National Unity Day: India Must Remember the Ethos of Equality That Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel Communicated Through His Actions
By
S.N. Sahu
15 December
2020
On October
31, 2018, Prime Minister Narendra Modi while unveiling the statue of Sardar
Patel – popularly known as the ‘Statue of Unity’ – said that had Patel not
united the princely states to form the Union of India “Shiv Bhakts” would have
needed visas to pray at the Somnath temple, visit the lions at Junagarh or see
the Charminar at Hyderabad.
Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel. Photo: Twitter/@RGforpeople
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He was
conveniently invoking the integration of Hyderabad and Junagarh to the Indian
Union because Muslim rulers ruled those princely states. Modi did so to convey
the point with a mala fide intent. Without Sardar Patel’s historic role, Muslim
rulers would not have joined the Indian Union and it would have been impossible
to forge the unity of India, Modi seemed to say.
Modi’s
selective picking of princely states ruled by Muslim rulers had a majoritarian
subtext in it – to drive home the point that Muslims as a whole had posed a
threat to the unity of India and they need to be reminded of this all the time.
The
Travancore Rulers
While
unabashedly pointing fingers at Muslim princely rulers coming in the way of the
unity of India, Modi was deliberately (or maybe due to the lack of
understanding of history) oblivious to the fact that the Hindu religion and a
Hindu god was cited by the princely rulers of the Hindu kingdom of Travancore
as reasons to not to join Indian Union.
Had Sardar
Patel and V.P. Menon not taken tough measures to unite that Hindu kingdom,
people of India would have required visas to visit what is now known as Kerala
and offer prayers in the shrine of Lord Padmanabha.
PM Modi at the Statue of Unity in Gujarat. Photo: PTI
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It is a
lesser known fact that it was the Hindu kingdom of Travancore which became the
first princely state to declare itself independent and refused to join the
Indian Union in 1946 itself, before the British paramountcy lapsed over the
princely rulers.
V.P. Menon
in his book, The Story of the Integration of the Indian States, wrote
that on June 11, 1946, the Dewan of Travancore “…Sir C.P. Ramaswami Aiyar
announced that the princely State had decided to set itself up as an
independent sovereign State…that lead was followed by several others, whose
attitude was naturally causing the Government of India some anxiety.”
That
decision of Travancore was welcomed and supported by Muhammad Ali Jinnah. Menon
documented in his book that, “The Dewan of Travancore went to the extent of
announcing his intention to appoint a Trade Agent in Pakistan.”
It is quite
revealing to note that the rulers of the Hindu kingdom of Travancore invoked
Hinduism and the Hindu god Lord Padmanabha in validating their decision to not
to join the Indian Union.
They
asserted that the sovereignty of Travancore rested with Lord Padmanabha and He
could not be subservient to the sovereignty of India.
Menon
mentioned in his book that the devotion of the maharajah to Padmanabha bordered
on fanaticism.
K.R. Narayanan. Photo: Wikimedia Commons
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K.R.
Narayanan cites example
Former
president K.R. Narayanan, in a speech delivered on the occasion of the
unveiling the statue of Sardar Patel in parliament on August 14, 1998, made a
poignant reference to that point and said:
“When the
Dewan of Travancore, Sir C.P. Ramaswamy Iyer, held out the argument that no one
could negotiate a merger of the State with India as Travancore was ruled “in
the name and on behalf of the tutelary deity, Sri Padmanabha”, the Sardar
snapped with a twinkle in his eye “Is that so? Then please tell me how could
Travancore’s rulers allow Lord Padmanabha to become subservient to the British
Crown?”
He had
added, “The story of the integration of the states into the Union of India is a
fitting dramatic epilogue to the struggle for our Independence. The arguments
and methods adopted by the Sardar were manifold and effective”.
It was thus
clear that unlike in Hyderabad and Junagarh and many other princely states of
India, it was only in the Hindu Kingdom of Travancore that a Hindu god was
invoked and the theory of divine right employed to counter the secular basis of
the Indian Union enshrined in our constitution and constitutional values.
