Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel: Birth and family strangers

Gujarat’s Nadiad was not very well known before. In the 19th century, he was considered part of the Bombay Presidency, then in 1855, our Gujarati literary and immortal work like Saraswati Chandra began to be opened in the name of Govardhanram Tripathi and in 1864, the railway was started for the first time between Ahmedabad-Mumbai. Nadiad is a small station on this railway. Vallabhbhai Patel was born in this small city with a paved street and a population of only 25,000. But what is his birth? They didn’t even know anything right! Even his parents have never stated and where. What would be the birth date in those days, but when they sat in 1897, they needed to write their birth date. He wrote this date in his mind and the date that was written was October 31, 1875. Vallabhbhai himself accepted this later in Rajmohan Gandhi’s book ‘Sardar Patel Ek Dedicated Life’. According to him, Vallabhbhai used to say that when asked about my age, I have to take a bar, swear and say that if I have to say, I would almost be the word in the sentence so that I would not be wrong.

But was this date correct?

According to Rajmohan Gandhi, Vallabhbhai’s older brother Narasibhai saved the family record. He noted that Vallabhbhai was born a month after the birth of his maternal uncle Narayanbhai. Narayanbhai’s birthday was written by Narsibhai himself and mentioned it in the paper. But that paper is no longer available. But Narsibhai’s son Shambhubhai told Rajmohan Gandhi that he himself saw the paper and on the basis of this it seems that Vallabhbhai was born on Sunday of Vaisakh-Shuklapaksa on Vikram Samvat 1932. However, there is no specification of any specific dates, so it can be assumed that the date of birth of Vallabhbhai may be one of April 30, 1876 or 7 May, 1876. However, no specific birth date of Vallabhbhai can be fixed. That is why everyone admitted that Vallabhbhai’s date of birth on October 31, 1875. Despite knowing that this date is not true, we must accept it and Vallabhbhai’s children were also celebrating their birthday on the same date and if we do not celebrate the birth of such a great Vibhuti, we do not have to celebrate Sardar Patel’s birthday on October 31.

Secondly, after writing, Vallabhbhai himself had forgotten what his birth date. Vallabhbhai himself did not stand in the 1937 provincial election. But for some reason their date of birth was needed. Sardar did not remember the date. That is why Kaniyalal Munshi, who was present at that time, filled out a rupee and obtained his metric certificate and it was registered with the date of birth and it is only October 31, 1875.

Now there is a strange case regarding his birthday. If you have a birthday, you should first get blessed with your most liked elder but how they do not feel blessed! Something similar happened to Sardar Patel. The case is that Sardar Patel came to Birla House on October 31, 1947 to seek the birthday blessings, Sardar gave the most honor to Gandhiji, so he reached and bowed at five o’clock in the morning. But Bapu did not give a happy birthday. Because they did not remember that Sardar’s birthday was that day. It happened to them that many people have come to bow dawn. Therefore, he started talking to Kashmir with no blessings, because the question of Kashmir was burned. However, before going to bed at night, Bapu found out that it was a birthday, so Sardar Patel came to bow so early in the morning. Bapu also felt sad, then Bapu woke up the next morning and wrote a letter to Sardar Patel, saying that Chiranjeevi Vallabhbhai came tomorrow but I did not remember that you had a birthday. So he could not bless his mouth. Manubhan Gandhi described this case of Gandhi-Sardar in his book called Gandhiji in Delhi. But sadly, this was the last happy birthday given by Gandhiji to Sardar Patel. Because he was then again, when Sardar’s birthday came, Gandhi did not exist to bless.

Like the date of birth, another stranger is associated with Sardar Patel’s father and is also very interesting. You know about the freedom struggle of 1857. We know the names of Queen Lakshmibai, Tatya Tope, Mangal Pandey and many revolutionaries, but most people do not know that another dignitaries also participated. Vallabhbhai’s father Zaverbhai Patel and mother Ladbai came from a farmer family. Zaverbhai was a brave man. According to the book writers on Sardar’s life, Zaverbhai joined the queen of Jhansi at a young age and fought against the British in the first revolution of the country in 1857. Gandhiji’s personal Mahadevbhai Desai writes in his book Veer Vallabhbhai that his father participated in the queen of Jhansi in 1857 rebellion in his childhood. He did not feel at home for two or three years. Malharrao Halkar imprisoned him. Once in front of Zaverbhai, Malharrao used to play chess, chess. Javerbhai used to say that King, Falani Mahoru, while Malharrao was wrong in the chess. It is said that Malharrao Chess’s Zaverbhai’s talent went so much that he freed Zaverbhai from imprisonment and made friends. Thus, before the birth of Vallabhbhai, his family was associated with the confrontation of independence. The struggle for independence was in the blood of Vallabhbhai.

Sardar Vallabhbhai’s father, Zaverbhai, was an independent mood and strictly. At the same time, they were very attached to religion. Yashwant Doshi has mentioned in his book as a devotee of Zaverbhai Swaminaraya. As mentioned in the book, Zaverbhai used to spend more times in the temple, merging the beads rotating. He had a reputation in the village as a gentleman of Dharma Parayan. The sons, including Vallabhbhai, addressed him not only Dad or Bapuji but also called Motakaka, while the villagers called him Rajabha. Swaminarayan’s main throne was in Vadtal, Zaverbhai did not pay to go to Vadtal every Poonam. Over time, when a new cushion was set up in Bochasan, Zaverbhai also joined the new sect. Zaverbhai died at the age of 85 in March 1914.

Now talk about Vallabhbhai’s mother. Vallabhbhai’s mother Ladbai was the second wife of Zaverbhai. Zaverbhai’s first wife was from Sunav village. But they were unaware. Zaverbhai was then married to Ladbai, daughter of Jijibhai Desai of Nadiad. Ladbai was 18 years younger than Zaverbhai. They had 5 sons – Somabhai, Narasibhai, Vitthalbhai, Vallabhbhai, Kashibhai and one daughter Dahiba, 6 children. The offspring used to call them not just but also called Ladbai. In 1932, when Vallabhbhai was in Yarwada jail, Ladbai died at the age of 85.

What a unique contribution of his father to the Sardar’s form, and why he taught the lessons that Sardar became immortal.