New Delhi, Oct 31 (UNI) Home Minister Amit Shah, while remembering Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel as “an architect of a united and integrated India”, today hailed his iron will, determination and statesmanship the way he stitched the 562 princely states together to form the map of modern India.
Speaking on Sardar Patel’s legacy, Shah said that despite attempts by regions like Kathiawar, Bhopal, Junagadh, Jodhpur, Travancore and Hyderabad to stay separate, Patel’s leadership ensured their integration.
“The only task that remained incomplete was Kashmir’s full integration with India due to Article 370, but Prime Minister Narendra Modi fulfilled that unfinished task of Sardar Patel—and today, we have before us a truly unified India”.
The Home Minister flagged off the ‘Run for Unity’ here on the occasion of Rashtriya Ekta Diwas-2025 and also administered the Unity Pledge to the people.
Shah said that on the day of Independence, while everyone was busy hoisting the national flag, Sardar Patel was monitoring the naval warship. He said that at that time, the question of who would control Lakshadweep was a major issue and by promptly sending the Navy there and ensuring that the Tricolour was hoisted, Sardar Patel made a significant contribution by making Lakshadweep an integral part of India.
He said the path shown by Sardar Patel for the unity, integrity and internal security of the nation is the same path on which India is progressing today. He stated that today, in the presence of Prime Minister Modi, the police forces of all states and the Central Armed Police Forces (CAPFs) paid tribute to Sardar Patel through a grand parade at Kevadia.
The Home Minister also launched a sharp attack on the Opposition, accusing it of attempting to erase the legacy of Sardar Patel, after his demise.
Shah said that a towering national figure like Sardar Patel was denied due recognition for decades and that even the Bharat Ratna was conferred upon him only after a delay of 41 years.
Shah emphasized that despite Patel’s monumental role in uniting India, no memorial or monument had been built in his honour for decades. It was only when Narendra Modi became the Chief Minister of Gujarat, he said, that the vision of a grand tribute took shape in the form of the Statue of Unity.
“The foundation stone of the Statue of Unity was laid on October 31, 2013, and within just 57 months, this monumental 182-meter statue was completed,” he said.
The Home Minister highlighted that the project was deeply symbolic of Patel’s connection with India’s farmers, as the iron used in its construction was collected from farming tools donated by farmers across the nation. “These tools were melted down to produce nearly 25,000 tonnes of iron used in the statue’s construction,” he said, adding that the monument also utilised 90,000 cubic meters of concrete and over 1,700 tonnes of bronze.
He added that the Ministry of Home Affairs has decided that after the 150th birth anniversary, the Unity Parade will be organized every year in this grand manner as a tribute to Sardar Patel. He further mentioned that this year, the Run for Unity and the pledge-taking ceremony are also being celebrated in a special way. Adding that special programs have been organized across the nation—from Kashmir to Kanyakumari and from Dwarka to Kamakhya—to spread Sardar Patel’s ideas, especially among the youth. He emphasized that the young people who take the pledge to preserve the unity and integrity of the nation will be the builders of India’s future.
Present on the occasion were union Ministers Manohar Lal and Mansukh Mandaviya, Lieutenant Governor of Delhi VK Saxena, Chief Minister of Delhi Rekha Gupta, and union Minister of State for Home Affairs Bandi Sanjay Kumar and other dignitaries.
