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  • The Man Who Saved India

  • Written by: Hindol Sengupta
  • Narrated by: B. Andrew
  • Length: 13 hrs and 37 mins
  • 4.3 out of 5 stars (158 ratings)

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The Man Who Saved India

Written by: Hindol Sengupta
Narrated by: B. Andrew
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Publisher's Summary

There is perhaps no political figure in modern history who did more to secure and protect the Indian nation than Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel. But, ironically, 70 years after Patel brought together piece-by-piece the map of India by fusing the princely states with British India to create a new democratic, independent nation, little is understood or appreciated about Patel's enormous contribution to the making of India.

Caricatured in political debate, all the nuances of Patel's difficult life and the daring choices he made are often lost, or worse, used as mere polemic. If Mahatma Gandhi was the spiritual core of India's freedom struggle and Jawaharlal Nehru its romantic idealism, it was Sardar Patel who brought in the vital pragmatism which held together the national movement and the first ideas of independent India. A naturally stoic man, Patel, unlike Gandhi or Nehru, wrote no personal history. He famously argued that its was better to create history than write it. This is why even his deepest misgivings and quarrels have been easily buried.

But every warning that Patel left for India - from the dangers of allowing groups to create private militias to his thoughtful criticism on India's approach to Kashmir, Pakistan, and China - are all dangerously relevant today. It is impossible to hear about Patel, who died in 1950, and not feel that had he lived on, India might have been a different country. It is also impossible to ignore Patel and understand not only what the idea of India is but also what it could have been, and might be in the future.

The Man Who Saved India is a sweeping, magisterial retelling of Sardar Patel's story. With fiercely detailed and pugnacious anecdotes, multiple award-winning, best-selling writer Hindol Sengupta brings alive Patel's determined life of struggle and his furious commitment to keep India safe. This audiobook brings alive all the arguments, quarrels, and clashes between some of the most determined people in Indian history and their battle to carve out an independent nation.

Through ravages of a failing body broken by decades of abuse in and outside prison, Patel stands out in this audiobook as the man who, even on his death bed, worked to save India. Hindol Sengupta's The Man Who Saved India is destined to define Patel's legacy for future generations.

©2018 Hindol Sengupta (P)2019 Random House Audio

Critic Reviews

"It is dangerous to put dreamers in power. Sardar Patel's pragmatism was the perfect antidote to Nehru's idealism in the early years of Independence. If only Patel had lived longer, India would have been spared the excesses of the License Raj and the Kashmir problem. This is one of the messages of this lively, highly readable book." (Gurcharan Das, best-selling author)

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What listeners say about The Man Who Saved India

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  • Overall
    3 out of 5 stars
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    3 out of 5 stars

average - promised more but did not deliver

the story was OK. however the narrator was not good, pronunciation of many English words not correct. the reading quality was not good neither the pace nor the places where pauses were taken. the book was a let down by its narrator. the book itself could have been better. large parts of Patel's life could and should have been researched better. more detailed account of 1946-47-48 period was expected.

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Loved every minute of it

Must read for every Indian and those interested in history of India especially during the lifetime of Sardar Patel. Well narrated too.

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Commendable Effort

It's a very good historical research about a forgotten but one of the most important unsung India maker's role in shaping our country. The writer has admitted that Sardar Patel's basic nature of "doing his karma but not expressing his thoughts" has left almost no documentary evidence in the form of any diary or self written book to understand his true personality. Still all events are presented with an unbiased way. A little dull to listen to the story at a stretch but a good eye opener.

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sardar pa tel

it was very informative and gave me a true picture of sardar Patel's strong character hope everyone who cares about Indian history should read it nehru made so many blunders about handling pakistan and china which we are still paying for wish sardar patel had not listened to Gandhi ji and become the country's first prime minister listening to Gandhi ji and nehru were his biggest mistakes

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    5 out of 5 stars
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Excellent book On Patel The Iron Man

Loved this book. But for Patel, India would have been a divided unstable nation.

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very good, good information about india

very good, good information about pre independent India. good log
look about Patel's life. nice narration

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Insightful

A must read for every Indian. Amazing work by Hindol Sengupta. One of the best books I have read.

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    5 out of 5 stars
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fantastic read

worth every page, so little is known about the iron man of India and yet we enjoy his fruits of labour in this great country!

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  • Overall
    3 out of 5 stars
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    1 out of 5 stars
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    4 out of 5 stars

Sad Narration, weak editing, informative contents

Firstly: the most irritating part if the performance of the narrator. I can understand English with Indian pronunciation, but cannot tolerate obvious errors and pronunciations which are wrong from an Indian context as well!

Story: While the contents are quite informative and new for me, I do wish the editing would have been crisper. Lots of repetitions and inconsistent jumps!

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    5 out of 5 stars

great insight to the forgotten legend

loved it and opened my eyes even more on atrocities of congress even during pre-idependence.
Sardar should always be respected by every Indian for giving us India.

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