Sardar
Patel National Memorial is one of the most important buildings in
Ahmedabad city of Gujarat. It is a museum as well as an exhibition
center, dedicated to the Iron Man of India, Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel. It
is located in the Moti Shahi Mahal, in Shahibag premises. The building
is surrounded by Sardar Open Garden, where peacocks and monkeys can be
seen roaming merrily. The garden also contains a stone statue of Patel.
On special occasions, documentary films are screened at the Sardar Open
Air Theatre. Sardar Patel was a great political leader and an Independence activist. He participated enthusiastically in the freedom struggle of the country and was quite close to Mahatma Gandhi. The memorial was founded in the year 1980, after the government gifted it to establish the memorial in the memory of Sardar Patel on his centennial birth anniversary. The memorial covers the central hall and the adjoining four rooms on the ground floor. The central hall exhibits a number of photos, depicting his life, family, friends and national movement. They are marked with biographical descriptions and quotes by his admirers & colleagues.
Two of the other four rooms, preserve relics of Patel's life, his personal possessions, books and newspapers of the time. One room enshrines documents regarding his work as the Home Minister of India, his efforts in integrating the princely states, his legal career and his education. The remaining room displays the personal possessions of Sardar Patel. It includes his khadi kurta, jacket and dhoti, his shoes, slippers and European-style clothes from his younger days. One can also see the Indian flag shaped by the Indian National Congress in the 1930s.
