Patel laid foundation for Ek Bharat: VP

Metro India News | Hyderabad 

Vice-President C P Radhakrishnan on Thursday said Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel carried an extraordinary responsibility in integrating princely states with the Indian Union after Independence and laid the foundation for a strong, unified ‘Ek Bharat’.

Speaking at the Hyderabad Liberation Day celebrations organised by the Centre at Parade Ground, Secunderabad, he said September 17, 1948 marked the conclusion of a decisive chapter in independent India’s history with the integration of the erstwhile Hyderabad State into the Indian Union.

“Hyderabad proved to be one of the most difficult cases of that time. When negotiations failed, the Government of India initiated Operation Polo on September 13, 1948. The operation concluded on September 17, 1948, with the surrender of the Nizam’s forces,” he said. Radhakrishnan said Hyderabad Liberation Day was not merely a commemoration of a historic date, but a reminder of nation-building and the values that bind the country together.

Recalling Patel’s contribution, he said the former Deputy Prime Minister worked at a time when India was recovering from Partition while consolidating hundreds of princely states into one Union. “Patel laid the steely foundation of a strong, unified Ek Bharat,” he said. While Mahatma Gandhi and Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose played pivotal roles in India’s freedom struggle, Patel played a key role in unifying the princely states with modern India, he said. Radhakrishnan also said Prime Minister Narendra Modi was contributing to the making of ‘Viksit Bharat’ by 2047.

Paying tribute to those who participated in the Hyderabad struggle, he said students, intellectuals, writers, social workers, political activists, farmers and ordinary citizens’ endured imprisonment, violence and immense hardship. He paid homage to patriots, including Ramji Gond, Turrebaz Khan and Komaram Bheem, and said history was shaped not only by statesmen but also by ordinary citizens who resisted injustice.

“Political integration can bring territories together; constitutional democracy brings citizens together,” he said, stressing that national unity must be strengthened through equal rights, dignity and opportunity. Referring to the Central Armed Police Forces, he said they played a key role in integrating princely states in 1947-48 and later in combating Left-Wing Extremism in Telangana, Chhattisgarh and Jharkhand.

Radhakrishnan said areas once affected by naxalism were witnessing peace, development and opportunity due to the sacrifices of security forces. He visited the War Memorial and laid a wreath. Governor Shiv Pratap Shukla, Union Ministers Gajendra Singh Shekhawat, G. Kishan Reddy and Bandi Sanjay Kumar, and other dignitaries were present.