ગુજરાતી
English
150th Birth Anniversary of Sardar Patel
Dilip Patel
Ahmedabad, October 30, 2025
On October 31st, ‘Ek Bharat Shreshtha Bharat’ will be celebrated in Ektanagar in the presence of Prime Minister Modi and a National Unity Parade will be held. However, the Narendra Modi government, which has shamed the British, has committed atrocities on the parade ground.
This year, a marching parade will be held in Ektanagar on October 31st, modeled on the Republic Day parade held every year in New Delhi on January 26th. Indira Gandhi’s death anniversary also falls on October 31st.
Arrival at Ektanagar helipad on October 30th at 5 p.m. 25 e-buses will be launched.
Inauguration and foundation stone laying of projects worth ₹1,220 crore will be held, including the laying of the foundation stone for the Narmada Dam.
Will meet with students of the National School of Drama.
Will address them. At 10:45 a.m., he will hold an inauguration ceremony and address a gathering of approximately 800 IAS and IPS officers at the SOU. He will depart for Delhi from Vadodara.
He will inaugurate Phase Two of the Walkway, Phase Two of the Smart Bus Stop, the land leveling of the security wall near Weir Dam, the Satpura Security Wall (near Cactus), the Bonsai Garden, the e-bus charging station, the Narmada Ghat parking, new residential buildings, the access road near Mokhadi, the Kaushalya Path, the Limdi Tent City access road, the garden, the expansion of the Tata Narmada Ghat, and the dam replica.
A joint rifle drill by personnel, a heli march by the NSG, a motorcycle daredevil show by the Assam Police and an Indian breed dog show by the BSF, traditional martial arts by women personnel of the CISF and ITBP, and a band performance by the SSB and NCC cadets will also be highlights.
Arrangements have been made for a crowd of 11,500 people to watch the parade. Rehearsals for this unity parade have been underway in Kevadia for the past five days.
The government acquires tribal lands and gives them to people on token basis, who then trade with them. The government has acquired only 700 acres of land in six villages, but 2,700 acres remain unacquired. Therefore, the government has given this land on token basis to Nihar Hatal, SRP, and the Swaminarayan Sanstha. Now, those who make money from people by building guest houses and hotels should return these lands, as no one has received compensation or given up possession of the land. Therefore, we have passed 22 resolutions demanding that our lands be returned to us and that no development work be carried out without the permission of the village panchayat.
Struggle under the Statue of Unity
Where is the ancestral land of his five brothers in Karamsad?
When Sardar Patal passed away, his family received 10 lakh rupees. A bank balance of ₹216, 4 pairs of coarse khadi clothes, 2 pairs of slippers, a box of papers, a rentio, 2 tiffins, a stove, and an aluminum lottery ticket—the man with such wealth possessed a talent greater than the position of Prime Minister.
A land dispute has erupted over the world’s tallest statue of Sardar Patel.
Land dispute for building construction for 33 states
Adivasis are protesting the allocation of hundreds of acres of land.
Shoot us, but return the land. Bomb us or blow us up with cannons, but give us land for our descendants.
Why are you giving our land to other states?
Kevadia, Kothi, Navgam, Limdi, Wagadia, and Gora, a total of 6 villages, and 7 villages along the Weir Dam, whose land was lost to the Narmada Dam, are again gathering near Sardar’s statue and protesting. People are demanding employment. Local workers are being fired to make way for new employees. Local tribals are being neglected for jobs in the Statue of Unity project.
The government has seized the land of 13 villages and 7,500 tribals in this area.
The land of Kevadia village was seized by the Gujarat government in 1961, as soon as the state became independent, for the construction of the Narmada Dam. Now, because this land is being used for recreation instead of the dam, the tribals are demanding their land back. In fact, the tribals have been demanding this land from the government for 65 years, but the government is not returning it.
Instead of the Narmada River, the government is using the land for other purposes and building houses for people from downstream states.
Officials from other states arrive with police convoys, measure the land and claim it as theirs. Each time, the tribals protest.
The dependent and incompetent government of Gujarat does not listen to the poor tribals.
Chhotu Vasava, MLA from the Jhagadia Assembly constituency, has opposed the Statue of Unity. He called it a conspiracy to eliminate tribals and announced his intention to oppose its inauguration on October 31, 2018. He further stated that this is a commercial initiative. It will not benefit tribals. No food will be cooked in any household in 72 villages. This project is for our destruction.
Commercial Government
Land acquired for the dam, but converted into hotels
According to tribal allegations, tent cities, various buildings, hotels, and a railway station are currently being constructed on land acquired for the Narmada Dam and canals. Tribals believe they have been betrayed and defrauded. Since the intended purpose has been violated, they have demanded that the lands be returned to their original owners.
A procession was taken out and the police stopped it. Therefore, black flags were hoisted, which were witnessed by all the dignitaries of the country.
Protests against Madhya Pradesh by showing black flags
The BJP’s Sardar Ekta Yatra was opposed at 200 places in the tribal areas of Gujarat.
Tribal Protests
On December 31, 2018, the tribal community called for a Gujarat bandh. 75,000 households in tribal areas remained without food.
Employment for people from other states
Railway station land also private
The railway line from Chandod to Kevadia passes through the fields of approximately 500 farmers.
Farmers are strongly opposing the railway line passing through there.
Houses demolished near Shrestha Bharat Bhavan
On September 2, 2018, clashes broke out between people and police when houses were demolished near Shrestha Bharat Bhavan in Kevadia.
Tribal people lost their land in six villages.
