Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel had great sympathy with the peasants of India. He was the hero of the Bardoli Satyagrah. The poor people of Bardoli could not bear the 30 percent increase in taxes. Patel launched his satyagrah for their cause. It won him the title of ‘Sardar’ from Gandhiji.
Sardar Patel was elected the president of the Congress Party in 1931. He was very deeply involved in the freedom movement. He was jailed for 3 years in 1942 for being a leader of the ‘Quit India Movement’.
When India became independent in 1947, Sardar Patel became the Home Minister under Nehru. He did a very good work of keeping law and order in the partition riots.
Sardar Patel’s biggest achievement was to persuade all the princely states and kingdoms to give up their sovereignty and be united under one India. For this mammoth task, he earned the title “The Iron Man of India“. It was a huge service to the nation. He died a proud man in the year 1950.