Vote Share and Seat share of Congress and BJP since 1952 .to 2009 Loksabha elections

Congress will lose more than half of its existing seats in 2014 Loksabha election (Prediction).

State	Total no of seats	Congress' Nos (2009)	Expected (2014)	Change
Andhra pradesh	42	33	7	-26
Arunachal	2	2	1	-1
Assam	14	7	8	1
Bihar	40	2	2	0
Chhattisgarh	11	1	3	2
Goa	2	1	1	0
Gujarat	26	11	4	-7
Haryana	10	9	5	-4
Himachal Pradesh	4	1	2	1
Jammu & Kashmir	6	2	1	-1
Jharkhand	14	1	1	0
Karnataka	28	6	14	8
Kerala	20	13	4	-9
Madhya Pradesh	29	12	6	-6
Maharashtra	48	17	11	-6
Manipur	2	2	2	0
Meghalaya	2	1	1	0
Mizoram	1	1	1	0
Nagaland	1	0	0	0
Odisha	21	6	9	3
Punjab	14	8	4	-4
Rajasthan	25	20	2	-18
Sikkim	1	0	0	0
TamilNadu	39	8	1	-7
Tripura	2	0	0	0
Uttar Pradesh	80	21	5	-16
Uttarakhand	5	5	0	-5
West Bengal	42	6	2	-4
Delhi	7	7	0	-7
Other UTs	5	1	1	0
Total	543	206	98	-108

Note: Expected results is based on recently held assembly elections , CSDS and CVoter opinion polls.

Kautilya's Arthashastra Translated to English by R. Shamasastry

The Arthashastra is an ancient Indian treatise on statecraft, economic policy and military strategy  author of the book is  'Kautilya"  also known as 'Viṣhṇugupta',and more popularly known as Chāṇakya (c. 350–283 BC), Chanakya was a scholar at Takshashila and the teacher and guardian of Emperor Chandragupta Maurya, the founder of Mauryan Empire.

Download the book from here:-

Sardar Patel and Nehru's correspondence on RSS' alleged role during Indo-Pak war 1947

Context: After Pakistani 'non state actors' and Pakistan military infiltrated Kashmir in 1947 , Maharaja Hari Singh sought help from India and signed instrument of accession .India airlifted troops and weapons to fight Pakistani militia/army. The correspondence between Sardar and Patel is about arms allegedly being diverted to RSS  which was supposed to reach Home guards .

In a letter dated 30 December 1947 Nehru claims of getting 'disturbing' news of arms that were supposed to be given to Home Guards were diverted to RSS.:-

I have received very disturbing news from Bakshi through the telephone about the way the arms that we have sent for him have been kept back and distributed to RSS people. While Jammu was in imminent danger a large part 01 the consignment of arms was just held back and Bakshi's  Home Guards were fighting often without rifles and always with too little ammunition and dying in the process.

It seems from a number of reports that have reached me that the RSS is being supported and armed at the cost of Bakshi's Home Guards and that propaganda is being openly carried on by posters and otherwise against Sheikh Abdullah. In some distant parts of the State where there are no invaders the RSS is creating trouble by sending their emissaries. I am inclined to think that Mahajan sympathizes with these activities and perhaps helps them.

Sardar's reply (dated 30 December 1947) expressing his serious doubt about Nehru's claims of Arms diversion.

Bakshi [Ghulam Mohammad] was practically the whole day with me yesterday. He took me to a public meeting and also to receive two or three deputations of Hindus and Muslims, but he never mentioned to me that he had any difficulty about his getting arms from the State authorities or that they were held back by them. In fact, I did not know that the consignment of arms was in charge of the State authorities.

Neither Bakshi nor anybody in Jammu informed me about the RSS activities there. Whatever may have been done by the RSS in the beginning, there seemed to be no evidence of their activities now.

Also Sardar immediately starts inquiry on same day (letter dated 30 December 1947) and shoots a letter to Mahajan asking for explanation 

..had a complaint from Bakshi that his Home Guards are not getting the firearms. I do not know how far this complaint is true. It would not be wise to give them any cause for complaint in such matters. It seems he has also complained that RSS people are being armed. You did not mention anything about it when I met you at Jammu. But you must make sure that no such thing happens.

Nehru reply's back to Sardar (30 December 1947) , 

The trouble about the distribution of arms is a fairly old one and has been discussed with the military authorities here several times. Bucher is very annoyed that the arms specially sent for Bakshi were not given to him. He has asked Kulwant Singh for an explanation.

Note: Bucher was later caught leaking secret military information to Pakistan  sacked from military service .Says a lot about the kind of people Nehru trusted.

Sardar replies back  (8th Jan 1948) after making inquiry from his side and finding that Nehru's suspicion was baseless  .

you wrote to me about a complaint from Bakshi Ghulam Mohammad that the Home Guards were not getting firearms sent by us, and that the latter were being directed to the RSS. There was a suggestion that His Highness and Mahajan were to blame for it.

I have now had enquiries made of Mahajan, and the position seems to be as follows. Neither His Highness nor Mahajan nor the Military Adviser of the State was told about the supply of these arms, and they had no information as to who got and distributed them. Subsequently, Mahajan ascertained that the arms were supplied to Major-General Kulwant Singh, and he has been giving them to Bakshi. Apparently, he has not complied with Bakshi's request for light machine-guns and mortars on the ground that there were no Home Guards fit to use these arms. It also appears that Bakshi ordered these arms for the Home Guards without any reference to His Highness or Mahajan.

