INDIA'S SARDAR PATEL: READING THE IRON MAN IN HIS DAUGHTER'S DIARY

[The Sardar was happy to see Guruji Golwalkar, the then RSS chief, released from jail and wanted to welcome RSS workers in the Congress. On August 3, 1949, says the diary: ‘‘Glad at release of Golwalkar— ready to welcome in Congress. Bapu’s (Sardar’s) task to make their entry easy.’’  Today,  the Congress laments that Osama was not given a fair burial, but won’t say a word on the atrocities on Hindus in Bangladesh. The Sardar reacted differently under similar circumstances. Maniben records: ‘‘Sardar Patel was not happy with the Nehru-Liaquat Ali Pact as it did not stop the exodus of Hindus from East Pakistan which went on increasing and a large number of Hindus continued to migrate to India. Sardar Patel observed that he was not so much worried about the killings, after all 30 lakh people had died in the Bengal famine, but he could not stand assaults on women and their forcible conversion to Islam... (April 5, 1950).]

"We want the entire territory ... and battle for the whole of Kashmir.”  – Sardar Vallabh Bhai Patel, 23 July 1949

By Tarun Vijay

Image: Wikipedia

The day before yesterday, October 31, was the birth anniversary of Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel.

The man, who would have been the first Prime Minister of India, chose to accept Gandhi’s advice and remain happy to be Home Minister in Nehru’s cabinet. As history tells us, the Congress held a presidential election in the knowledge that its chosen leader would become India's head of government. Eleven Congress state units nominated Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel, while only the Working Committee suggested Nehru. Sensing that Nehru would not accept second place to Patel, Gandhi supported Nehru and asked Patel to withdraw, which he immediately did.

A man of highest personal integrity and a transparent public life, Sardar not only gave us an India without ulcers, but also had Lakshadwep integrated in time, which was eyed by Pakistan immediately after August 15,1947. He had the prudence to send Naval ships to the island, barely informed of the independence, and thwarted a Pakistani Navy attempt to seize the strategically located and almost an ‘out of sight’ island. Our naval ships had seen Pakistani Navy nearing Lakshadweep and had them returned.

Sardar integrated 562 princely states with swiftness and alacrity of a Bismarck.

Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru was given the task to have J&K merged. He not only turned it into a permanent pain in the neck but during his reign, we lost 1.25 lakh sq km of Indian land to China and Pakistan. The Survey of India’s map showing the J&K area is incomplete in the sense that we still have to take back the Aksai Chin and Gilgit region from China and Pakistan, which were annexed in 1947-48 by them. And the unpreparedness of India in 1962 is too well known.

A few years ago I had bought a book titled "Inside Story of Sardar Patel: The Diary of Maniben Patel" (Vision books) , which gives vivid details of Sardar’s thoughts and his clarity on various national issues. It’s a dairy written meticulously by his daughter Maniben.

Rathin Das from  Ahmedabad reported this year on July 12, 2011 that the entry in Maniben’s diary on September 20, 1950 says that Sardar told Nehru that the Babri Masjid’s renovation was different from reconstruction of the Somnath Temple for which a trust was set up that raised nearly 30 lakh for the purpose. Government money was not spent on reconstruction of the Somnath Temple, Sardar told Nehru following which the Prime Minister kept quiet, Maniben’s diary notes on September 20, 1950.

As Sardar Patel’s wife, Zaverba, died very early, Maniben had taken up the multiple roles as daughter, secretary, washerwoman and nurse to the ‘Iron Man’ till his death on December 12, 1950. Since 1936, Maniben had started maintaining a diary in which she recorded her illustrious father’s daily events and comments.

Another entry, on September 13, 1950, quotes Ghanshyamdas Birla as saying “Nehru’s whole family would have embraced Islam if they had not come in contact with Gandhiji.”

Particulary significant are Sardar’s views on Communists, Muslims and the conversion of Hindus as chronicled by Maniben. It says, Nehru tried to go soft on the Hyderabad action, apparently to appease Muslims. But the Sardar told C Rajgopalachari in no uncertain terms that nothing would stop him from pursuing strong action to remove 'an ulcer', and that Nehru should remain within his limits. The diary says: ‘‘Sardar Patel bluntly told Rajaji that he would not want the future generations to blame and curse him for allowing an ulcer in the heart of India. On one side is western Pakistan and on the other side eastern Pakistan (with their idea of (a) pan-Islamic bloc...(they want to) come to Delhi and establish the Mughal empire again. Once we enter Hyderabad, it is no longer an international affair. It is the State Ministry’s function. How long are you and Panditji going to bypass the Ministry of the States and carry on?’’ (September 13, 1948).

