THE IDOL OF MILLIONS
It was a tragic hour for the whole nation when on the morning of the 15th of December 1950 the life of the Iron Man of India was slowly ebbing away. The Birlas can rightly feel proud that both Gandhiji and Sardar Patel spent their last moments in their houses, one in Delhi.
the other in Bombay. As the Sardar’s body lay in state millions of people swarmed Birla House. An ocean of human heads bowed in sorrow bore testimony to the love and affection the people had for the departed leader.
The Last journey was a mammoth procession; headed by a cross section of the country's leadership, a surging mass of humanity chanting Gandhiji's favourite hymn "Raghupati Raghava Rajaram" wended their way to cremate the mortal remains of the unflinching freedom fighter and the architect of united India. The story of a great life had come to a close. As the President observed at the cremation, only his body could be consumed by fire; his fame would remain immortal.
He created men out of straw and not only emancipated a country in fetters but re-built it on firm foundations. He has life his indelible imprint in the country's annals as the consolidator of the nation's hardwon freedom. He is the Bismark of India. To millions of Indians brought up on feeling of helplessness and inferiority, he is the symbol of self-confident strength, the champion who could pick up a gauntlet with an astounding audacity and gling it in the face of the challenger. The whole of india is proud of him. He is the model to every aspirant to political fame, for strategy and tectics.An indomitable man of action, a born leader of men, he has set such standards of courage, industry, honesty and above all, the capacity to undergo untold suffering for the cause one has espoused that we could do nothing better than strive to live up to them.
Courtesy :
Life & Work of Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel by C. Rajagopalachari
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