Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel was born on October 31, 1875 in Nadiad, Gujarat.
Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel, the first Home Minister of independent India, did not abolish the kings but by abolishing the princely states, he made India a completely democratic country. Who can forget his role in making more than 545 princely states a part of the country? 31st October is the 150th birth anniversary of the same Sardar Patel, who once witnessed the crash landing of a plane while going to Jaipur. Let us know how the landing took place after the plane’s engine and radio were switched off. What is the whole story of crash landing in Jaipur?
Born on 31 October 1875, Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel’s full name was Vallabhbhai Jhawarbhai Patel. When Bardoli Satyagraha was successful in the year 1928, he was called Sardar of farmers and got the title of Sardar. After the independence of the country, he was made the first Home Minister and Deputy Prime Minister of the country.
The flight to Jaipur was filled from Delhi
This is the incident of 29 March 1949. Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel took off from Palam Airport in Delhi at 5:32 pm to go to Jaipur. The Maharaja of Jodhpur, secretary V Shankar and daughter Maniben were also with him. The flight from Delhi to Jaipur was approximately 158 km. He was to reach Jaipur in about an hour, but at 9 pm All India Radio informed in its bulletin that contact with the plane by which Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel was going to Jaipur had been lost. Whoever heard this news was stunned.
When Bardoli Satyagraha was successful in the year 1928, he was called Sardar of farmers and got the title of Sardar. Photo: Hulton-Deutsch Collection/CORBIS/Corbis via Getty Images
The instruction was not to go to great heights
The pilot of the plane by which Sardar Patel was going to Jaipur was Flight Lieutenant Bhim Rao. He was instructed not to take the plane above three thousand feet in the sky, considering the direction of Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel’s heart. However, when the plane was about to reach Jaipur, at around six o’clock the Maharaja of Jodhpur told Sardar Patel that one of the engines of the plane was not working. Actually, the Maharaja of Jodhpur himself was a pilot and also had a flying license. Along with the engine, the radio of the plane had also stopped and the plane was going down rapidly.
Pilot made crash landing
V Shankar, the then secretary of Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel who was aboard the plane, has written the autobiography Reminiscences. In this he has also mentioned this incident. He has written that he does not know what was going on in Sardar Patel’s heart at the time of the incident, but outwardly it did not seem to have any effect on him. He was sitting absolutely quiet as if nothing had happened.
Considering the condition of the aircraft, the pilot decided to crash land 30 miles north of Jaipur. Passengers were told that the plane’s gate could get stuck during a crash landing. Therefore, as soon as the plane stops, leave as soon as possible through the emergency gate on the roof, because a crash landing could have caused the plane to catch fire. At 6:20 the pilot asked the passengers to fasten their seat belts and landed the plane five minutes later. The good thing was that neither the door of the plane jammed nor it caught fire. Everyone came out of the plane safely.
After the plane landed, the nearby villagers reached there. When he saw Sardar Patel, he ordered milk and water for him. Cots were ordered for sitting and laid out. Eventually officers etc. reached the spot. KB Lal was one of the first officers to reach the spot after the crash landing of the plane. He has written about this incident in a memoir. He writes that when he reached the spot, Sardar Patel was sitting on a chair taken out from the plane. When he was asked to board the car, his reply was that first let the people of my team and the Maharaja of Jodhpur sit in the car.
When Sardar Patel reached Palam Airport after the crash landing, he was welcomed by a huge crowd. Photo: History/Universal Images Group via Getty Images
Was welcomed by a huge crowd
Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel reached Jaipur at around 11 pm. Till then the people of the country were feeling that Sardar Patel’s plane had crashed. Even Prime Minister Pandit Jawahar Lal Nehru in Delhi was upset and was pacing in his room. As soon as Sardar Patel reached Jaipur, the Prime Minister was informed that he was safe. After this the countrymen and the Prime Minister heaved a sigh of relief. After this incident, Sardar Patel returned to Delhi from Jaipur on 31 March. Then a huge crowd welcomed him at Palam Airport.
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