| Summary/Abstract |
Sardar Patel, a freedom fighter and one of the founders of a new, integrated, and united modern India. Sardar is known as the “Iron Man of India” for his role in uniting India. After Independence, his role in the independent India amplified. Sardar Vallabhai Patel was elected as the first Home Minister of India and later as the first Deputy Prime Minister of India. In 1947, India had finally gained its independence. However, it was accompanied by vexing issues such as partition, the challenge of princely state integration, and the refugee crisis. Furthermore, a crippling economy and resource constraints, widespread poverty and illiteracy, nascent institutions, and an ill-equipped colonial machinery all contributed to this situation. So, in this context, it’s not difficult to understand why India’s new government found the integration of as many as 565 princely states an arduous task. This article will focus on how Sardar Patel handled these problems with dexterity and would prove to be the “Architect of Modern India.”
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