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Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel

Why in News?

On National Unity Day 2022, the Union Home Minister of India remembered Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel on his 147th birth anniversary saying that the latter realised the dream of a strong and united India with his farsightedness.

Why is National Unity Day Celebrated?

• National Unity Day is celebrated every year on 31st October to commemorate the birth anniversary of Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel. It is also known as Rashtriya Ekta Diwas.
• The reason behind the celebration of this day is to make people aware of the ideas of staying together and uplifting society.
• It was celebrated for the first time in 2014.
• Several events are organised on this day like ‘Run For Unity’ - a nationwide marathon to increase awareness about the contribution of Sardar Patel to national integrity, National Unity pledge, etc.
• In 2018, the Government of India unveiled the ‘Statue of Unity’ in Gujarat to mark the 143rd birth anniversary of Sardar Patel.

Who was Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel?

About:

• He was born on 31st October 1875 in Nadiad, Gujarat.
• Sardar Patel was the first Home Minister and Deputy Prime Minister of India.
  • He is recognized as the real unifier of India for his colossal contribution to integrate and make India a united (Ek Bharat) and an independent nation.
  • He requested the people of India to live together by uniting in order to create Shresth Bharat (Foremost India).
• This ideology is still reflected in the Atmanirbhar Bharat initiative which seeks to make India Self-Reliant.
• He is also remembered as the ‘Patron saint of India’s civil servants’ as he established the modern all-India services system.

Role in Framing Constitution:

• He headed various Committees of the Constituent Assembly of India, namely:
• Advisory Committee on Fundamental Rights.
• Committee on Minorities and Tribal and Excluded Areas.
• Provincial Constitution Committee.

Major Contributions:

• He worked extensively against alcohol consumption, untouchability, caste discrimination and for women emancipation in Gujarat and outside.
• He integrated the farmer’s cause in Kheda Satyagraha (1918) and Bardoli Satyagraha (1928) with the national freedom movement.
  • Women of Bardoli bestowed the title ‘Sardar’ on Vallabhbhai Patel, which means ‘a Chief or a Leader’.
• During the 1930 Salt Satyagraha (prayer and fasting movement), Sardar Patel served three months imprisonment.
• In March 1931 Patel presided over the Karachi session (46th session) of the Indian National Congress which was called upon to ratify the Gandhi-lrwin Pact.

Integration of the Princely States:

• Sardar Patel played a key role in the integration of about 565 princely states into the Indian Union.
  • Few princely states like Travancore, Hyderabad, Junagadh, Bhopal, and Kashmir were averse to joining the state of India.
  • Sardar Patel worked tirelessly to build a consensus with the princely states but did not hesitate in employing methods of Sama, Dama, Dand and Bhed wherever necessary.
• He had used force to annex princely states of Junagadh ruled by Nawab and Hyderabad ruled by Nizam, both of whom had wished not to merge their respective states with the Union of India.
• Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel stitched the princely states along with British Indian territory and prevented the balkanization of India.
• He is known as the “Iron Man of India” for playing an important role in unification and integration of Indian princely states into the Indian federation and for convincing princely states to align with the Indian Union.

Death:

• 15th December 1950 in Bombay.

Evolution of Coinage System in India

Why in News?

• Dynastic Coins:
  • The earliest of these coins relate to those of the Indo-Greeks, the Saka-Pahlavas and the Kushans. These coins are generally placed between the 2^nd century BC and 2^nd century AD.
• Indo Greeks:
  • Hellenistic traditions characterise the silver coins of the Indo-Greeks, with Greek gods and goddesses figuring prominently, apart from the portraits of the issuers.
• Sakas:
  • The Saka coinage of the Western Kshatrapas are perhaps the earliest dated coins, the dates being given in the Saka era which commences in AD 78.
  • The Saka era represents the official calendar of the Indian Republic.
• Kushans:
  • Kushans, who hailed from the Central Asian region depicted Oesho (Shiva), moon deity Miro and Buddha in their coinage.
  • Earliest Kushan coinage is generally attributed to Vima Kadphises.
  • The Kushan coins generally depicted iconographic forms drawn from Greek, Mesopotamian, Zorastrian and Indian mythology.
  • Siva, Buddha and Kartikeya were the major Indian deities portrayed.
• Satavahana:
  • The dates of their coming into power are contentious and are variously put between 270 BC to 30 BC.
  • Their coins were predominantly of copper and lead; however, silver issues are also known.
  • These coins carried the motifs of fauna like elephants, lions, bulls, horses, etc. often juxtaposed against motifs from nature like hills, tree, etc.
  • The silver coins of the Satavahanas carried portraits and bilingual legends, which were inspired by the Kshatrapa types.

