Vallabhbhai Patel : The Limitations of Anti-Colonial Nationalism and Electoral Politics

There were oversights: an inability to recognise the limitations of anti-colonial nationalism in fostering the kind of unity that Patel desired from a highly diverse India; or sometimes fostering unity at the expense of diversity.

With the passage of time, major players in India’s freedom struggle have been viewed from different perspectives to evaluate their lasting impact on our nation’s history. Of those who earned the privilege of being true statesmen, this book focuses on one such archetypical Indian leader–Vallabhbhai Jhaverbhai Patel–to re-examine aspects of India’s nationalist movement in its fight against colonial rule. In the fight for independence, marked by feverish efforts towards fostering nationalism and unity, nationalism mutated from a goal to a tool and even a weapon in the hands of leaders from divergent backgrounds and ideologies. In examining the tensions between umbrella-nationalisms and mini-nationalisms, this book suggests why the problem of unity in diversity was and still remains unanswered. Patel’s idea of nationalism was defined both by his antecedents and the overpowering atmosphere of anti-colonialism then prevailing. Patel single-mindedly, often singlehandedly, and sometimes manipulatively, achieved a much-needed political unity for India.