In more ways than one, J&K is a festering wound for our nation as our foreign policy, our defence posture and a number of other things revolve around it. It is right time to recall and recapitulate how Sardar Patel, the man who unified the country after independence, would have perhaps handled J&K if he were in charge. It must be said that at the very outset that then Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru had asked Sardar Patel not to deal with J&K as he himself wanted to handle this princely state.
National Security Advisor (NSA) Ajit Doval alluded to this fact while speaking at a function in connection with Sardar Patel Memorial Lecture on Governance in Delhi. He said: “Except for J&K which has been a theatre of proxy war for Pakistan, the country has remained secure from terrorist attacks.”
With tact, diplomacy and firm actions where needed, as in case of Hyderabad, Sardar Patel ensured that 560 states merged into one entity to form Bharat that we see today. The problems of regional disparities, language barriers and poor connectivity were all handled deftly. Sardar Patel did not allow any of these problems in the way of his resolve to unify and stabilise the newly independent country.
It will be an understatement to say that Sardar Patel did not like Nehru’s preference for his friend Sheikh Mohammad Abdullah which blinded him towards Maharaja Hari Singh, sovereign in J&K after the departure of the British. Sardar Patel’s daughter Maniben, who played many roles of a secretary, nurse, washerwoman et al, has written in her diary what her father thought of Nehru’s step of taking the question of J&K to the United Nations (UN). The policy that the nation has followed on J&K right after Nehru’s blunder is the one advocated by Patel, not Nehru.
‘‘Sardar was very unhappy that Nehru had taken the Kashmir issue to the UN which tied India’s hands. His idea was that India should extricate itself from the UN patiently and then solve the Kashmir problem forever. He was also unhappy when reports came that the fertile land left behind in Jammu by Muslim zamindars who had migrated to Pakistan was not being given to Hindu refugees. Instead, the Sheikh was insisting on settling only Muslim refugees on such land,’’ Maniben wrote in her diary on May 1, 1949.
Everything Donated
Maniben maintained a diary for over 14 years and maintained meticulous record of most meetings Sardar Patel attended. After the meetings too, Sardar Patel discussed various issues with Maniben who had attended these meetings in the capacity of his personal secretary. As such, from these diary entries, we also get to know what views Patel had regarding these issues and most people he met.
Under the influence of Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi, Sardar Patel donated everything he owned personally to the Congress leaving Maniben a pauper and uncared for after his death. Patel was no pushover and earned very good money as a top lawyer (Barrister) of his times but gave up the practice to devote himself to the nation. As per some accounts regarding Patel’s practice, it is said that he provided consultations very rarely after giving it up officially.
Sardar Patel used to earn thousands of rupees every month from his practice but he gave up this lucrative career in 1920s to devote himself entirely to the service of the nation. Leading a life of extraordinary integrity, and by 1947 when Bharat became independent, this career was a distant past. An anecdote from that time says that he asked his only son, Dahyabhai, to stay away from Delhi while he was in office. This, Sardar Patel did to avoid any potential misuse of his name for personal gain.
Sardar Patel’s wife was Jhaverba Patel, and they had two children, a daughter named Maniben Patel and a son named Dahyabhai Patel. His son died aged 67 in 1973 and remained a member of the Rajya Sabha for some time. Patel was married to Jhaverba in 1891 and she died in 1909 while he was in England studying to become a Barrister. Patel did not remarry after her death though he was only 34 at that time, very young one can say, and remained a widower for 41 years till his death in December 1950. For all these four decades and more, Patel’s daughter Maniben remained the sole woman who looked after him, cared for him and was privy to his most intimate thoughts on various issues.
Contrasting Lifestyles
An account of Patel’s life tells us that he was at court when he received the news of his wife’s death but continued with his case before returning home.
In sharp contrast to this account of Sardar Patel’s countless sacrifices was what Pandit Nehru did to most of his personal belongings which he zealously guarded and passed on to his beloved daughter Indu (later Indira Gandhi). We still have Nehru’s lineage playing a predominant role generations later in today’s politics. Maniben, who devoted her entire life looking after his father and did not even marry to focus on him, died virtually unknown and unsung.