• Western Kshatrapa:
  • The legends on the coins were generally in Greek and Brahmi, Kharoshti too was used.
  • The Western Kshatrap coins are reckoned to be the earliest coins bearing dates.
  • The common copper coins are the 'bull and hill' and the 'elephant and hill' types.

• Gupta:
  • Gupta coinage (4^th-6^th centuries AD) followed the tradition of the Kushans, depicting the king on the obverse and a deity on the reverse; the deities were Indian and the legends were in Brahmi.
  • The earliest Gupta coins are attributed to Samudragupta, Chandragupta II and Kumaragupta and their coins often commemorate dynastic succession as well as significant socio-political events, like marriage alliances, the horse sacrifice, or for that matter artistic and personal accomplishments of royal members (Lyrist, Archer, Lion-slayer etc.).

South Indian Coinage:

• Cheras:

• Chola:

• Alupas of Udupi:

Foreign Coins:

• British Coins:
  • The British East India Co. at Madras Presidency minted coins labelled as the Three Swamy Pagoda, which depicts Lord Balaji flanked by Sridevi and Bhudevi on either side.
• Other Coins:
  • Ancient India had considerable trade links with the Middle East, Europe (Greece and Rome) as well as China. This trade was carried out over land partly along what came to be alluded to as the silk route and partly through maritime trade.
  • In South India, which had a thriving maritime trade, Roman coins even circulated in their original form, albeit slashed at times as a gesture disclaiming intrusions of foreign sovereignty.

Shri Mahakal Lok Corridor

In News

• Recently, the Prime Minister inaugurated the Mahakal Lok corridor built at the Mahakaleshwar temple.

More about the news

The Mahakaleshwar temple is dedicated to Lord Shiva and houses one of the 12 Jyotirlingas (representation of Lord Shiva) in India.

The Mahakal Lok corridor project:

• The Mahakaleshwar Temple Corridor Development Project will provide better amenities for those visiting the temple. 
• The corridor has around 108 aesthetically ornate pillars made of intricately carved sandstones that depict the Anand Tandav Swaroop (Lord Shiva’s dance form), 200 statues and murals of Lord Shiva and goddess Shakti.
• It also has gushing fountains surrounded by artistic sculptures of the deity as well as 53 illuminated murals depicting stories from the  Shiv Puran.

First phase:

• The first phase of the project is expected to significantly boost tourism in this city of Madhya Pradesh.

Mahakal Maharaj Mandir Parisar Vistar Yojna:

• Mahakal Maharaj Mandir Parisar Vistar Yojna is a plan for the expansion, beautification, and decongestion of the Mahakaleshwar temple and its adjoining area in Ujjain district.
  • Under the plan, the Mahakaleshwar temple premise of around 2.82 hectares is being increased to 47 hectares.
  • This will be developed in two phases by the Ujjain district administration.
• This will include the 17 hectares of Rudrasagar lake.

Major temple upliftment projects:

• After Vishwanath temple in Varanasi and the Kedarnath shrine in Uttarakhand, Mahakal temple is the third ‘jyotirlinga’ site to see a major upliftment exercise.
  • The Mahakal corridor is four times the size of the Kashi Vishwanath corridor, which was inaugurated late last year.

