If one asks even in Charotar of Gujarat itself about Barrister Vithalbhai Patel (27 September 1873 Nadiad - 22 October 1933 Geneva), most of the persons would respond by saying “Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel’s brother”. In fact, Vithalbhai is one of the prominent heros of the freedom struggle whose contribution is rather forgotten and even historians have also done injustice to him. He entered the Middle Temple Inn and completed the 36-month course in 30, emerging at the top of his class. After he returned to India in 1908, his wife, Diwaliba, died and he preferred to remain a life-long widower like his younger brother, Barrister Vallabhbhai. In a short span of 60 years of his life, Vithalbhai rose to become the first elected President of the Central Legislative Assembly in India apart from becoming the President (Mayor) of Bombay and the Member of the Bombay Council.
A prominent Congress leader who became the Chairman of the Reception Committee of the Special Session of the Congress held in Bombay in August 1918, Vithalbhai contributed actively in the proceedings of the legislative affairs for the welfare of the people of India even during the British regime. A great social reformer Vithalbhai was influenced more by Lokmanya Tilak’s political philosophy than that of Gandhiji. When the Mahatma aborted the struggle following the violent Chauri Chaura incident in February 1922, he preferred to leave the Congress and establish the Swaraj Party along with other prominent leaders like Deshbandhu Chittaranjan Das and Pandit Motilal Nehru. Barrister Patel used to call himself Ravana in the Dharma Yuddha which Gandhiji was waging and he always emphasized the fact that he was not a Mahatma but an ordinary mortal whose passion was the freedom of his country and who wanted to embarrass, harass and corner his British opponent.
Late Chief Justice of India, Justice M.C. Chagla writes in 1950, in the foreword of the only authentic two-volume biography of Vithalbhai Patel by Gordhanbhai I. Patel: “Throughout his life Vithalbhai remained an astute and practical politician. He had no objection to the use of any means provided the end was achieved. Only the objective and the goal remained constant and that was the freedom of his country. Whereas Gandhiji’s approach to politics was spiritual and moral, Vithalbhai never left the mundane plane. His attitude is illustrated by the fact that he was opposed to the unnecessary sacrifice which would be entailed by students being asked to leave schools and colleges…although he was opposed to the ideology of Gandhiji, with his shrewd commonsense, he realized that in order to stir the Indian masses an appeal like that of Gandhiji was necessary and therefore he supported and stood by Gandhiji whenever it was possible for him to do so.”
There was a striking contrast between the personalities of Vithalbhai and Vallabhbhai too. They are undoubtedly the two most illustrious sons Gujarat has produced in recent times. Vallabhbhai spent a great part of his political life as a trusted lieutenant of Gandhiji and he was quite content loyally to follow the Mahatma’s mandates without questioning the reason underlying them or their advisability. Vithalbhai could never surrender his judgement to anyone. He liked to arrive at his own conclusions by his own method of ratiocination. Vallabhbhai recognized the necessity of capital and was prepared to build society upon it. Vithalbhai’s intellectual proclivities were all towards labour and in England he had wholly identified himself with the Labour Party.
Vithalbhai was lonely and aloof, looking upon life with a cynical smile. To Vallabhbhai, life had its deep significance which he wanted to translate into action. Vithalbhai understood the value of European institutions and culture. Vallabhbhai did not want to look beyond the frontiers of India. Vithalbhai’s finest work was done within the Council Chambers. Vallabhbhai till last scrupulously kept out of the Councils. But while we note the dissimilarities, there are also marked similarities between their lives. Both were members of the Bar with acute and well equipped minds. Both did important and useful work in local bodies. Both were passionate lovers of freedom and both rose to the rank of National Leaders, respected and admired by the people.
Vithalbhai was elected as the President (equivalent to the post of the Speaker of the Lok Sabha in August 1925 when he was the Deputy Leader of Swaraj Party. He had resolved to give a portion of his salary to some national cause, but in order that he should not be accused of any political bias, he gave every month a large sum to Gandhiji to be used for some national purpose. He refused to subscribe to the funds of the Swarajist. His heart was naturally with those who carrying on the struggle, and at the same time, he had to be absolutely impartial in the Chair and to be above all parties and sections.
As the President of the Central Legislature, Vithalbhai was always vigilant about maintaining dignity and decorum of the House. He had studied the British traditions and followed them in India too. When the Viceroy visited the House, it was a practice that the President would vacate his chair for the Viceroy. He could bring change in the tradition too. Vithalbhai even snubbed the Commander-in-Chief when he walked away from the Chamber after making a long speech in the House. When the motion was being discussed, he was not present in the House. The President told the Government that unless the C-I-C apologized to the House, he would not permit him to make any speech thereafter. The C-I-C had to submit and express his regret. He could arrange to establish an independent Department for the Assembly.
Vithalbhai was elected the President again in 1927 but in the changed political scenario he resigned and joined the Congress again. “In England, when a Speaker resigns, he gets a peerage and a handsome pension,” wrote Chagla adding, “Vithalbhai resigned as the President and all that he got for his great service was six months’ rigorous imprisonment!” Not many people would be aware that due to his personal rapport and interaction with the Viceroy, the idea of the Round Table Conference was conceived by Lord Irwin. Unfortunately, the Congress decided to depute Gandhiji as the sole representative of the Congress and Vithalbhai could not attend and contribute in the second RTC.
After Gandhiji returned from London, Vithalbhai was again arrested with other leaders, but he was soon released since he was sick. Even in such conditions, he travelled to USA and toured the whole country in order to enlighten the people as to the justness of India’s cause. He died in Switzerland in exile, but before his death, he and Subhash Chandra Bose came to the conclusion that Gandhian way of Ahimsa would not succeed in achieving India’s freedom and that more militant methods should be resorted to. Of course, his younger brother, Vallabhbhai, proved them wrong by being the follower of
Gandhiji’s Ahimsa till his last breath.
Next Column: Vallabhbhai smells rat in Vithalbhai’s Will
(The writer is a Socio-political Historian. E-mail: [email protected] )