Even in the
context of Jammu and Kashmir, a Muslim majority state, Patel, while speaking in
the Constituent Assembly on October 12, 1949, said:
“In view of
the special problems with which the Government of Jammu and Kashmir is faced,
we have made a special provision for the continuance of the constitutional
relationship of the State with the Union”.
The leaders
subscribing to Hindutva often talk of the precedence of faith over statecraft,
governance and rule of law. They should be mindful of the splendid example of
Sardar Patel, who being a Hindu never hesitated to foil the attempts of
Travancore rulers to invoke a much-revered Hindu deity not to join the Indian
Union.
The Foil
of Hinduism
Apart from
using the Hindu god Lord Padmanabha to frustrate the attempts of Sardar Patel
and V.P. Menon, the rulers of Travancore made a preposterous claim that
Hinduism would be in danger if the Hindu kingdom became an integral part of the
Indian Union.
In fact,
Sardar Patel during his historic visit to Travancore on May 15, 1950, one year
after the integration of that princely state, while addressing a massive
conclave of one lakh people appealed to them not to get carried away by “the
false cry of Hinduism in danger” raised by a section of people there. He
assured them that Hinduism would never die in India.
He further
added that upon hearing for the first time of a purported danger to Hinduism,
he observed with anguish, “There was one Hindu who made a reputation for India
all over the world. That was Gandhi ji. And yet it was a Hindu who killed him.
Is that Hinduism? Do you preserve Hinduism by that method?…Hinduism can never
be in danger in India. Shankaracharya never raised the cry of Hinduism in
danger.”
Sardar’s
line that Hinduism cannot be preserved by killing a great Hindu like Mahatma
Gandhi assumes critical relevance now that the assassin of Gandhi is being
glorified and Hindutva leaders get elected to the parliament for doing so.
The current
prime minister who famously said that he would not be able to excuse them in
his heart of hearts did hardly anything against them. Even Amit Shah sought an
explanation from those leaders and referred the matter to the disciplinary
committee of the BJP. But nothing happened after that.
Is this not
an affront to the legacy of Sardar Patel?
Bhopal MP Pragya Singh Thakur. Photo: PTI
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Hindutva
Negates Patel’s Broad Views
The affront
continues in an intensified manner through the enactment of the Citizenship
(Amendment) Act, which grants Indian citizenship to people of Pakistan,
Bangladesh and Afghanistan on the basis of their religion and, thereby, negates
the idea of citizenship expounded by Sardar Patel on April 29, 1947, in the
Constituent Assembly where he had insightfully said:
“It is
important to remember that the provision about citizenship will be scrutinised
all over the world. They are watching what we are doing…Therefore, our general
preface or the general right of citizenship…should be so broad-based that any
one who reads our laws cannot take any other view than that we have taken an
enlightened modern civilised view”.
It is
instructive to note that the BJP leadership and Hindutva ideologues who try
hard to appropriate Sardar Patel are absolutely silent on his secular vision
and outlook which he coherently expressed on numerous occasions in his
interventions in the Constituent Assembly. While moving the provision for
reservation for Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes in the Constituent
Assembly, Patel asserted in May, 1949, “They were laying the foundation of a
truly secular democracy in India.”
Again on
June 5, 1949, he said in the Assembly that “…a healthy secular outlook is the
foundation of true democracy.”
He even
invoked god in defence of secularism when he said in the Constituent Assembly,
“…and now we are today with the grace of god and blessings of the almighty
laying the foundation of a true, secular democratic state where everybody has
an equal chance and equal opportunity. May god give us wisdom and courage to do
the right thing to all manner of people as our constitution provides.”
Celebrating
‘national unity day’ to mark the birth anniversary of Sardar Patel is to
celebrate his vision of a secular India which upholds the enlightened and
liberal views on citizenship, thus negating a sectarian and religion-based
approach.
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S.N.
Sahu served as OSD and press secretary to former President of India, K.R.
Narayanan.
Original
Headline: A Secularist, Sardar Patel Had United India In Spite of Travancore's
'Hindu God' Excuse
Source: The Wire
URL: https://newageislam.com/interfaith-dialogue/national-unity-day-india-remember/d/123771
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