Significance of Mahakaleshwar temple in Hinduism

• History:
  • Mahakaleshwar, which means the ‘Lord of time’, refers to Lord Shiva. 
  • As per Hindy mythology, the temple was constructed by Lord Brahma and is presently located alongside the holy river Kshipra.
• Jyotirlingas:
  • Puranas say that Lord Shiva pierced the world as an endless pillar of light, called the jyotirlinga. 
  • There are 12 jyotirlinga sites in India, considered a manifestation of Shiva. 
    • Besides Mahakal, Somnath and Nageshwar in Gujarat, 
    • Mallikarjuna in Andhra Pradesh, 
    • Omkareshwar in Madhya Pradesh, 
    • Kedarnath in Uttarakhand, 
    • Bhimashankar, Triyambakeshwar and Grishneshwar in Maharashtra, 
    • Viswanath at Varanasi, 
    • Baidyanath in Jharkhand, and 
    • Rameshwar in Tamil Nadu.
• Characteristic features of the temple:
  • Mahakal is the only jyotirlinga facing the south, while all the other jyotirlingas face east. 
    • This is because the direction of death is believed to be the south. In fact, people worship Mahakaleshwar to prevent untimely death.
• References of the temple:
• The Mahakal temple finds a mention in several ancient Indian poetic texts. 
• Meghadutam:
  • In the early part of the Meghadutam (Purva Megha) composed in the 4th century, Kalidasa gives a description of the Mahakal temple. 
    • It is described as one with a stone foundation, with the ceiling on wooden pillars. 
    • There would be no shikharas or spires on the temples prior to the Gupta period.

More about Ujjain City

• History:
  • The city of Ujjain was also one of the primary centres of learning for Hindu scriptures, called Avantika in the 6th and 7th centuries BC. 
  • Later, astronomers and mathematicians such as Brahmagupta and Bhaskaracharya made Ujjain their home.
• Significance of the city:
  • Geography:
    • Also, as per the Surya Siddhanta, one of the earliest available texts on Indian astronomy dating back to the 4th century, Ujjain is geographically situated at a spot where the zero meridian of longitude and the Tropic of Cancer intersect. 
    • In keeping with this theory, it is believed that many of Ujjain temples are in some way connected to time and space, and the main Shiva temple is dedicated to Mahakal, the lord of time. 
  • Observatory:
    • In the 18th century, an observatory was built here by Maharaja Jai Singh II, known as the Vedh Shala or Jantar Mantar, comprising 13 architectural instruments to measure astronomical phenomena.

Kashi Vishwanath Corridor 

About:

• It is a 400-metre long corridor that will facilitate the pilgrims and devotees of Baba Vishwanath, who had to encounter congested streets and surroundings with poor upkeep, when they practised the age-old custom of taking a dip in the holy river, collecting Gangajal and offering it at the temple. 
• The architect of this project is Mr Bimal Patel who is also the architect for the Central Vista project.

Significance: 

• It will provide easy access for the disabled and old age people with the provision of ramps, escalators, and other modern facilities.
• Heritage Preservation 
• Boost to Local Economy

Birth Anniversaries of Jayaprakash Narayan and Nanaji Deshmukh

In  News 

The Prime Minister, Shri Narendra Modi has paid tributes to Bharat Ratna Nanaji Deshmukh  and Loknayak Jayaprakash Narayan on their birth anniversary.

About: 

• Loknayak Jayaprakash Narayan: He was born on October 11, 1902, in the remote village of Sitabdiara, Bihar.
  • He was  marxist in his youth and   founder general secretary of the Congress Socialist Party and the Socialist Party.
  • He was a hero of the 1942 Quit India movement
  • He declined to join Nehru’s cabinet and after 1955 quit active politics.
  • He became a Gandhian and was involved in the Bhoodan movement.
  • He was leader of the Bihar movement and he became the symbol of opposition to Emergency and was the moving force behind the formation of Janata Party.
  • Total Revolution: It was put forward by Jayaprakash Narayan in the wake of Bihar Movement in Patna on June 5, 1974.
    • It is a further extension of Gandhi’s thought on socio-economic problems and technique of change in the context of contemporary social, economic and political reality.
• Nanaji Deshmukh : He was born on October 11, 1916. 
• He was social reformer and politician from India
  • He was a founder member of the Janata Party and one of the senior most members of the Bharatiya Janata Party.
• He worked in the fields of education, health, and rural self-reliance. 
• His stellar contribution towards rural development showed the way for a new paradigm of empowering those living in our villages. 
• He  was an active participant of the Bhoodan Movement launched by Acharya Vinoba Bhave. 
• He also extended his support to Jayaprakash Narayan’s call for ‘Total Revolution’.