As regards the complaint that the RSS were being armed, both His Highness and Mahajan have not ordered directly or indirectly any arms to be supplied to these people. There were complaints against some of the RSS people that they were creating mischief against the Muslims in the State. Mahajan called all the leaders and told them that this could not be tolerated. No arms were supplied whatsoever; actually there were not even sufficient arms to supply to the State forces. Some RSS men joined the militia which was raised by the State, but they were under military discipline and fought certain battles on the border.Sheikh Abdullah had taken charge. Mahajan says he has virtually had no connection whatsoever with this aspect of the State Administration.

Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel as described by his daughter Maniben Patel

 Maniben along with being  daughter  was also   personal aid  come secretary to her illustrious father . This article gives details about Sardar's likes and dislikes, his rift with Nehru ,answers "why did Gandhi choose Nehru over Sardar Patel ? "  , His role during the crucial moments of freedom struggle, partition negotiation, as home & deputy PM.

Maniben Patel's personal account on Sardar:-

Maniben with Sardar Patel

The Sardar was a man of few words. He wrote very little;he hardly kept any record of his public or party work. He destroyed letters addressed to him after reading them and replied by hand, not keeping copies. But after he was appointed Chairman of the Congress Parliamentary Board in 1934, files relating to it's transactions were kept.

When the Sardar fell ill towards the end of the Bardoli satyagraha in 1928, it was suggested that somebody should give him secretarial help. I said: "If someone is to be kept, why not I?" From 1929 until his death, I preserved his correspondence whenever possible. Once, when K. Gopalaswami, political commentator of the Times of India, visited him in his flat on Marine Drive, Bombay, the Sardar called for a letter he had received from C. Rajagopalachari, forgetting that he had torn it up and thrown it in the wastepaper basket. Fortunately, I had collected the pieces. It took me some time to paste them together before passing it on to him. This happened before the Interim Government was formed.

The Sardar traveled second-class by railway before he became a Minister. I would spread his bedding at night and retire to a third-class compartment. But from 1934, when there was much correspondence to attend to even on train journeys and people came to see him at stations, I kept company with him in his second-class compartment. I used to make copies of important letters he wrote in hand, but he would question this, asking why I was taking such trouble and wasting time. I also kept newspaper clippings of important events with which he was associated.

The Sardar read several newspapers and listened to radio news bulletins regularly. This enabled him to keep abreast of developments throughout the country.He also talked to people to get information to supplement other sources.

After 1945, the secretarial functions of the Congress Parliamentary Board were undertaken mainly by Shantilal Shah. The Sardar was undergoing treatment for intestinal trouble at the Nature Cure Clinic, Poona, when he sent for Shantilal Shah from Bombay. Shah, a Congress Socialist, hesitated at first because he did not know what was in store for him. But B. G. Kher (Premier of Bombay) advised him to take up the work. The Sardar told Shah he wanted him to act as his Secretary at the Parliamentary Board office located at the headquarters of the Bombay Pradesh Congress Committee.

The Sardar was a very shrewd judge of character. When he met a person for the first time he looked him up and down, and the assessment he made in that process rarely went wrong.

Once when Mathuradas Trikamji, Mayor of Bombay, asked what kind of men he kept round him, the Sardar replied that his was a "juggler's basket." He kept all kinds of people for the single aim of winning India's freedom. He used different people for different purposes. He was fully aware of their weaknesses and drawbacks but exploited their useful qualities.

The Sardar learnt punctuality in his youth when he had to do everything for himself. This experience taught him to save time by doing things according to schedule. This gave him self-reliance and at the same time an appreciation of the difficulties other people encountered. He walked on business errands rather than use transport. This habit served him well in London when he was attending the Inns of Court. He used to walk from his lodgings to the law library, a distance of several miles daily. He could not afford to buy books for study, and was at the library when the librarian opened it and left at closing time every evening.

The visit to England fulfilled two of my father's ambitions.He wanted to see the country from which people had come to conquer India and to qualify as a barrister. He had seen how even mediocre lawyers had been able to build up a large practice because they had been to London to study for the Bar. On his return to Ahmedabad, he established himself as the city's leading criminal lawyer.

When he was a district pleader at Borsad in the early 1900s, there was a British magistrate who kept a mirror in his court to study the faces of witnesses. This made witnesses nervous and the magistrate drew conclusions from their behavior about their truthfulness. The Sardar thought of a plan to make the officer behave. He demanded transfer to the district court of a case in which he was appearing before the magistrate. The Sardar presented him with a sealed letter. The magistrate opened the letter and saw his name heading the list of witnesses for the defense. He called the Sardar to his chamber for a talk. The accused was acquitted and the magistrate stopped using the mirror conceding that he had no right to do so. This incident illustrates a facet of my father's character.He had no fear of the British magistracy or administrators.

The Sardar was a man of regular habits and disliked armchair politicians. He read about Gandhiji's action in Champaran and was impressed by his methods of organising peasants to resist exploitation and oppression. Mahatma Gandhi was preoccupied with the agitation in Bihar and wanted somebody who would give up everything and devote ail his time to the satyagraha campaign in Kaira district organised as a protest against excessive land revenue. My father volunteered his services, and they were accepted.

Until that time the Sardar wore European dress. He was so fastidious that finding no good laundry in Ahmadabad he got his stiff collars washed in Bombay.

From early youth, the Sardar developed the qualities of leadership and discipline. In later life, these qualities were to help him in organizing large groups of people for action. Until the Bardoli movement, he was hardly known outside Gujarat. He did not go out of Gujarat until Gandhi's sentence of imprisonment for six years in 1922, when he went on a fund-raising mission forthe Gujarat Vidyapith as far east as Rangoon.

For years in Gujarat, whenever Gandhi addressed a public meeting the Sardar did not speak at it and later, when the Sardar spoke, other Congress leaders did not speak. This is an illustration of the discipline observed by Congressmen at the time. The leader spoke for them and the others showed their loyalty by action.

