Delhi assembly to mark 100 years of Vithalbhai Patel’s election as India’s first Speaker

The Delhi Assembly will honor Vithalbhai Patel, India's first Speaker, with an exhibition and a documentary screening on August 24, featuring his legacy.

A century after Vithalbhai Javerbhai Patel etched his name in history as the first Indian Speaker of the central legislative assembly, the Delhi Assembly will commemorate the landmark moment at the All India Speakers’ Conference with a special exhibition on Sunday and the screening of a documentary film on the history and legacy of the Assembly. On Sunday, August 24, Union home minister Amit Shah will release a postal stamp in Patel’s honour.

Vithalbhai Patel

Delhi Assembly speaker Vijender Gupta said the assembly houses eight volumes of the “Selected Works of Vithalbhai J Patel”, edited by Ravindra Kumar, which are a compilation of his speeches, statements, circulars as well as letters exchanged between him and his contemporaries such as Lokmanya Tilak, Lala Lajpat Rai, Gandhiji, and Lord Irwin between 1918 and 1933. The issuing authority of the special postage stamp is the Ministry of Communication and India Post, with the design containing a rare photo of Patel, according to an official aware of the matter.

Elder brother of Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel and co-founder of the Swaraj Party, Patel went on to be re-elected for a second term as President of the Indian Legislative Assembly. Patel was initially a part of the Indian National Congress but, following the Chauri Chaura incident in 1922 which dealt a blow to the non-cooperation movement, a rift was formed within the Indian National Congress. Leaders including Motilal Nehru, Chittaranjan Das and Patel were dissatisfied with Gandhi’s decision to withdraw his civil disobedience movement, and were involved in the formation of the Swaraj Party in 1922.

Among the most significant documents at the Assembly is volume four, which records proceedings of August 24, 1925, the day Patel was elected as President (equivalent of Speaker). “In pursuance of the provisions of section 65C of the Government of India Act, I, Rufus Daniel, Earl of Reading, hereby signify that I approve the election by the Legislative Assembly of Mr Vithalbhai Javerbhai Patel as President of the said Assembly,” it reads.

In his reply to predecessor Sir Frederick Whyte’s welcome address, Patel noted, “…The second thing with which I was much more delighted was this: that when the first Finance Bill was under discussion in this Assembly, you allowed certain amendments… That was, to my mind, a great step forward,” according to volume four. He concluded his speech with the words: “I will try my best to see that I acquit myself honourably.”

Exhibition highlights

Gupta said the exhibition themed “Veer Vithalbhai Patel Gaurav Gatha” (The glory of Veer Vithalbhai Patel) will focus not just on Patel’s election but also on the wider freedom struggle. “A lot of archival materials and information will be displayed, which will include Patel’s election but also India’s freedom struggle and the events that transpired in the era, like the Rowlatt Act, and old photos of the Assembly. Conversations that transpired through letters between Patel and Gandhi, as well as the original death certificate of Bhagat Singh, will also be displayed,” Gupta said.

The 10-minute documentary, Gupta said, has rare footage of Mahatma Gandhi at a public meeting in 1930. “We are also working on a coffee table book on the legacy and history of Patel,” he added.

Legacy through documents

Volume eight of “Selected Works of Vithalbhai J Patel” includes Patel’s last will and testament, in which he directed that his property be spent by Subhash Chandra Bose “for the political upliftment of India.” The will, signed in Switzerland on October 2, 1933, stated: “In the event of my death in Europe, I desire that Mr Subhash Chandra Bose should take charge of my body and make the necessary arrangements for sending it to Bombay for cremation on the Choupaty sands alongside the place where the Lokmanya Bal Gangadhar Tilak’s body was cremated.”

According to the books compiled, Patel was arrested as a satyagrahi on August 28, 1930, and released in 1931 due to deteriorating health. He later travelled to Vienna and Switzerland for treatment, and died on October 22, 1933, in Gland, Switzerland. Reporting his death two days later, on October 24, 1933, HT wrote: “Few in India need any reminder as to Mr Patel’s invaluable services to his motherland… A downright blunt man with a keen sense of humour and honesty that was palpable, he was the fittest man to rule over such a vague, formless, characterless body as our present legislatures.”