Vallabhbhai Jhaverbhai Patel, commonly known as Sardar Patel, who served as the first Deputy Prime Minister and Home Minister of India from 1947 to 1950, was also known as the "unifier and the principal architect of modern India".

The 565 self-governing princely states under direct British rule had been released from British suzerainty under his leadership by the Indian Independence Act 1947.

He used his skills to consolidate India, which lay in a fragmented and fluid state at the time of independence in 1947. With his dire commitment to national integration, Patel persuaded almost every princely state to accede to India, earning him the nickname "Iron Man of India".

He is indeed the epitome of national unity and integrity. Participated in several movements against Britishers, Vallabhbhai Patel was born on October 31, 1875, in Nadiad city of Kheda district, Gujarat.