When Gandhiji started the swadeshi movement and burning of foreign clothes, the Sardar burnt all his European clothes, socks and hats. He never wore any type of headgear, even a khadt cap,after he cast aside his black Banglori cap. From then, he always wore dhoti and kurta and a chaddar on his shoulder, adding only a warm jacket in winter.

The satyagraha in Borsad Taluka, Kaira district, lasted a month. The provincial Government had levied a punitive tax of eight annas a large sum at that time per person on all the inhabitants for the maintenance of the preventive police. Even children were taxed. The campaign succeeded and in this satyagraha he gained the- title Suba of Borsad.

Another sphere in which the Sardar helped to raise the morale of the people of the area was connected with activities of dacoits. People dared not leave their house after 6 p.m. for fear of dacoits who infested the area. They appealed to the Sardar for help. He agreed, provided they did not allow their houses to be used for keeping stolen property.

In the Bardoli satyagraha, there was one organiser for every big village. The Sardar set out at noon from his headquarters and returned at midnight after visiting many villages. There was only one car, so all the other organisers journeyed on foot or by train or cart. The peasants accepted the Sardar as their unquestioned leader. Every morning, he received written reports from each village through volunteer messengers. The title Sardar of Bardoli was conferred on him by a party worker at a public meeting. It gained nationwide currency when Gandhiji started referring to him in this manner.

As head of Ahmedabad Municipality, the Sardar looked far ahead of immediate civic needs and planned accordingly, unlike some of his successors who made changes looking to short-term gains.

His qualities of leadership were recognized when he organised relief measures during the floods that hit Gujarat in 1927. He went round Ahmedabad city with the chief engineer and ordered a culvert to be broken to let the flood waters flow into the Sabarmati river. This saved the city from total inundation. He also persuaded the Bombay Government to provide more than a crore of rupees for relief to the flood victims. He sent help to the Collector of Kaira when the district was cut off from the rest of Gujarat Only the Collector's bungalow, which stood on a mound, was safe, and all the townfolk had gathered there for safety. The Sardar's men brought food and other necessities. 

The Sardar went to Calcutta for the Congress session over which Motilal Nehru presided. Even though his name had become a household word as the hero of Bardoli his physical appearance was not known. The volunteers of the Congress failed to identify him and since he did not carry a ticket he was not admitted to the pandal. The next day he carried his membership card and the volunteers were surprised when they found people shouting for the darshan of the Sardar of Bardoli and that the hero was the person the volunteers had kept out the previous, day.

The Sardar was favoured by the Provincial Congress Committe as the next party president, but Motilal Nehru wrote to Gandhiji asking that Jawaharlal should succeed him. Motilal wanted to see his son Congress chief before he died. My father agreed with Bapu (Gandhiji) that Motilalji's wish be fulfilled.

It was usual for the Congress President to attend annual sessions with large retinues. The Sardar went to the Karachi session in 1931 with only me and an aide, thus cutting drastically the expenses of the reception committee.

The outlook of the Sardar and of Nehru was vastly different. They agreed to differ, but at the same time worked together for the common cause of India's freedom. The influence of Mridula Sarabhai and Rafi Ahmad Kidwai on Nehru was to a large extent responsible for the rift between my father and Jawaharlal.

The Sardar became the party boss from the time he became head of the Parliamentary Board. He was also the parly's main fund-raiser. The Congress High Command, of which he was the mainspring, functioned as a moral prop for the Chief Ministers against the administrative machine directed by the British.

I used to sleep by the telephone to take calls that came at odd hours of the night so that the Sardar's sleep was not disturbed. I took down messages and passed them on to him the next morning. One such call came at midnight from Biswanath Das, then Premier of Orissa. He had decided to resign over the choice of a provincial official to act as Governor. The Sardar backed him and the Viceroy yielded.

I may recall a meeting the Sardar had with Bombay Governor Lumley in 1937 at Lumley's request. It lasted about an hour. Lumley told the Sardar that he would be Premier of Bombay, but the lands confiscated from the peasants of Bardoli would never be returned. The Sardar replied: "Note it down that I am not going to be Premier, and also that the lands will be returned to the peasants'

The Sardar took many unpopular decisions in party and Government matters, but his decisions were accepted because  he had no axe to grind. He was not amenable to threats or blackmail.

He had no property of his own and he was above extraneous considerations. He had nothing to lose, had no ambition and no desire to cling to office.

Once in Yeravda jail, Gandhiji asked in good humour what post he would like to hold after Independence. The Sardar replied he would become a sadhu. In 1945, when it had been decided to replace Azad as Congress President, the Sardar got the largest share of votes in the Working Committee. But Kripalani, one of the candidates, withdrew in favour of Nehru and handed a paper to the Sardar to withdraw his nomination as well so that Nehru could be elected unopposed.

Gandhiji, to whom this matter was referred, told Nehru: "I don't want to make you a prop of mine if people don't want you." Nehru kept silent and was selected President. Gandhiji supported Nehru's choice as Prime Minister because he was well known outside India. He compared the Sardar and Nehru to two bullocks yoked to a cart. He felt that if Nehru was made Prime Minister he would be prevented from "making mischief" in the country.

When the Sardar became Home Member and later on Deputy Prime Minister, anybody could call on him during his morning walk from 4.30 to 6.30. He was a fast walker and few could keep pace with him. They told him what they wanted and then they would drop out when the dialogue was over. He gave brief answers and listened mostly. For party workers and others this was an opportunity for opening their hearts to him. At the end of an hour's listening, the Sardar would probably reply in a couple of words. He arranged assistance for even the humblest party worker who needed it. He provided hospitalisation if necessary. After his illness in March 1948 his medical advisers stopped morning walks completely and restricted his interviews.

