I am writing this from memory. In 1975 the country celebrated the birth centenary of one of its greatest sons, Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel. He was born on December 15, 1875. A collection of his correspondences  between 1945 and 1950 was pulblished in many volumes as a tribute.

I also read a few volumes especially the one's which consist of considerable volume of letters exchanged between him and then prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru immediately after independence in 1947 and after. It is very uplifting to go through the correspondence both exchanged with each other. Apart from the economy of language what comes out strikingly is their mutual respect for each other and the deep commitment with which they are facing the aftermath of the partition and Pakistan's attack on Kashmir. The considerable frequency with which they exchange their views and consult each other to formulate responses does not indicate anywhere that the two had considerable differences as is now sought to be portrayed by vested interests.

However there is one incident that is worth recalling.

It seems the Sardar was carrying within himself a hurt feeling at having been not chosen as PM by Gandhiji, who instead chose Nehru. As a loyal follower of Gandhiji, the Sardar not only accepted the decision but also agreed to work in Nehru's cabinet as Deputy PM and India's first Home Minister.

However many of his so called well wishers would not let him forget  the fact that a majority of the members of the Congress Working Committee had recommended his name for the post of PM but had left the final decision to Gandhi. From time to time they would also tell him how he would have handled the situations better if he were in place of Nehru. The Sardar would disregard these biased opinions but somewhere they would register as after all he was also a human being.

As luck would have it it was announced that Nehru will be touring Gujarat and would also be visiting Karamsad the native and  karmabhoomi of Patel. The pent up feelings of Patel gave him an idea. He decided to visit Karamsad on the same day afternoon while Nehru would visit in the evening. The Sardar thought that the crowds that would greet him and attend his meeting would be not only massive but would be much larger than Nehru's meeting. He felt this would be a nice indication to Nehru that he was more popular than him.

Accordingly the Sardar planned his visit to Karamsad. He addressed a meeting in the afternoon and the crowds which came to listen to him were indeed massive. The Sardar felt satisfied and happy and concluded that he had achieved his intention of proving to Nehru his greater popularity. The Sardar was confident that Nehru would not be able to attract larger crowd than he had addressed in the afternoon.

In the evening when Nehru came to address the meeting a mammoth crowd had gathered. By any yardstick it was bigger than the afternoon crowds that assembled for Sardar's meeting. Sardar saw both the crowds and accepted the fact hat Nehru was more popular than him even in his own home town. He became full of remorse at harbouring such thought. He understood that Gandhi's decision to select Nehru was right.

On his return to Delhi, he wrote to Nehru detailing the entire negative flow of thoughts and their influence on his subsequent conduct at Karamasad. The letter was emotional in nature. Nehru's equally emotional reply is worth reading. Both recommitted to each other to work in unison for the welfare of the emerging nation.

The fact that Sardar writes to Nehru rather than keeping it to himself is what makes him a great person in the eyes of the ordinary reader. History would never have come to know about it. Yet Sardar writes a letter to Nehru and it is now part of history. Why?

Because the leaders at the time of the independence and soon thereafter were made from a different mould. They were honest not only with with each other but also to themselves. This is what made them great.They believed that their conscience has to be clean and then only they are qualified to advice and lead others. Therefore while they too were human beings, occasionally malicious thoughts would come to them also and they would act under its influence. They would later on realize their misdeed and then would atone for it. This is what separated them from ordinary leaders and gave them an aura. They were not afraid of owning up their mistakes. They wanted to be honest in their relationships.

No doubt Sardar was an above the ordinary person in fact much higher. It was because of this quality that everyone would accept him and follow him. It was also one of the very important contributory factors, in his immense success in bringing more than 500 princes, into the Indian nation at the time of partition.

The above incident shows the tremendous strength of character in the Sardar. It also shows humility and absence of a false sense of pride. No doubt Sardar Patel is revered and highly respected today also and will continue being remembered with dignity and respect always by Indians in future also.

When we see the legacy of such tall leaders being hijacked or debated by the pygmy leaders of today one is saddened. Rather than shine by their own contributions they want to fall back on these leaders of the past to reap sympathetic support from whom they consider gullible(?) public. Sardar Patel and Jawaharlal Nehru were the last of the tall leaders the country had the extreme good fortune to have at the right time during the birth of an independent India.

How one wishes we could have only one such inclusive leader in present day India. One should not lose hope.