‘In Man of Iron, Words of Steel’ (Hachette India), author Mallika Ravikumar provides a vivid and human portrait of Vallabhbhai Patel, one that transcends the bronze statues and textbook summaries to provide a portrait of a man of grit, of humour and of quiet rebellion.

The book takes the form of archival storytelling and sketches of the character of the character to trace the life of Patel, a restless village boy, to the tall man in the freedom struggle of India and the beliefs and contradictions that defined his legacy.

Since childhood, Patel has been characterised by ambitiousness and determination. He had a dream of attending an English-speaking school and finally going to England to train as a successful lawyer, and he grew up in Gujarat.
There was no lack of capacity to execute that dream, but it was postponed due to familial loyalty. Patel also gave way to his older brother Vithalbhai when the chance to study overseas came, which would later become characteristic of his lifelong ethic of sacrifice and service.

Patel had a leadership talent even when he was a child. He organised a demonstration against two teachers who had to hear the complaints of students, and was able to do it. He was later to support one of the same teachers in a local election, not only displaying loyalty to her but also a knack for alliances.

The author fills these early scenes with vividness and shows a boy who was already organising, negotiating, and reaching consensus.

The book also narrates the stoic ability of Patel to endure physical pain. When he got a boil under his arm, he sent the local doctor there to treat it, though he warned him that he would experience tremendous discomfort. It is a little scene, but symbolic of the steel which was to be his official trademark trait.

He not only rebelled against individual struggle, Patel also rebelled against social norms. Patel decided to marry Virsad in 1925 when his son Dahyabhai was abou to marry Karamsad because a feud between the two villages, Virsad and Karamsad, threatened to destroy the marriage.

In his own village, the decision was bitterly opposed, but he remained in his own defence, even to the point of inviting Mohandas Gandhi to preside at the wedding. It was a symbolic intervention to mend the divisions with individual action.

But the relations of Patel with M.K. Gandhi were not necessarily respectful. The author describes an interesting moment in his early childhood when Patel looked down upon the appearance of Gandhi, who came to address a club in Gujarat, where Patel practised law.

“I have no time to waste with such people,” he said, baffled by the plain way Gandhi was dressed and the odd way he spoke. “What do truth and love have to do with fighting the injustice of colonialism?” Patel asked, cigar in hand. The scorn was actual, but so was interest. However, the experience continued to live in his thoughts, which had planted the seeds of a change.

The transformation of Patel occurred during the Kheda Satyagraha, when Gandhi initiated a movement against unfair taxation, following the onset of the green famine in Gujarat. Patel entered the world of farmers alongside him, and it was during this struggle that Patel saw the pain of farmers and the strength of unity.

Kheda Satyagraha was a life-changing experience for Patel, who discarded his English attire and way of life. This transformation put him on the same page with the vision and the approach of Gandhi. It was his first big triumph over British authority, and the start of a long-term relationship with the father of the nation.

Another thing that Ravikumar points out is Patel’s legal shrewdness. His victory in his case against Commissioner Syiddly in Ahmedabad was a first in his life, as it demonstrated how he could go against the colonial power in the courts. Another evidence of his devotion to serving people is when he remained in the city to treat the poor during the plague of 1917, when most people fled the city.

‘In Man of Iron, Words of Steel’ is not afraid of political complexity. Patel had chosen the side of the former and his brother Vithalbhai the other when the Congress divided on whether or not to take part in elections in 1922: the former was the "No-Changer" and the latter the "Pro-Changer" faction.

The schism encompassed such personalities as Motilal Nehru and Hakim Ajmal Khan, but the brothers succeeded in preserving their own personal relationship, which is quite unusual in the polarised world of politics.

Among the most interesting chapters, ‘Harness the Power of Wit’, has a look at the keen sense of humour and rhetorical turn that Patel uses. His wit was a legend, whether it was quoting Gujarati proverbs or giving answers to very difficult questions in witty one-liners.

In place of most who had handled M.K. Gandhi with serious deference, Patel mocked him like a friend - yanking his leg, joking with him and holding the conversation to earth. It is an aspect of Patel seldom observed in the press, and author Ravikumar brings it alive in a manner that is both warm and accurate.

The book is also graphical, full of cartoon drawings, making it particularly approachable to younger readers and students. It is not merely a bio, it is a manual on how to lead, stay steady and how to find your way through complexity with simplicity.

Mallika Ravikumar manages to create a personal and a universal story in Man of Iron, Words of Steel. She does not simply recount the accomplishments of Patel, but she invites the readers to grasp the personality that can lie behind the myth - the lawyer who sacrificed England to India, the organiser who dared to break social conventions, the leader who remained in the background in the face of a plague and the friend who dared to joke with Gandhi.

This is not a hagiography. It is the portrait of a man who grew up, who challenged, who commanded, as well as laughed. This book is a must-read for those who want to know more about the legacy of Vallabhbhai Patel as not a statue, but as a living power within the Indian democratic imagination.

Email:daanishinterview@gmail.com