IIT Gandhinagar celebrated ‘National Unity Day’ and organised ‘Run for Unity’ as a tribute to Shri Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel

Palaj: Indian Institute of Technology Gandhinagar (IITGN) celebrated ‘National Unity Day’ and organized a ‘Run for Unity’ today as a tribute to Shri Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel on his birth anniversary. In the morning, IITGN faculty, students and staff remembered the ‘Iron Man of India’ and took ‘National Unity Day’ pledge. Prof Madhumita Sengupta gave a talk on ‘Remembering Sardar’ and shared various facts and facets from the life of Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel.

Recalling his precious contribution to building India, she noted, “Patel is especially remembered for his invaluable service to the postcolonial nation, through his relentless pursuit of the princely states, many of which, especially Junagadh, Hyderabad, Jodhpur and Kashmir, were unwilling to accede to the Indian union. Patel and his team demonstrated great skill and clever diplomacy to accomplish the integration of nearly 554 princely states.”

In the evening, Prof Rupak Banerjee and Prof Gopinadhan Kalon flagged off the 2.3 km long ‘Run for Unity’. The event saw enthusiastic participation from the faculty, students and staff, with about 250 participants in the run. The event was organised by the physical education section of the Institute as a demonstration of unity and integrity to commemorate Sardar’s legacy.