By David Lyngdoh

The iron will behind India’s unity

When India won independence in 1947, the tricolour was hoisted across the land, but the idea of “one India” was still fragile. The subcontinent was a patchwork of territories: British India on one hand, and over 560 princely states, each with its own ruler, army and ambition, on the other. The dream of a single, democratic Republic was far from guaranteed.

It was at this historical juncture that Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel, then India’s Deputy Prime Minister and Home Minister, emerged as the architect of national integration. Patel’s firm resolve, coupled with diplomacy and foresight, brought those disparate entities into the fold of one nation.

“The inspiration of unity that guided Patel’s work remains the bedrock of modern India,” says

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