This refers to the article, “Historical injustices must be undone” (November 7) by A Surya Prakash. It is a known that although
Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel was number two in the Congress leadership after Jawaharlal Nehru, he was almost relegated to oblivion after his death. Patel’s supporters were dismayed that when it came to honouring him, while naming iconic national projects or structures, he was largely ignored; these were mostly named after Jawaharlal Nehru or his daughter Indira or grand son Rajiv, etc.
Recently, on the occasion of Patel’s birth anniversary on October 31, 2017, his historic role in persuading 554 princely States to merge in the Indian Union was highlighted. Since Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his party were in the forefront of the pro-Patel campaign, the present Congress leadership was terribly upset, condemning them to “appropriate” Patel for political motives. The writer noted that even Nehru acted against his deputy (Patel), after his death in 1951 as he advised his Cabinet colleagues not to attend Patel’s funeral in Bombay! As regard to the Bharat Ratna, Nehru gave it himself in 1955; Patel was given it in 1991, 40 years after his death, that too by a non-Congress Government.