Mr. Modi pays rich tributes to him ahead of his birth anniversary; his statue to be unveiled on Oct. 31

Paying rich tributes to Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel ahead of his birth anniversary on October 31, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Sunday credited him with ensuring the merger of all princely states with the Dominion of India and healing the wounds of Partition.

The Prime Minister will inaugurate Sardar Patel’s 182-metre-tall “Statue of Unity” on the banks of the Narmada in Gujarat on October 31. The height is twice that f the Statue of Liberty.

In his Mann Ki Baat monthly radio address, Mr. Modi said Sardar Patel formulated solutions one by one, weaving the warp and weft of unity on the axis of a single thread.

Quoting from a Time magazine edition published about six months before Independence, with a photograph of Sardar Patel on its cover, the Prime Minister said the article pointed out that India faced several problems such as Partition, violence, food scarcity, price rise and power-politics.

“The magazine further observed that amid the plethora of problems, if there was anyone who possessed the capability to unite the country and heal wounds, it was Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel. The story also brings to the fore other aspects of the life of the Iron Man of India… the manner in which he had managed relief operations during the Ahmedabad floods in the 1920s; the way he steered the Bardoli satyagraha,” he said.

Role in Kashmir

Describing the significance of “Infantry Day” celebrated on Saturday, Mr. Modi said it was the very day when the Indian forces landed in Kashmir and saved the Valley from the clutches of “aggression”. He said it was Sardar Patel who had insisted on immediately sending the troops to Kashmir.

Emphasising the need for protecting and nurturing nature, the Prime Minister said the whole world was looking for new ways of a balanced lifestyle.

“Our country is also facing this problem. But for its solution we only have to look inwards, to look into our glorious past and our rich traditions and have especially to understand the lifestyle of our tribal communities,” he said.

“To live in consonance and close coordination with nature has been an integral part of our tribal communities. Our tribal brethren worship trees and plants and flowers like gods and goddesses,” said Mr. Modi, highlighting the contributions of the nature-worshipping tribal communities from various States.

Pat for Punjab farmers

The Prime Minister also praised the Punjab farmers who do not burn stubble in their fields as it is a major cause of pollution. He said people in the State’s Kallar Majra of Nabha mix the stubble with the sand by ploughing their fields rather than burning it, and also adopt the necessary technology for the process.

Mr. Modi also hailed the people of northeastern States for having made great progress in organic farming.