Had Sardar Patel been India’s first PM, many problems would not have occurred: Amit Shah

Amit Shah said basic education should be imparted in local languages and urged students to keep their native languages and dialects alive

Union Home Minister Amit Shah addressing Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel’s birth anniversary at Sardar Patel Vidyalaya, in New Delhi on October 31, 2022. | Photo Credit: Shiv Kumar Pushpakar

Union Home Minister Amit Shah said on October 31 that it was the belief of many that if Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel had been the first prime minister of India the country would not have faced many problems.

Mr. Shah was addressing the students of the prestigious Sardar Patel Vidyalaya on the 147^th birth anniversary of Patel, the first home minister of India.

The Home Minister said many attempts were made to erase the legacy of Mr. Patel and he was one of the leaders who never worked on promoting himself.

India’s map wouldn’t have been the same had it not been for Mr. Patel as he ensured the peaceful integration of more than 500 princely states and that of Lakshwadeep, Andaman and Nicobar Islands, Junagadh, Hyderabad and even Kashmir, Mr. Shah said.

He also asked the students to study the life of Mr. Patel to understand his ideals.

Quoting former British prime minister Winston Churchill who said that India will disintegrate and collapse once the British left the country, Mr. Shah said the former PM has been proven wrong as Mr. Patel worked to instil grassroots democracy and in the past 75 years the country has made great strides and recently became the fifth largest economy in the world.

He said despite ill health and failing lungs, Patel used to work late hours and signed the Instrument of Accession with Junagadh kingdom at 4.20 a.m.

Many people would not know that Mr. Patel played a key role in framing the constitution of the country as he was the one who urged Bhimrao Ambedkar to take up the responsibility, Mr. Shah said.

Mr. Shah also expressed his condolences to the families of those who died in Gujarat’s Morbi bridge collapse on Sunday, saying the entire country was saddened by the tragic accident in which many children also lost their lives.

He said basic education should be imparted in local languages and urged students to keep their native languages and dialects alive.

‘’Sardar Patel was not only a man of imagination but he worked very hard to implement his vision... he was a ‘karmayogi’…’ A man who is remembered long after his death can only be called great, that was Sardar... Many people in the country believe that if Sardar was made the first prime minister of India, the country would not have faced many problems it is facing today,’‘ Mr. Shah said.