The October Heroes of India
Gandhi, Patel and Kalam — the trio who gave wings to the nation.
Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi
On 2 October, we remember Mahatma Gandhi, the Father of our Nation. We honour and pay our respects to him for giving India a reason to fly high in freedom. He fought for our freedom with the novel weapons of non-violent protests and adherence to truth and ahimsa. His strength lay in the fact that he was the message; he walked the talk, he preached what he practised, and lived what he taught. The mighty British imperial powers shuddered at his presence, not because he owned any mass weapon of destruction, but because he wielded enormous moral power in his personality.
Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel
India celebrates the birthday of Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel as National Ekta Din. Patel, born in Nadiad, Kheda district of Gujarat on 31 October 1875, was a successful barrister and a senior Congress leader. He was one of the most prominent figures of the Indian freedom movement.
Patel was not keen to join politics after his return from England with his law degree. But everything changed when he met Gandhi in 1917. On Gandhi’s call, Patel quit his hard-earned job, joined the Congress party and the movement to fight for exemption of taxes in Kheda at the time of the plague and famine in 1918.
Dr A. P. J. Abdul Kalam
Dr A. P. J. Abdul Kalam was an illustrious aerospace scientist and statesman who served as the 11th President of India from 2002 to 2007. Born on 15 October 1931 at Rameswaram, Tamil Nadu, “The Missile Man of India” is also known as “The Man who Ignited a Billion Minds”. He was one of India’s most popular presidents who opened the presidential palace to the common people of India and earned the title of “People’s President”.
Humble as he was, he demystified the office of the President and mingled with ordinary people, especially with children and youth. He had a style of his own when he spoke to children about dreaming big and helped ignite their minds.
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Joe Eruppakkatt, a former editor for ST PAULS Publications and The Teenager Today, has been actively involved in the field of print media in India, the U.S., Great Britain and Nigeria. He is currently working for ST PAULS, New Delhi.