In 1941, he was afflicted with severe intestinal trouble. He woke around 3,30 every morning because of pain in the bowels .He spent an hour in the toilet before setting out on his morning walk. He had a cup of tea and breakfast, which consisted of a piece of toast and apple juice. In these early morning hours,b efore going for a walk, I did my quota of spinning. After breakfast, Private Secretary V. Shankar came in with office files. The Sardar looked through the morning newspapers carefully and rarely missed any significant news. He gave oral instructions to Shankar. As before, he would write as little as possible. When in good health, he left home around 9.30 for the Home Ministry, returned for lunch and after a nap of 15 minutes went to the Information and Broadcasting Ministry.

I looked after the Sardar's Gujarati correspondence while Shankar attended to that in English. I passed on some of the correspondence in Hindi to Shankar. Morarji Desai had recommended Shankar as Private Secretary, The Sardar invited him to lunch to look him over before selecting him for the post.

The Partition Committee set up under the Mountbatten Plan and consisting of as many as 30 to 40 officers, would come to the Sardar's house and stay up to lunch receiving instructions from him. Its members had to report back to him in the evening. Every order he issued had to be executed within 24 hours. He rang up Premiers at night when he had a particular issue to discuss with them. He was against wasting money on telephone calls on matters that were not urgent. I kept a diary of all private trunk calls, for which Sardar paid out of his own pocket.

I recall another instance of his method of work. There was a crisis in the jute industry. The Sardar phoned G. C. Desai, Commerce Secretary, and M. P. Birla, Chairman of the Indian Jute Manufacturers' Association, Calcutta, and others every night to check on developments. Similarly, at the time of the Bombay riots and disturbances elsewhere, he made phone calls at night to find out what was happening. He made calls to Punjab and Bengal and UP at the time of the partition troubles.

The Sardar was not impolite or arrogant in his dealings with people. He replied promptly to correspondence. He read all the letters addressed to him personally and generally told the officer concerned how he should reply. He never signed letters or any other document blindly. When he was not fully satisfied with a draft, he would change it himself or ask the officer concerned to redraft it. He liked precision and conciseness in letters. He would say that this was "not a place for essays" or for exhibiting one's command of English.

Mountbatten recognize the Sardar's greatness. I was the only other person present when the Sardar had a talk with Bapu between 4 and 5 p.m. on the day of his assassination. Bapu had decided to release the Sardar from the Ministry at the latter's instance, but Mountbatten strongly opposed this because he felt that the Sardar "had his feet on the ground while Nehru had his in the clouds." He told Gandhiji that he could not release the Sardar. Gandhiji agreed and withdrew his decision.It was agreed at the conversation on January 30 afternoon that Gandhiji, Nehru and the Sardar should sit together and iron out their differences. But this meeting was never held.

The Sardar was greatly upset by the slander campaign against him at that time in certain Congress and Government circles. He was worried at heart that Gandhiji had to defend him continually against these slanders.

Previously, when Nehru lived at York Road and the Sardar just across on Aurangzeb Road, they used to meet every day, even though for a few minutes. Nehru would sometimes drop in after lunch, or in the evening or at night after dinner. They walked together and discussed matters. The Sardar would walk with Nehru up to the gate of the latter's house on York Road and see him off there or they would return together to Aurangzeb Road.

These daily meetings and talks cleared misunderstandings, but this dialogue became very difficult after Nehru moved to the house of the former Commander-in-Chief on Teen Murti Marg. If he had not moved there on Mountbatten's advice, much of their later differences might never have developed. Because of his illness, the Sardar was not able to go to Nehru's house frequently.

When there were party matters to be attended to, the Sardar requested the AICC General Secretary to call at his house for instructions. The Working Committee met at the Sardar's residence since there was no good AICC office building at that time in Delhi. The provincial Premiers constantly sought his guidance, and he was a great help to them in their encounters with members of the bureaucracy or party dissidents.

The administrations of the new states formed after integration lacked capable men to guide them. But in those areas where party members had carried out constructive work under the Sardar's direction before independence, such men were available. This was so in Kathiawar and Gujarat. Elsewhere in the country, party workers in the former states had only indulged in agitation and there was no solid foundation for their work.

The Sardar did not aspire to prime ministership or any other high office. He once said that if India had won Swaraj ten years earlier he would have solved the food problem as he had solved that of the states. He added: "But I have not the -strength to do so now." He considered food the country's most important problem after consolidation. He was essentially a man of action, averse to writing. His philosophy of life may besummed up in the words: "Why not create history rather than waste time writing it?"

Reference :- Sardar Patel's Correspondence vol. 1.

Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel on separate electorate to Muslims and Muslim reservation

Occasion: During the debate in parliament on separate electorate for Muslims.

Dated.: August 28 1947.

Sardar Patel puts it bluntly , those who want separate electorate have "no place" in India.  Also asks to adopt themselves , "Change your attitude" .  Also like a true secular  he says there will be no "Injustice" and "Generosity" . 

Relevant part of "separate electorate" debate :-

So far as the amendment (separate electorate for Muslims) moved by the representative of the Muslim League is concerned, I find that I was mistaken in my Impression.and if I had believed this, I,would certainly not have agreed to any reservation at all. . 

When I agreed to the reservation an the population basis, I thought that our friends of the Muslim League will see the reasonableness of our attitude and allow themselves to accommodate themselves to the changed conditions after the separation of the country. But I now find them adopting the same methods which were adopted when the separate electorates were first introduced in this country, and in spite of ample sweetness in the language used there is a full dose of poison in the method adopted. . 

Therefore,I regret to say that if I lose the affection of the younger brother (by younger brother SVP means Indian Muslim elder being Indian Hindus), I am prepared to lose it because the method he wants to adopt would bring about his death. I would rather lose his affection and keep him alive. If this amendment is lost, we will lose the affection of the younger brother, but I prefer the younger brother to live so that he may see the wisdom of the attitude of the elder brother and he may still learn to have affection for the elder brother.

