Bharat Ratna posthumously in 1991. His birth anniversary is observed as Rashtriya Ekta Diwas (National Unity Day) since 2014.

Statue of Unity:

• The Statue of Unity is built in honour of Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel on Sadhu Hill.
• Standing at 182 meters in the middle of river Narmada at Kevadia in Gujarat’s Narmada district, the Statue of Unity is the tallest statue in the world– much taller than the 153 metre Spring Temple Buddha in China and almost twice the size of the Statue of Liberty in New York.
• One can have a view of the Satpura and Vindhyachal mountain ranges, which also form the point where Madhya Pradesh, Gujarat and Maharashtra meet.
• Visitors can also get a distant view of the 12-km-long Garudeshwar Reservoir which is located downstream from the Narmada dam.
• Man Behind the Statue: Shri Ram Vanji Sutar, the 93-year-old sculptor.
• In January 2020, it was added to the ‘Eight Wonders’ of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO).

MUST READ  Role of Sardar Patel in Uniting the Nation

Source: Indian Express

Previous Year Question

Q1.)  What was the reason for Mahatma Gandhi to organize a satyagraha on behalf of the peasants of Kheda? (2011)

1. The Administration did not suspend the land revenue collection in spite of a drought.
2. The Administration proposed to introduce Permanent Settlement in Gujarat.

Which of the statements given above is/ are correct?

1. 1 only
2. 2 only
3. Both 1 and 2
4. Neither 1 nor 2