Patel @150: The Unfinished Task of National Unity 

October 19, 2025

Sheena Sandhu

On October 31, India will mark the 150th birth anniversary of Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel, commemorated since 2014 as Rashtriya Ekta Diwas or National Unity Day. The milestone comes at a time when India’s unity — painstakingly achieved in the chaotic years of Independence — is once again being tested by social, political and regional fault lines. Remembering Patel today is not merely about statues, marches or commemorative coins; it is about revisiting the foundational questions of cohesion, trust and belonging in a diverse democracy.

Patel’s achievement

Born in 1875 in Nadiad, Gujarat, Patel’s political journey traversed the lawyer’s bar, Gandhian satyagrahas, and finally the crucial role of deputy prime minister and home minister in independent India’s first cabinet. His defining contribution was the integration of more than 560 princely states into the Indian Union. In the late 1940s, when the subcontinent was scarred by Partition, the map of India was still a patchwork of semi-autonomous kingdoms and feudal estates. Patel, with the persuasive diplomacy of V.P. Menon and the support of Nehru and Mountbatten, succeeded in bringing these disparate units into the Republic.

Junagadh, Hyderabad and Kashmir posed formidable challenges, yet Patel’s combination of firmness and tact ensured that the Union did not disintegrate before it was born. This achievement remains one of the great state-building exercises of the 20th century, securing for India both geographical continuity and political legitimacy.

The meaning of National Unity Day

When the government instituted Rashtriya Ekta Diwas, it was intended to go beyond ceremonial homage. Each year, citizens take a unity pledge, and public institutions organise the “Run for Unity” and cultural programs. The Ministry of Home Affairs frames the day as an opportunity to “reaffirm the inherent strength and resilience of our nation to withstand threats to unity, integrity and security.”

In practice, however, the day risks becoming another ritual. The real test is whether it can trigger conversations about what unity means in today’s India. Patel’s idea of unity was not uniformity; it was the ability to forge togetherness amidst diversity, while ensuring allegiance to a common Constitution.

Why Patel matters today

Seventy-five years after his death, Patel’s legacy resonates in four important ways:

1. Federalism and diversity: Patel believed in a strong centre, but not in erasing local identities. He saw federalism as a negotiated partnership, not a central diktat. As linguistic, cultural and developmental aspirations intensify, this balance between unity and regional autonomy remains critical.
2. Unity as institutional strength: For Patel, integration was not only territorial but also administrative. His reforms of the civil services underscored the importance of impartial institutions in holding the Union together. In an era of eroded trust in public bodies, this reminder is vital.
3. Resilience against fragmentation: Patel dealt with armed rebellion, princely resistance and cross-border intrigue. Today’s challenges are different — from polarisation amplified by digital platforms to economic inequalities and alienation among the youth. Yet the underlying imperative is the same: preventing division from corroding the collective.
4. Global credibility: A cohesive India is not only stronger domestically but also more persuasive internationally. At a time when India seeks to project itself as a voice of the Global South, internal disunity weakens that claim. Patel’s legacy underscores unity as a strategic asset.

Beyond symbolism

The sesquicentennial year has been marked with announcements: a commemorative ₹150 coin, a 152-km unity march in Gujarat, cultural events nationwide. These are welcome, but Patel himself was not a man of grand gestures. His politics was rooted in pragmatism, negotiation and results. To honour him meaningfully, commemoration must be coupled with substance:

• Addressing social divides: Unity cannot thrive in an atmosphere of mistrust or exclusion. Efforts to bridge communal and caste divides must be as central to Ekta Diwas as ceremonial pledges.
• Making youth stakeholders: Patel’s generation fought for unity against colonialism. Today’s generation must be engaged through civic education, volunteering and dialogue, not token events.
• Strengthening institutions: From the judiciary to local bodies, fair and transparent institutions remain the glue of unity. Patel’s emphasis on administrative integrity remains a guide.

The unfinished task

Unity in India has never been a settled achievement. It has always been a process, renewed with each generation. Patel showed that it was possible to overcome distrust and fragmentation through vision and will. But his work remains unfinished.

On his 150th birth anniversary, the question is not whether we remember Patel, but whether we live up to his legacy. National Unity Day should remind us that integration is not a historical event, but an everyday responsibility — of governments to govern inclusively, of institutions to act impartially, and of citizens to value the collective over the narrow.

In commemorating Patel, India must pledge not just to preserve territorial unity, but also to nurture the social and moral unity without which even the strongest state structure will falter. Patel’s greatest gift was not the map he secured, but the belief that unity, once forged, could endure. It is for us to prove him right.

(The writer is a retired civil servant, views are personal.)