The Man of Steel

But the rulers of Junagadh and Hyderabad were plotting secretly to Join Pakistan.Patel sent an army under Brigadier Gurudayalsimha to the border of Junagadh to deal with Pakistan. The people of the state who wished to join India rebelled against the ruler and set up a Peoples Government. The Nawab, who had tried to betray the people, ran away. Patel reached Junagadh on the 12th of November 1947. In the course of a speech there, hewarned that the Nizam of Hyderabad would share the fate of the Nawab of Junagadh if he did not behave sensibly. But the Nizam was slow to learn thelesson. He sent millions of rupees to Pakistan.One of his men, Kasim Razvi by name, began to harass the Hindus. His gang was called the Razakars. They tried to drive the Hindus out of Hyderabad. There was no limit to their crimes. They tried to get arms and ammunition from outside. Finally Sardar Patel sent some forces under General Chowdury to undertake Police Action. Within five days the Nizam was forced to surrender. Kasim Razvi ran away to Pakistan. The atrocities of the Razakars came to an end and peace returned to Hyderabad. The firm policy of Sardar Patel, the Man of Steel, crushed all the plots against India.A similar problem arose in Kashmir. The Maharaja and the Legislative Assembly decided that the state should join India. But the Pakistan army forcibly occupied two-fifths of Kashmir. The Ministry was handling the Kashmir question for Foreign Affairs and there was nothing Patel could do.

Sardar Patel was a man of remarkable foresight. In 1962 China sent her army across the border and India reeled under the blow. This is the saddest episode in the history of Free India. But as long back as on the 7th of November 1950, Patel wrote a letter to Jawaharlal Nehru and declared that China was not to be trusted. He wrote: The Government of China speaks of its desire for peace and is trying to mislead us. Hereafter, in planning the defense of our country,we must remember the intentions of Communist, China. Five weeks later Patel passed away. About twelve years after his death China attacked India.