Now, this formula has a history behind it and those who are in the Congress will be able to remember that history. In Congress history this is known as the Mohammad Ali Formula. Since the introduction of separate electorates in this land there were two parties amongst the Muslims. One was the Nationalist Muslims or the Congress Muslims and the other the Muslim League members, or the representatives of the Muslim League. There was considerable tension on this question and at one time there was a practical majority against this joint electorate. But a stage was reached when, as was pointed out by the Mover of this amendment in Allahabad a settlement was reached. Did we stand by that settlement ? No. We now have got the division of the country. In order to prevent the separation of the country this formula was evolved by the nationalist Muslims, as a sort of half-way house, until the nation becomes one; we wished to drop it afterwards. But now the separation of the country is complete and you say, let us introduce. it again and have another separation. I do not understand this method of affection. Therefore, although I would not have liked to say anything on this motion, I think it is better that we know our minds perfectly each other, so that we can understand where we stand. If the process that was adopted, which resulted in the separation of the country, is to be repeated, then I say : Those who want that kind of thing have a place in Pakistan, not here  

Here, we are building a nation and we are laying the foundations of One Nation, and those who choose to divide again and sow the seeds of disruption will have no place, no quarter, here, and I must say that plainly enough.  

Now, if you think that reservation necessarily means this clause as you have suggested, I am prepared to withdraw the reservation for your own benefit. If you agree to that, I am prepared, and I am sure no one in this House will be against the withdrawal of the reservation if that is a satisfaction to you.  

You cannot have it both ways. Therefore, my friends, you must change your attitude, adapt yourself to the changed conditions. And don't pretend to say "Oh, our affection is very great for you". We have seen your affection. Why talk of it ? Let us forget the affection. Let us face the realities. Ask yourself whether you really want to stand here and cooperate with us or you want again to play disruptive tactics. Therefore when I appeal to you, I appeal to you to have a change in your heart, not a change in the tongue, because that won't pay here. Therefore, I still appeal to you : "Friends, reconsider your attitude and withdraw your amendment". Why go on saying "Oh, Muslims were not heard; Muslim amendment was not carried". If that is going to pay you, you are much mistaken, and I know how it cost me to protect the Muslim minorities here under the present condition and in the present atmosphere. Therefore, I suggest that you don't forget that the days in which the agitation of the type you carried on are closed and we begin a new chapter.

Therefore, I once more appeal to you to forget the past. Forget what has happened. You have got what you wanted. You have got a separate State and remember, you are the people who were responsible for it, and not those who remain in Pakistan. You led the agitation. You got.it. What is it that you want now ? I don't understand. In the majority Hindu provinces YOU, the minorities, you led the agitation. You got the partition and now again you tell me and ask me to say for the purpose of Securing the affection of the younger brother that I must agree to the same thing again, to divide the country again in the divided part. For God's sake, understand that we have also got some sense. Let us understand the thing clearly. Therefore when I say we must forget the past, I say it sincerely. There will be no injustice done to you. There will be generosity towards you, but there must be reciprocity. If it is absent, then you take it from me that no soft words can conceal what is behind your words. Therefore, I plainly once more appeal to you strongly that let us forget and let us be one nation.

Entire debate can be found here :- http://parliamentofindia.nic.in/ls/debates/vol5p9a.htm

Unbiased biographies on Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel

1. Transfer of Power in India V.P.Menon




2. The story of  the integration of the Indian States by V.P.Menon

3. My Reminiscences of Sardar Patel  (Vol 1)

4. My Reminiscences of Sardar Patel  (Vol2)

Excerpts from MKK Nair's biography reveals that Nehru called Sardar Patel a 'communalist'.

Excerpts from MKK Nair's biography Translated to english by Meena Das Narayan:-

MKK Nair with Nehru , B .C.Roy, V.K.Krishna Menon, Indira Gandhi

The comments on the purported Patel-Nehru spat appear in Chapters 19 and 20 where MKK explains the hostile designs of the Nizam of Hyderabad. He says the Nizam and some British officers were working to thwart any attempt by the Indian government to take the state over.

It was MKK’s job that had made him a party to the accession story. Starting off as a divisional accountant in the princely state of Travancore in 1941, MKK joined the army as a civilian gazetted officer and was posted as planning officer at the Secunderabad Ordnance Depot in 1943.

This made him friendly with the Nizam’s top officials and privy to much of the information surrounding the Nizam. The nationalist in MKK saw to it personally that these were brought to the notice of Patel, the then Union home minister.

“The information was sent through a human courier. Although father does not mention the name of the courier in the book, he identified him as one Mr Viswanathan in an article published in another Malayalam weekly in the 1980s. Viswanathan hailed from Kollam in Kerala and was junior to him in the depot,” Krishnan said.

MKK met Patel once during a visit to Delhi. “Patel had the habit of taking a walk around his house at 5am. That was when I reached the house and told his security to pass on a message that I had come from Hyderabad with a very important message,” the book says.

“Patel called me inside and instantly sensed that I should be the man who was sending him the information. After leaving instructions with his PA, he introduced me to daughter Maniben saying, ‘This is our own man’.”

The author brings alive the drama that preceded the army action culminating in the integration of Hyderabad into the Indian Union. He narrates how V.P. Menon worked overtime and devised plans that cajoled and at times threatened the 565 princely states into falling in line.

MKK recounts that Nehru, Patel and then Governor-General C. Rajagopalachari were equally concerned about the anarchy in Hyderabad.

At a cabinet meeting, Patel explained the Nizam’s pro-Pakistan moves and demanded the army be deployed to bring an end to the “reign of terror”.