Patel's hold over the Congress party organization was certainly greater. Nehru considered Sardar a rival who could dethrone him. Maniben's diary, however, reveals that Patel had no such ambition, particularly after he had given his word to Gandhi. Upon the Patel-Nehru differences played many others, notably Rafi Ahmed Kidwai, the socialists, and even Maulana Azad. The diary reveals their manoeuvrings to oust Sardar from the Cabinet. Significantly, Nehru consistently ignored the many allegations of corruption against Kidwai, a fact that puzzled many Congress leaders.

The Sardar was happy to see Guruji Golwalkar, the then RSS chief, released from jail and wanted to welcome RSS workers in the Congress. On August 3, 1949, says the diary: ‘‘Glad at release of Golwalkar— ready to welcome in Congress. Bapu’s (Sardar’s) task to make their entry easy.’’  Today,  the Congress laments that Osama was not given a fair burial, but won’t say a word on the atrocities on Hindus in Bangladesh. The Sardar reacted differently under similar circumstances. Maniben records: ‘‘Sardar Patel was not happy with the Nehru-Liaquat Ali Pact as it did not stop the exodus of Hindus from East Pakistan which went on increasing and a large number of Hindus continued to migrate to India. Sardar Patel observed that he was not so much worried about the killings, after all 30 lakh people had died in the Bengal famine, but he could not stand assaults on women and their forcible conversion to Islam... (April 5, 1950).

The Sardar further said: ‘‘Hindus had been totally finished in Sind, Punjab, Baluchistan and Frontier Provinces. It was being repeated in East Pakistan and people like Hafizur Rehman, who had stayed on in India, would be clamouring for (a) homeland in India. What would be our position then? Our posterity would call us traitors.’’ (April 24, 1950)

Sardar Patel did not trust the Communists either. He told M O Mathai, Nehru’s Special Assistant, ‘‘if we have to build up the nation, Communists would have no place there.’’ (September 13, 1948).’’

He didn’t know that though his photo would be used on the Congress manifesto, and that the same people would join hands with the Communists whom he had despised most.

Interestingly, Maniben mentions in her diary that Sardar had one common goal with Savarkar. They differed on several issues but both of them wanted the ‘‘four crore Muslims in India to be loyal to the country; otherwise there was no place for them (August 16, 1949).’’

The diary says, ‘‘Sardar Patel was very unhappy that Nehru had taken the Kashmir issue to the UN which tied India’s hands. His idea was that India should extricate itself from the UN patiently and then solve the Kashmir problem forever. He was also unhappy when reports came that the fertile land left behind in Jammu by Muslim zamindars who had migrated to Pakistan was not being given to Hindu refugees. Instead, the Sheikh was insisting on settling only Muslim refugees on such land (May 1, 1949)... (there were reports) that the majority  of government employees were pro-Pakistani.’’

Nehru was a close friend of Sheikh Abdullah, whom the Sardar didn’t trust at all. The diary reveals that even Bakshi Ghulam Mohammad, former prime minister of Kashmir, felt that the Sardar could have solved Kashmir if Nehru had not intervened. ‘‘Bakshi Ghulam Mohammad, on the other hand, was insisting that the Sardar should settle the Kashmir  issue as he had done (with) Hyderabad. But Nehru would not allow it. Iyengar reported that the Sheikh wanted to have an independent Kashmir. Upon hearing this, the Sardar said he would ask the Maharaja to return to Jammu as he did not place any trust in Sheikh Abdullah (May 12, 1949).’’

Maniben also refers to a discussion about the possibility of the partition of Kashmir, which involved India retaining Jammu and handing over the rest of the state to Pakistan. Patel retorted: ‘‘We want the entire territory... and battle for the whole of Kashmir” (July 23, 1949).

@ The Times of India

***

NUMBERS ASIDE, INDIA’S NEWBORNS FACE CHALLENGES

[The United Nations Population Fund estimated that the earth’s milestone 7 billionth resident was born Monday, most likely somewhere in India. No one truly knows where or when that birth took place, but the occasion has focused attention on the conditions in which babies are born in India – and on the worrisome status of infant and child health in the world’s second-most populous, and still rapidly growing, country.]