Lal Bahadur Shastri

In News

• The Prime Minister paid tributes to former Prime Minister, Lal Bahadur Shastri Ji on his Jayanti.

About Lal Bahadur Shastri

• He was born on October 2, 1904 at Mughalsarai in Uttar Pradesh. 
  • His father was a school teacher who died when Lal Bahadur Shastri was only a year and half old.
• Freedom Struggle : He  became more and more interested in the country’s struggle for freedom from foreign yoke.
  • He was greatly impressed by Mahatma Gandhi’s denunciation of Indian Princes for their support of British rule in India. 
  • He joined the Kashi VidyaPeeth in Varanasi, one of the many national institutions set up in defiance of British rule. 
  • He participated in the freedom movement since 1930
• Post independence : He was  minister in UP cabinet and Minister in Union Cabinet from 1951 to 1956 when he resigned taking responsibility for the railway accident 
  • He was known for his simplicity and his commitment to principles. 
  • He coined the famous slogan ‘Jai Jawan-Jai Kisan’
  • He was awarded the Bharat Ratna India's highest civilian award posthumously in 1966.

 Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi

In News 

Gandhi Jayanti is celebrated annually in India on October 2, marking the birth anniversary of Mahatma Gandhi, who is also regarded as the ‘Father of the Nation’.

• The United Nations also celebrates October 2 as the International Day of Non-Violence to honour Gandhi’s belief in peace and non-violence.

About Mahatma Gandhi

• He was an Indian lawyer, politician, social activist, and writer who became the leader of the nationalist movement against the British rule of India. 
• He was born October 2, 1869, Porbandar.
• For untouchables  : He also worked for the upliftment of untouchables and gave them a new name 'Harijan' meaning the children of God. 
• Role in South Africa : It was in South Africa that Mahatma Gandhi first forged the distinctive techniques of non-violent protest known as satyagraha, first promoted harmony between religions, and first alerted upper-caste Indians to their discriminatory treatment of low castes and women
• Contributions in the freedom struggle :   In 1915, he returned to his homeland after two decades of residence abroad. 
  • In 1916 he travelled to Champaran in Bihar to inspire the peasants to struggle against the oppressive plantation system.
  • In 1917, he organised a satyagraha to support the peasants of the Kheda district of Gujarat. 
    • Affected by crop failure and a plague epidemic, the peasants of Kheda could not pay the revenue, and were demanding that revenue collection be relaxed.
• In 1918, Mahatma Gandhi went to Ahmedabad to organise a satyagraha movement amongst cotton mill workers.
• In 1919 Gandhiji gave a call for a satyagraha against the Rowlatt Act that the British had just passed. 
• The Act curbed fundamental rights such as the freedom of expression and strengthened police powers
• He  called for a campaign of “non-cooperation” with British rule. 
  • Indians who wished colonialism to end were asked to stop attending schools, colleges and law courts, and not pay taxes
• In February 1922, Mahatma Gandhi decided to withdraw the Non-Cooperation Movement. 
• He felt the movement was turning violent in many places and satyagrahis needed to be properly trained before they would be ready for mass struggles
• Dandi Salt March : On 12 March 1930, Gandhiji began walking from his ashram at Sabarmati towards the ocean.
  • He reached his destination three weeks later, making a fistful of salt as he did and thereby making himself a criminal in the eyes of the law. 
• “Quit India”:  After the failure of the Cripps Mission, Mahatma Gandhi decided to launch his third major movement against British rule. This was the “Quit India” campaign, which began in August 1942.
  • “He  was genuinely a mass movement, bringing into its ambit hundreds of thousands of ordinary Indians. It especially energised the young who, in very large numbers, left their colleges to go to jail
• Legacy : Gandhi is internationally esteemed for his doctrine of nonviolent protest (satyagraha) to achieve political and social progress.
• He made the Indian National Congress a peoples' Congress and the national movement a mass movement. 
• He made people fearless and bold and taught them the nonviolent methods for fighting against injustice. 
• He had a passion for individual liberty which was closely bound with his understanding of truth and self-realisation. 
• He considered the problem of peace as an ethical, rather than political, issue. 
• He was shot dead by Nathuram Godse on January 31, 1948.