The book says an infuriated Nehru retorted: “You are a communalist. I will never support your suggestion.”

An upset Patel walked out and relations between the two dipped to such an extent that they would rarely even talk.

As the situation in Hyderabad kept worsening, Rajaji discussed matters with V.P. Menon. The next day, he summoned Nehru and Patel to his residence.

That day, while VP too was on his way to Rajaji’s residence, a civil service officer named Buch waved his car to stop and pushed a letter into his hands.

It was a letter from the British high commissioner and conveyed Britain’s displeasure at the rape and murder of a few nuns in a Hyderabad convent by the Razakar militia a few days earlier. VP handed the letter over to Rajaji.

During the talks initiated by Rajaji, Nehru kept insisting he was more concerned about the international image of the country. That was when Rajaji decided to use the “brahmastra” and produced the British high commissioner’s letter.

That changed the situation and a visibly infuriated Nehru too agreed to military action, the book says.

The differences between Patel and Nehru were not limited to the Hyderabad action, MKK says. Patel was also critical of Nehru’s Northeast policy.

“Patel strongly resisted Nehru’s plans to bring the Northeast under the external affairs ministry, but there was no one else in the cabinet to oppose Nehru. This policy made it easier for Christian missionaries to spread the feeling among the people (of the Northeast) that they were different from Indians,” says MKK.

He also puts some personal onus on Nehru for creating the Indian Frontier Administrative Service to choose the officials to administer the northeastern areas.

MKK argues that the mode of selection was ineffective and this created a band of ill-trained officials whose lack of expertise could be blamed for the rise of separatism in the Northeast.

The author also refers to two purported notes issued by Nehru after Patel’s death. The notes sent to the ministry of states first reached V.P. Menon.

The first note gave the instruction that the Cadillac used by Patel be returned to the external affairs ministry the very next day. The other note said that if any official wanted to attend Patel’s funeral (he had died in Mumbai), they should do so at their own expense.

Menon didn’t tell his officials about the note and personally saw to it that those who wanted to go to Mumbai were given flight tickets at Menon’s own expense. This too angered Nehru and Menon was sidelined after Patel’s death, the book says.

MKK says Patel was affectionate towards Menon and cites as example his reaction after Menon had a spat with a powerful Congress leader.

“Once, during a visit to Thiruvananthapuram, Menon was staying at the Residency building when the leader Nesamani called on him. Menon treated him to his favourite whisky. Nesamani quickly hit a high and started abusing Menon and had to be evicted by a security guard…. Nesamani subsequently wrote to Patel complaining that Menon was a drunkard and had insulted him,” the book says.

“Menon had not returned to Delhi this time. On receiving the complaint, Patel summoned his personal secretary, V. Sankar, and asked him if Menon had the habit of drinking. Sankar replied in the affirmative, to which Patel wanted to know Menon’s brand. ‘Menon drinks only whisky,’ said Sankar to which pat came Patel’s reply: ‘Then you should advise all secretaries that they should take Scotch whisky hereafter’.”

Gopakumaran says that although MKK speaks of the Nehru-Patel spat, the book makes it clear that the author had great respect for Nehru who had asked him to head the Bhilai Steel Plant at a time its construction appeared to be dragging.

Also read : http://ratthes.blogspot.in/2013/10/mkk-nairs-memoir-reveals-there-were.html

Sardar Patel had advised Hindus and Sikhs to 'fight for their survival during partition days.

V.Shankar was IAS and personal secretory of Sardar Patel . He served Sardar Patel during critical times of partition and unification of princely states . Excerpts from his book "My reminiscences of Sardar Patel"  :-


"They either met Sardar in private interviews or during his walks. Gavind Ballabh Pant, who was then the Chief Minister of U.P. and his entourage were, of course, always at Sardar's beck and call. Pantji shared Sardar's confidence to a degree that few could realise from outside, and both of them used to be locked together in confidential discussions for several minutes off and on. Even during those days, Sardar used to be greatly disturbed by the stream of refugees that was crossing over from the Muslim areas to East Punjab, Delhi and west Uttar Pradesh. Many of them would come to'Delhi and Mussoorie to describe to Sardar the widespread sufferings and hardships that were being experienced by the Hindus and Sikhs in North-west India. Hearing these, Sardar became more and .more convinced that the Hindu and Sikh minorities had no future in Pakistan. Whilst he did realise the desperateness of their plight, he could not counsel them to make a concerted attempt to leave their homes in the hope that the League leaders might relent and the presence of Muslims in India might yet induce the Muslims of Pakistan-to-be to desist from their mad course of action He, therefore, advised the Hindus and Sikhs to organise themselves for their own protection and to fight out the battle of their survival I remember his having told a deputation on one occasion, more or less'in Gandhian style that it was better to die fighting than to flee like a coward."

MKK Nair's Memoir reveals there were wide differences between Sardar Patel and Nehru .

Excerpts from MKK Nair's memoir translated to English by Meena Das Narayan :-

MKK Nair

The meeting started with the arrival of Nehru and Patel at the Rashtrapati Bhavan. Rajaji, in his natural and unconventional manner described the situation in Hyderabad and focused on the necessity of taking an immediate decision to save the reputation of the country. Nehru spoke about the implications that it might bring in the international arena. 

Then Rajaji revealed his trump card, the British High Commissioner’s letter. Nehru read it and his face reddened with fury, he jumped and banged on the table.

“We should not waste a single second to teach them a lesson,” Nehru said vehemently. Rajaji asked V.P. Menon to instruct the Commander to proceed as per planned.

V.P. Menon called General Busher from there itself and gave instructions. Nehru sat holding his head with both hands; he then drank some tea and remained silent. 

