We, as a nation, do not realise that great questions of the day are not settled by speeches and slogans but by sound and solid action. Ideas are important. But it is the constructive work alone that can "inject meaning into the veins of history and civilisation".
There is no one in modern India who has achieved so much in so many directions and in such a short time as Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel. At the time of his death, the Manchester Guardian wrote: "Without Patel, Gandhi's idea would have less practical influence and Nehru's idealism less scope. He was not only the organiser of the fight for freedom, but also the architect of the new state when the fight was over. The same man is seldom successful both as rebel and statesman. Sardar Patel was an exception."
Integration of States
Sardar Patel's integration over 560 princely states was really a great triumph for the sense of realism and responsibility. In respect of this great task, he has often been compared with Chancellor Bismarck who unified Germany in the late 19th century. But Patel's achievement is far more remarkable than that of Bismarck.
The latter had only to deal with about a dozen states; Patel had to handle 561. While Bismarck resorted to the policy of 'blood and iron', Patel brought about a bloodless revolution. He showed an amazing capacity to size up men and moments and strike when the iron was hot. Without splattering any blood