Controversy since 1961
The dispute began when the country’s first Prime Minister, Jawaharlal Nehru, laid the foundation stone for the dam on April 5, 1961. In 1965, a decision was made to increase the dam’s height to 500 feet (152.44 meters) near Kevadia. Madhya Pradesh refused to give land to its people. Therefore, in 1979, it was decided to reduce the dam’s height. In 2013, when the dam was filled to 131.5 meters, 7,000 tribal people were displaced. In June 2014, the Narmada Control Authority gave final approval to increase the height to 138.68 meters (455 feet). By then, major land issues had arisen.
Controversy over felling of thousands of trees
By October 23, 2018, thousands of trees blocking the roads had been felled.
They protested strongly by hoisting black flags on their houses upon the Prime Minister’s arrival. Black flags were also hoisted around the Kevadia helipad grounds upon the arrival of Home Minister Rajnath Singh. The police removed these flags. These flags were hoisted because tribal land had been taken away.
Announcement of land for land for 178 families from 13 Narmada-affected villages, and employment assistance of ₹5 lakh for adult sons.
Narmada-affected people were agitating for their demands. Despite several rounds of talks with the government, the affected people protested in front of the Statue of Unity on the 31st and threatened to commit suicide if they did not receive justice.
After the government resettled people from 19 villages submerged by the Sarovar Narmada Dam in various settlements, people from six villages located near the dam: Kevadia, Vagadia, Navgam, Limdi, Gora, and Kothi, had been on a hunger strike for years demanding help.
It was announced that 178 families from 13 villages would receive land or plots in exchange for residential plots at the rate of ₹7.50 lakh per hectare, and ₹5 lakh for employment for educated youth from these 178 families. Despite the assurances given by Bhupendrasinh Chudasama in Kevadia, nothing happened.
The estimated cost of the dam for the statue was borne by 14 Chief Ministers, including the late Chimanbhai Patel and Keshubhai Patel. In 1980, the Narmada Dam was estimated to cost only ₹3,333 crore. Although the project has not been completed, ₹5 lakh was given to 178 families in 1980. ₹66,000 crore has been spent. Despite this enormous expenditure, tribals are not being compensated.
Refusal to Allot Land Around Sadhu Bet
The Statue of Unity is built on an island called Sadhu Bet, covering an area of 20,000 square meters, 3.2 kilometers from the Narmada Dam. It is surrounded by an artificial lake spanning 12 kilometers.
Agricultural equipment was collected as donations from farmers in villages across India. Donations were expected from 500,000 Indian farmers, and hence the name Statue of Unity.
A three-month nationwide campaign was launched to collect millions of pieces. Over 5,000 metric tons of iron were recovered. Even then, there was controversy.
Sardar Sahib did not need a statue or idol. Current leaders need to learn from his genius. Even without a statue, his talent would not have faded.
The people of Karamsad are fasting to remember his words and promises, but they are fighting for national recognition for Sardar’s birthplace, so they should not delay granting it national status. If Sardar’s birthplace won’t receive national status, who will? If Porbandar, the birthplace of Gandhiji, whom Sardar considered his guru, has received national status, why not the birthplace of the Iron Man?
After waiting for four years, the people of Karamsad felt there was no other way to get justice for Sardar than following Gandhi’s path, and that’s why they came out. How long will it take to grant national status to Sardar’s birthplace?
Sardar will come to Karamsad for darshan. Those people did nothing in those 60 years. Let them go. But let’s do something. Karamsad says that despite pleading for the last 10 years, no one is listening. If the decision to install gates on Sardar Sarovar, the dam after which this dam is named, was taken within 17 days of the government’s formation, how long will it take to grant national status to Sardar’s birthplace?
When preparations are in full swing to install a 182-metre-high statue of Sardar Saheb near Sardar Sarovar at a cost of Rs 3,000 crore, built by China and constantly monitored from the Prime Minister’s Office level, it is important for the Gujarat government
He should convey Karamsad’s sentiments to them.
Today is Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel’s birthday. It also marks the martyrdom day of the late Iron Lady Prime Minister Indira Gandhi.
Shankar Singh said that the BJP should now stop spreading lies against Sardar Patel in the name of injustice.
Expressing his personal views on the Statue of Unity, he said that the BJP has spent a lot of money on this statue without any reason. Furthermore, there is no connection between Sardar’s life and the bathing and cleaning of this statue.
If Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel was not there during the 1952 elections, how is the BJP raising the issue of injustice?
The Sardar Museum in Ahmedabad is in a deplorable state. Furthermore, the government did not even bother to provide a grant for its repair. And since they haven’t even looked at the memorial, I want to ask BJP leaders that the Sardar Memorial Hall is under construction in Ahmedabad.
How many times have you been there? How much help have you provided there? They made such allegations.
On the other hand, he also said that the proposal to grant special status to Nadiad was also rejected by the same BJP government. So why the sudden love for Sardar?
Programs have been announced to block roads to protest the Statue of Unity project and the Prime Minister’s inauguration ceremony, and to demand proper compensation or land.
Bandh Announced
Protest by Flying Black Balloons
While Prime Minister Narendra Modi is in Kevadia today, October 31st, to inaugurate the Statue of Unity, tribals have announced a bandh across the tribal region from Ambaji to Umargam, demanding tribal rights. In Rajpipla, tribal leaders released black balloons into the sky and wrote “Modi go back” slogans in blood.
There are reports of nearly 300 tribal leaders being detained across the state. (Google translation from Gujarati)