Seeing his stunned reaction, Rajaji, smiled and said, “If it is cancerous, it should be removed, though it might be painful”.

V.P. Menon who returned to his office immediately arranged to do the rest of the work. The commander of Pakistani army too was British. He harbored an enmity towards the Indian leaders. General Busher, while taking over charge from General Lackuheart had sworn in the almighty’s name, his allegiance to India. 

As soon as he got the instruction, he called Rajendra Singh and Rajendra Singh, in his turn issued orders to General Chaudhary to start the action at 3 in the morning. In the evening, at 7, Busher contacted Karachi and spoke with the Pakistan Army Commander. Their conversation was in French.

Next day morning at 10.00 V.P.Menon came to Busher’s room. Busher, assuming that V.P.Menon had come to learn the progress of action, started briefing V.P.Menon on this. Then V.P.Menon interrupted him, “I have learned about this Busher. I came for something else. Did you talk with the Pakistan Commander, yesterday evening?” Busher’s face changed colour. The conversation went thus:

“V.P. Do you mean that we, friends, should never talk?”

“Was it just a friendly talk?’

“You doubt it?’

“Then, why did you talk in French?”

“So, you have started tapping our phones!’

“If required, we have to do that too, right? Was it just a friendly talk?’

“Of course”

V.P.Menon then handed a paper to Busher. It contained the transcript of the French conversation and its English translation. The conversation went thus: 

Busher: “Hyderabad invasion would start tonight. Might not last long. If you want to do something, do it fast.” 

Pakistan Commander: “Thanks, I will inform Liyaqat Ali. Jinnah is sinking.”

Busher: “After carrying out my duty, I am all yours thereafter.”

Dumbfounded, Busher looked pleadingly at V.P. Menon, blurting out, “What should I do V.P. I made a mistake. I apologize for that”

V.P. Menon asked “Wasn’t it you, who swore by the Bible, your allegiance to India?”

Busher pleaded again, “V.P. Please help me out. I am ready for any sort of penalty. Don’t put me to disgrace. In the name of our friendship, please help me”

V.P. Menon returned with Busher’s resignation which cited reasons of ‘personal and health related problems,’ he was immediately replaced by General Kariyappa.

General Choudhary’s army rushed into Hyderabad. The Nizam’s army could not resist it. Shells which backfired from the guns which could shoot cartridges weighing twenty-five stones (a measurement) destroyed some of them. These guns are yet, another interesting story.

One battalion of the Nizam’s army had earlier participated in World War. They were promised with free weapons from Indian Army for this participation and thus were given many weapons and ammunition from the Secunderabad depot. 

Among those, were four guns, which could shoot cartridges weighing 25 stone. These types of guns had a recoil system built in them. This recoil system would prevent the bouncing back of the guns, which, otherwise would backfire the balance ammunition and would kill even those who used it. 

When Nizam’s orders came for these guns, M.S.Ram was the one had custody of the guns. One Nateshan, a Tamilian, was working under Ram. Before giving Nizam these guns, the Ram and Nateshan had pulled out the recoil system. The Nizam’s military officer didn’t realise this trick and hence when they used these guns against the Indian Army, they ended harming themselves.

The invasion, which started on August 14, progressed smoothly and reached Hyderabad on 16th. The Nizam’s Commander informed him that he had no other alternative but to surrender.

The Nizam, who wanted to come out of this mess at any cost didn’t hesitate to sacrifice anyone for achieving this. The Nizam asked Munshi to contact Delhi and secretly expressed his desire to sign in the ‘Instrument of Action.’ The main reason behind this move was bad news, which came from Karachi. Ali and Rizvi, the men who were behind the blood bath of Hyderabad were stunned by the news of Jinnah’s death and Rizvi vanished from the scene.

Within hours of getting the Nizam’s message, V.P. Menon flew from Delhi to Hyderabad. He was not content with getting the Nizam’s mere signature in the ‘Instrument of Action.’ He also made the Nizam issue a declaration of unconditional allegiance to India and forced him to hand over the documents transferring the money stored in London’s bank to the account of Indian Government. V.P. Menon returned only after putting the state under the General Choudhary’s martial rule.

V.P Menon is a name to be written in golden letters in the history of India. But, even today, he hasn’t got the credit that he truly deserved. It was Nehru and some others who had wronged him the most. 

During the final days of the freedom struggle he was part and parcel of many of the crucial discussions that were held and he was the one and only Indian who could even guide Nehru and Patel on matters related with the transfer of power. He used to analyze each and every situation that arose and advised Patel on the course of action to be taken. 

It is because of his service that India emerged without much harm during the partition. The main issue, which came up after the independence, was that of the Princely States. 

It was hardly a month before August 15, which V.P. Menon pulled out a willful Instrument of Action to lure the kings of the Princely States and gave it to Mountbatten. Mountbatten asked Patel to call these Heads of State and, Patel promised to restore them their privileges and rights once they signed the treaty. 

As per this condition, V.P.Menon talked with the kings and made them sign the treaty. Among the 565 such states, all, except Hyderabad, Kashmir and Junegad gave their approval even before August 15. 

V.P.Menon was the man behind all these moves. He was also the man behind the Previ-Purse system. The system was to give an annual fixed allowance to the rulers during their life time, which would start diminishing with the successive heirs and would gradually come to nil. 

The lure of this system along with the possible dire consequences of a refusal forced many of these Princely States to succumb. And this is how the states of Rajasthan, Patiala, and also vast and enormous states of Madhya Pradesh, Vindhya Pradesh and Travancore-Cochi were formed.

V.P. Menon had communicated with these Princely States on the belief that Government offer was concrete. Nehru didn’t concede to VP’s request for adding a paragraph in the Constitution to ensure that these treaties would prevail. It was only when V.P. chose to quit and let everyone know his reason that Nehru finally agreed to add such a paragraph in the Constitution. But Nehru, thereafter, drew away from V.P. Menon.

