PATEL, VALLABHBHAI JHAVERBHAI

born Oct. 31, 1875, Nadiad, Gujarat, India died Dec. 15, 1950, Bombay byname Sardar Patel (Hindi: Leader Patel) Indian barrister and statesman, one of the leaders of the Indian National Congress during the struggle for Indian independence. During the first three years of Indian independence after 1947, he served as deputy prime minister, minister of home affairs, minister of information, and minister of states. Additional reading D.V. Tahmankar, Sardar Patel (1970), is an important biography. Michael Brecher, Nehru: A Political Biography (1959), includes the best analysis of the confrontation between Nehru and Patel. V.P. Menon, The Story of the Integration of the Indian States (1956, reprinted as Integration of the Indian States, 1985), highlights the role of Patel.