"Vallabhbhai Patel first studied at this Primary School in Karamsad where he was taught Gujarati and Arithmetic in Gujarati. In class, Patel liked to ask many questions. 'Why do you ask me? Learn for yourself!' an annoyed teacher is supposed to have said to him once. And that is what Vallabhbhai decided to do. At the age of 14, he left the primary school to join an English school that had opened in the village seeking out his books so he could learn by himself."

"My father had no means to enable me to fulfill all my ambitions and one of these was to go to England. I was told that if I had Rs. 10,000/- I'd be able to manage; but I couldn't expect anybody to give me the money. I realized that if I wanted to go I would have to earn it myself. So I studied hard for my law examination and when I started my practice I saved as much as I could.' said Patel speaking about his dreams to study in England.

After saving up enough, Patel applied for a passport and booking. His travel documents addressed to 'Mr. V.J.Patel, Pleader, Borsad.' were received by his brother Vithalbhai Patel who bore the same initials. 'I am older than you,' said Vithalbhai to his younger brother. 'Let me go to England. After I return, you will get the opportunity to go.' With that, Vallabhbhai sacrificed for the time being his dreams of going to England in favour of his brother's wishes and gave his brother the money he had saved for the trip.

Once again he started saving for his dream and prepared to go after his brother's return. But the death of his wife Jhaverba at the young age of 29 left him solely responsible for his two children Mani and Dahya aged 4 and 3. Leaving them with Ms Wilson, Principal of Queen Mary School in Bombay, Vallabhbhai finally departed for England to pursue his Barrister-in-Law dream in 1910 at the age of 35.

Vithalbhai was Vallabhbhai's older brother and also a lawyer. The brothers mutually decided that one of them would serve the country while the other remained the bread winner of the family. Consequently said Sardar 'My brother gave up his flourishing practice and started on a career of public service, while I bore the burden of maintaining the household. I had thus to commit all the sins and he performed all the good deeds.'

But this pact between the brothers did not last very long. Soon Vallabhbhai too found himself swept into the sea of the Freedom Struggle and History will remember him always as one among India's foremost Freedom Fighters.

Vallabhbhai Patel shed his persona as a wealthy barrister in western clothes and began his life as a satyagrahi with the Kheda Satyagraha in Gujarat. Joining the peasants in their agitation against the British administration to protest against the unjust tax imposed on the peasants despite a failed crop, Patel transformed into a mass leader. The Kheda struggle in 1918 was Patel's first step in his long association with India's freedom struggle.

In 1918, Patel led the Kheda Satyagraha, in protest against the tax levied by the Government upon peasants, despite a failed crop. 'Mahatma Gandhi wanted somebody who would give up everything and devote all his time to the satyagraha campaign in Kheda...My father volunteered his services, they were accepted' said Mani, Sardar's daughter whilst speaking of her father's plunge into Gandhi's methods of satyagraha.

The Kheda satyagraha brought out the organisational genius in Patel and he quickly transformed into a mass leader.

"Challenge the Government to take up your land, if they can, to England!' thundered Vallabbhai urging the peasants of Bardoli to resist.

Organising 16 camps under the charge of 250 volunteers, Sardar arranged a Peasants conference in Bardoli in February 1928 calling upon landholders to refuse payment of the revised assessment to the Government until a Tribunal to settle the matter was appointed. 'Vallabbhai has found his God - Vallabh - in Bardoli' remarked Gandhi, his mentor.

The Peasants adored their leader. With great affection they spontaneously called him 'Sardar'. 

"He made his choice out of the two courses that come before a man namely, would he live for his country or for himself. He chose his country' said Maulana Azad of Patel's decision to leave his legal practice and join the Peasant struggle calling Patel 'India's most precious jewels'.

Here Patel is seen in 1949, spinning yarn in Bardoli, the hamlet from where his ascent into public life and the freedom struggle began."

From February, 1924, Sardar Patel also took up the responsibility of presiding over the Ahmedabad Municipality. During his tenure as President, he made it a point to take a morning walk with his friends to inspect the different parts of the city. Speaking to local people during these walks, Patel would familiarize himself with the conditions of sanitation, light and other public conveniences in the city.

'No amount of effort on the part of the municipal administration,' Patel said to the people of Ahmedabad speaking about cleanliness 'can keep the city clean without your active co-operation. If you put rubbish in the bins provided by the Municipal Board, instead of throwing it into the street, you will make your locality look clean, help to reduce sickness and add a few years to your span of life.'

Not one to sit in the comfort of an office and order others, Patel himself often joined a squad of volunteers to sweep the streets of Ahmedabad. Taking up a broom and a dust cart, it is said, he once began cleaning the Harijan or Untouchable's quarter of the city. The citizens of the city were stunned for they had never seen anything quite like that. While the conservative elements of society did not approve of his method and some even discussed ex-communicating him, this gesture caught the imagination of the younger generation who formed their own volunteer squads to keep the city clean

Raising money for improving the water system in the city, Patel managed to obtain a loan of Rs. 45,50,000/- within a week from city bankers and mill owners. Alongside with modernizing the water system, he exerted himself to improve the conditions of Santitation, Public Health, and every other matter within the purview of the Municipal Board.

This photograph shows Sardar Patel in 1929 with his brother Vithalbhai Patel.