Nehru and Patel had wide difference of opinion in most issues. Patel had pointed out the drawbacks in Nehru’s approach. Now, everyone will readily agree that it was Nehru’s such policies that brought much harm to the North-Eastern provinces. 

But at that time, unlike other states, when Nehru decided to bring these North-Eastern states under the Foreign Affairs Ministry, Patel strongly protested, but to no avail. 

It therefore became easy for the Christian Missionaries to prove to the inhabitants that they were foreigners, as they were under Foreign Affairs. Nehru even started a separate Service to look after this administration. The selection of officers was similar to the selection to Indian Foreign Service in its initial stages. Hence, except a few, those who joined in that service were inefficient and lacked experience. 

It was the inefficiency of these administrators coupled with the inefficiency of those in External Affairs that was the root cause of anti-national movements in Nagaland, Mizoram, Manipur and Assam highlands.

The difference in opinion between Nehru and Patel, finally ended in Nehru’s personal animosity against Patel. If Nehru, the great leader didn’t bear this personal grudge, the following two things would not have occurred. The day Patel died, Nehru sent two notes to State Affairs Ministry, which incidentally reached V.P.Menon. The first one was to surrender the Cadillac car used by Patel to the Foreign Affairs Ministry. Patel died in Bombay. 

The second note was that, in case anyone wished to attend the funeral ceremony of Patel they should do it at their own expense. When he received this note, V.P. Menon summoned all the officers to his Ministry and without disclosing the content of note, collected the names of officers who wished to attend the function and bought them two-way tickets to Bombay from his own pocket. This incident too infuriated Nehru. 

After August 15, V.P. became the Cabinet Secretary. The biggest refugee flow, the communal riots, Pakistan’s attack on Kashmir, all these events frustrated the administration much. 

Senior secretaries, felt that their ministers, who were naïve in the field of administration might run the risk of falling into prejudices and committing follies, decided to meet every Friday informally at their residences, on a rotational basis and discuss each and every issues that come up and advise their respective ministers. 

H.V.R Iyengar, who was the then Private Secretary of Nehru and who used to attend these weekly meetings used to inform Nehru about whatever was discussed in such meetings. V.P. Menon had an excellent skill in imitating others, and during one such meeting, he imitated Nehru and entertained everyone. Next day, when Nehru met V.P. Menon, he remarked “V.P. I didn’t know that you were good in mimicry” to which VP promptly replied, “Just because we gained independence, I don’t think that we should rein our sense of humour as well.”

But, with this incident, V.P. Menon summoned the secretaries to his home and called for a halt of such Friday meetings.

M.O. Mathai too had contributed in widening the gap between Nehru and V.P. Menon. Many of you may be aware of the false case in which Panampilly Govinda Menon was accused. Though later acquitted in the infamous ‘Five and a Half Lakh issue’ as the case was popularly known, Keralites didn’t stop crucifying Govinda Menon any further.

Sardar Patel who was very impressed by Govinda Menon wanted him to stay away from Kerala politics for a couple of years and asked V.P. Menon to look out for any possibility of sending Govinda Menon as the head of any Foreign Embassy. 

K.P.S.Menon was the Secretary of Foreign Affairs then. V.P. Menon made contact with K.P.S.Menon, within next few days, K.P.S.Menon replied that Govinda Menon could be posted as the Representative in Singapore and for that a formal note was required. V P Menon, with Patel’s permission gave a note to K.P.S.Menon who presented it to Nehru. 

All the papers that went to Nehru passed through the hands of his ‘head priest’ M.O.Mathai, his stenographer. As soon as Mathai got V.P. Menon’s note, he invited Govinda Menon, who was then residing at Western Court in Delhi, for supper. The day after the dinner, Mathai presented this note to Nehru, with his own note on top, in another sheet of paper, scribbled in a feminine handwriting.

“As there is a chance of deputing Panampilly Govinda Menon as our representative in Singapore and in order to confirm that he suits that position well, as well as Panditji’s concepts, I invited him for a dinner. I was sorry to find out that he doesn’t have any table manners and he even doesn’t know how to use a fork and knife”.

On seeing Mathai’s note, Nehru was angry and in the evening when he met V.P. he asked him. “Since when did our State Affairs Ministry start posting representatives to Foreign Embassies?”

V.P. didn’t understand the significance of this question and asked him to be more explicit.

“Wasn’t it you who have decided to make Govinda Menon our representative in Singapore?” 

V.P. Menon took offence and promptly retorted, “The precedence of the Government is to get approval of Ministers on any important policy matters. When K P S Menon agreed to this proposal, I thought that it was with your consent. Even the talk I had with KPS was with the permission of my Minister. I didn’t know that under your Ministry, things were done in a different way”.

Anyway, Nehru disapproved Govinda Menon’s posting, subsequent to his stenographer’s assessment that Govinda Menon didn’t know to use fork and knife.

Notes:

Govinda Menon was a great and eminent politician, he was the Chief minister of Kerala and Cabinet Minister centrally of India for Law. Admired by all, Govinda Menon came from a middle class Nair family and also was a member of the Union Cabinet. 

Reference:-

http://www.twitlonger.com/show/msuog5

http://www.twitlonger.com/show/msuoko

http://www.twitlonger.com/show/msuphu

Further reading on differences between Sardar Patel and Nehru :-

http://blog.lkadvani.in/blog-in-english/sardar-patel%E2%80%99s-stupendous-achievement

https://groups.google.com/forum/#!msg/alt.religion.hindu/oImi47avJAI/ILATzGPzGToJ

http://blogs.timesofindia.indiatimes.com/indus-calling/entry/the-sardar