Maniben upheld her father’s legacy, the pride and dignity inherited from him, to her last breath. She dedicated her life supporting her father, taking care of him and assisting him with his political work. She was a devoted daughter who helped her father maintain his health and continued to support him in his all his political endeavours. Mahatma Gandhi also supported her decision to prioritize her father’s needs, telling her to serve him “with heart and soul”. Here also, the contrasting advice Gandhi followed in Indu’s case is way too sharp as he did not render any such advice to Nehru’s daughter.
Sardar Patel’s daughter Maniben died on March 26, 1990, and she has mentioned in her diary on August 16, 1949, that Sardar had one common goal with Vir Savarkar. They differed on several issues but both of them wanted the ‘‘four crore Muslims in India to be loyal to the country; otherwise there was no place for them’’.
Truth About J&K
Some Congressmen claim that Patel wanted Pakistan to have Kashmir, but the truth is distinctly different. In one such entry, Maniben refers to a discussion about the possibility of the partition of Jammu and Kashmir. Such a proposal envisaged Bharat retaining Jammu and handing over the rest of the state to Pakistan. On hearing about this possibility, Sardar Patel is reported to have remarked disdainfully: `‘We want the entire territory… and battle for the whole of Kashmir”. These remarks are mentioned in a diary entry of July 23, 1949.
Maniben’s diary is a treasure trove regarding Sardar Patel’s thoughts, the innermost thoughts. Accompanying her father in most meetings, Maniben was privy to what transpired there. Of course, about Sardar’s views on sensitive issues which he often could not otherwise express even to his closest friends and colleagues. The diary runs from 8 June 1936 till Sardar’s death on 15 December 1950, and is particularly detailed after Patel’s release from jail on June 1945 after remaining incarcerated for three years from August 1942 Quit India Movement.
Hyderabad Action
At one place, Maniben writes on September 13, 1948, that Nehru tried to go soft on the Hyderabad action, apparently to appease Muslims. But the Sardar told Governor General C Rajgopalachari in no uncertain terms that nothing would stop him from pursuing strong action to remove ‘an ulcer’, and that Nehru should remain within his limits. Here was this Man of Steel willing to challenge Prime Minister, the first among equals, and show him his place.
Nehru’s soft handling of Hyderabad could have created a third limb of Pakistan in the centre of India! All Hyderabad territories ruled by the Nizam becoming a part of Pakistan. This possibility was firmly scotched by Sardar Patel.
The diary says: ‘‘Sardar Patel bluntly told Rajaji that he would not want the future generations to blame and curse him for allowing an ulcer in the heart of India. On one side is Western Pakistan and on the other side Eastern Pak (with their idea of (a) pan-Islamic block (they want to) come to Delhi & establish the Mughal empire again. Once we enter Hyderabad, it is no longer an international affair. It is the State Ministry’s function. How long are you & Panditji going to bypass the Ministry of the States and carry on?’’
Grip Over Party
Patel’s hold over the Congress party organization was far greater than Nehru could ever have till after the death of both Gandhi and Sardar. Nehru considered Sardar a rival who could dethrone him and as such worried about this potential. In Maniben’s diary, however, it is clearly written that Patel harboured no such ambitions, particularly after he had given his word to Gandhi and sidestepped from the position in 1946 Congress presidency election. At this meeting, Patel got 12 votes while Nehru got none with three members nominated other candidates in preference to the future PM. It was Gandhi who vetoed this and the man with 0 (zero) votes became the PM and the one with 12 (out of 15) had to step aside. So much for democratic credentials of Gandhi-Nehru duo!
Sardar Patel’s daughter, Maniben Patel, gave a bag containing Rs 35 lakh to Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru, along with an account book, shortly after Sardar Patel’s death on December 15, 1950. The amount was not her personal money, but funds belonging to the Congress Party that her father had been holding in his capacity as party treasurer/leader. The event is widely recounted based on the memoirs of Verghese Kurien, who stated that Maniben had told him the following:
Sardar Patel had instructed her to hand over the money and the account book to Nehru after his death. Nehru accepted the items without asking her how she would manage her own life from then on. Maniben was left with no personal property, had to vacate the government house, and went away from Delhi where she had lived as a invisible shadow of her father to live with a cousin in Ahmedabad.
