India’s first Home Minister and Deputy Prime Minister Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel is credited with merging all princely states into the Union of India.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi administered the national unity pledge on Thursday at the Statue Of Unity in Gujarat to mark National Unity Day. In an address, the prime minister said that unity in diversity is India’s identity.
Centuries ago, India was united by Chanakya, and after that Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel achieved the same feat by merging princely states with the Union of India, the PM said on India’s first Home Minister and Deputy Prime Minister’s 144th birth anniversary.
“I take this oath for the unity of my country which was made possible by Sardar Patel’s vision and work. I make a solemn promise to contribute to the internal security of my country,” said Modi in his oath.
Those who “cannot win wars against us” are trying to destroy our unity, he said, in an apparent jibe at Pakistan.
The country decided to abrogate Article 370, which had only given “separatism and terrorism” to Jammu and Kashmir, he said. North-East is now moving from separatism to attachment as decades-old problems are nearing resolution, Modi said.
“There was a wall between the state and the rest of the country,” he said, hours after the bifurcation of Jammu and Kashmir. “I would tell Sardar saab, that the dream you had, that wall has been broken, and your dream was fulfilled. Sardar Patel had once said that if the issue of Kashmir had remained with him, it would not have taken so long to resolve it. On his birth anniversary today, I dedicate the decision to remove Article 370, to Sardar Saheb.”
“The new system in Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh is not meant to draw a line on the land (to draw a boundary) but to build a strong link of trust,” the prime minister said, referring to the bifurcation of the state into two Union Territories.
“Over 40,000 people lost their lives in three decades of terrorism,” he said, adding that it was Patel’s inspiration which made him take the decision to abrogate Article 370, and he dedicates the decision “at the feet of” the first home minister of the country.
“Patel had once said that had he handled the Kashmir issue, it would not have taken so long to resolve it,” Modi said, in a veiled swipe at Jawaharlal Nehru, the country’s first prime minister whom the ruling BJP often blames for the Kashmir issue.
Union Home Minister and BJP president Amit Shah credited Narendra Modi for fulfilling Patel’s “dream” of integrating Jammu and Kashmir with the rest of the country by abrogating Article 370 and 35A, which he described as “the gateway of terrorism into Jammu and Kashmir”. He flagged off the ‘Run for Unity‘ event in Delhi to mark the birth anniversary of Sardar Patel.
Since 2014, October 31 is observed as National Unity Day and people from all walks of life participate in a Run for Unity event.
In October last year, Modi had inaugurated ‘Statue of Unity’ on the occasion of Patel’s 143rd birth anniversary. He had announced to build the statue when he was Gujarat’s Chief Minister.
Located on Sadhu-Bet Island, Gujarat, the 182-metre tall statue which occupies over 20,000 square meters is the tallest statue in the world.
In his ‘Mann Ki Baat’ programme on Sunday, Prime Minister Modi had urged people to participate in large numbers in the ‘Run for Unity’.
“Friends, as you know that October 31 every year since 2014 has been celebrated as ‘National Unity Day’. This day imparts the message to protect the unity, integrity and security of our country at any cost. On October 31, this year too ‘Run for Unity’ is being organized like the previous years. ‘Run for Unity’ is a symbol of unison, that the nation being united, is moving in one direction and collectively aims for- One goal! Ek Bharat, Shreshth Bharat,” he said.
At the stroke of the midnight hour on Wednesday, the state of Jammu and Kashmir was bifurcated and converted into two Union Territories (UTs) with Lieutenant Governors (L-Gs) of the two newly-created UTs set to take oath today.
