It was at Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel ’s residence in Lal Darwaza, Ahmedabad, that most meetings for the 1918 Kheda Satyagraha were held. When Mahatma Gandhi first announced the launch of the movement for the rights of peasants, Patel, without a second thought about his public life or career as a lawyer, declared he would join as a ‘Satyagrahi’.

Eventually, the Satyagrahis secured a partial victory when the poorer peasants were allowed concessions in revenue assessment by the administration owing to crop failure. Gandhi said that it would not have been possible without an up-senapati like Vallabhbhai, crediting his exceptional management skills: “The more I came to know him, the more I realised that I must secure his help… If it were not for his assistance, I must admit that this campaign would not have been carried through so successfully.” This was the country’s — and Gandhi’s — first mass movement, and would mark a crucial moment in Patel’s ascent as a national leader.

How Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel rose…