Assembly Speaker Vijendra Gupta recalls Bardoli legacy at Gujarat lecture

Delhi Legislative Assembly Speaker Vijender Gupta on Monday said Bardoli was the “moral conscience” of India’s freedom movement, where non-violence, social reform and mass mobilisation first came together in a disciplined manner.

Gupta was addressing the 14th Sardar Sangoshthi and Uttamchand Shah Memorial Lecture at Swaraj Ashram in Bardoli, Gujarat.

The event was organised to mark the 150th birth anniversary of Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel and the 125th birth anniversary of Uttamchand Shah.

Highlighting Bardoli’s historical role, the Speaker said the town’s contribution to the freedom struggle began even before the famous Bardoli Satyagraha of 1928.

He recalled a landmark public meeting held on January 29, 1922, in the presence of Mahatma Gandhi and under the leadership of Veer Vithalbhai Patel, which drew thousands of people dressed in khadi and committed to ethical resistance.

Gupta said resolutions adopted in Bardoli in 1922 reflected rare moral courage, as people voluntarily accepted strict social reforms, including the eradication of untouchability, equal access to public resources and unwavering adherence to non-violence.

Bardoli, he said, emerged as an early laboratory of social reform linked with political resistance.

Referring to the Bardoli Satyagraha of 1928, Gupta said farmers united across caste and class lines under Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel’s leadership to oppose unjust land revenue hikes imposed by the British.

The peaceful struggle forced the colonial Government to roll back the hike, earning Patel the title “Sardar”.

Paying tribute to Veer Vithalbhai Patel, Gupta described him as a pioneer of India’s parliamentary democracy and recalled his role as the first elected Indian Speaker of the Central Legislative Assembly in 1925.