By Sruthi Gottipati

Lynsey Addario for The New York TimesA nurse tends
to a newborn minutes after the baby was born in the
labor ward of Kasturba Maternity Hospital in
Delhi on Monday.

Usha Kumar’s wails sounded like the cries of a wounded animal, guttural and wrenching, her screams seeping through the corridor of Kasturba Hospital in Delhi, until, finally, mercifully, Ms. Kumar pushed out her baby boy.

Dr. Tanvir Sharma, 29, rushed to the bleeding mother, snipped the newborn loose and whisked him off to a corner. She rubbed his back and slapped his toes and weighed him on a sheet of paper in a metal scale.

Born on Monday, the baby boy was a quivering mass of 3.47 kilograms, or 7.6 pounds. But the number truly attracting attention was 7 billion.

The United Nations Population Fund estimated that the earth’s milestone 7 billionth resident was born Monday, most likely somewhere in India. No one truly knows where or when that birth took place, but the occasion has focused attention on the conditions in which babies are born in India – and on the worrisome status of infant and child health in the world’s second-most populous, and still rapidly growing, country.

On Monday, I visited a half dozen maternity wards in Delhi, and Kasturba was the largest facility I saw. Dozens of pregnant women lay splayed, groaning on rusty beds with creaky wheels. Some clutched their heads and watched the filthy fans whirring above them. Blood and body fluids were everywhere. In dingy rooms with peeling walls and grimy peach tiles, these women knew little about the world’s 7 billionth person, nor really seemed to care.

“I don’t want to talk,” said Ms. Kumar, 32, of Chandni Chowk, saying she was still in pain.

Lynsey Addario for The New York TimesWomen in the labor ward of Kasturba Maternity Hospital in Delhi.

Kasturba has 350 beds for gynecology and obstetrics, with 100 more for pediatrics. There are about 60 doctors, a dozen assigned to a given shift. They deliver about 30 to 40 babies a day – those of poor women, many of them Muslims, who believe the hospital’s proximity to the Jama Masjid, India’s largest mosque, makes it a somewhat holy place to birth their babies.

Any newborn from a poor family in India is confronted with difficult odds. India has one of the highest infant mortality rates in the world, with 50 deaths for every 1,000 births, according to World Bank figures.  Forty-four percent of children under 5 are malnourished. Only sixty-three percent of Indians aged 15 and above are literate.

But these odds seemed less immediate for some of the new mothers at Kasturba.

“It’s expensive to have a kid,” said Vidanti Mishra, 26, as she cradled the baby, her first, soon after she delivered. “We’re scared if we have children, how will we take care of them, how will we feed them? Of course I’m scared.”

One of three physicians on duty, Dr. Shuchi Lakhanpal, a second-year postgraduate student, briskly made her rounds, wearing a white lab coat and striped socks, as she doled out basic advice to mothers.

“You need to eat properly,” Dr. Lakhanpal sternly told a young woman in labor.

During a tea break, Dr. Lakhanpal said the birth of a child is often an economic decision for many of her patients, another pair of hands to eventually work and bring money for the family.

“They think more kids means more hands to help out,” she said. “They don’t realize there are more mouths to feed.”

Indeed, different Indian states and districts have been introducing different incentive programs for years to try to slow the national birth rate, even as government-mandated family planning remains a very controversial issue.

“For each individual family it’s a matter of celebration (to have children.) But natural resources are limited. If population keeps increasing, not everyone will have enough to eat and live,” said Dr. Asha Aggarwal, the head of gynecology and obstetrics at the hospital. “Have fewer children, but healthier children.”

For Dr. Aggarwal, there’s reason for hope. She says women are now more educated and more aware of the benefits of having fewer children than they were when she joined the hospital 30 years ago.

Dr. Aggarwal also pointed out that there are now more women approaching hospitals to deliver their babies as opposed to having them at home with little medical help. The scene inside Kasturba’s birthing rooms might be graphic, but Dr. Aggarwal proudly noted that her hospital is in the process of acquiring fetal monitors that would help high-risk women.

In the maternity ward, about an hour after birthing her daughter, Ms. Mishra was relieved, the pain having subsided. She cradled her first child, smiling, albeit tired.

“The choice whether to have a baby should be there for everyone,” she said.

See more of Lynsey Addario’s photos from a maternity ward in Delhi.


@ The New York  Times