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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 (156 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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    4 out of 5 stars
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    2 out of 5 stars

Average book but nice narration

this book is more of comparison between Patel and Nehru than story of Patel... even though I am not a fan of Nehru and really wanted to learn more about Patelji but author concentration is more on criticism for Nehr- Gandhi family

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4 people found this helpful

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    1 out of 5 stars
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    1 out of 5 stars
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    1 out of 5 stars

Missing chronology, Unsorted events, lk TV serial

Confused writer with complete Injustice to Patels legacy ..Disappointed with the book chronology, Content and flow .

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1 person found this helpful

  • Overall
    3 out of 5 stars
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    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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1 person found this helpful

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

must read

learned a lot about Sardar Patel, a great leader, farsighted and pragmatic, I wish to be like him. must read for all!!

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  • Overall
    3 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars
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    3 out of 5 stars
  • Rj
  • 17-11-23

Average

It is 60% Patel and 40% Gandhi Nehru. Lot of information is new but Jumbled sometime

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

A Visionary leader

A book an inquisitive Indian should read. To know more about events pre independence. Ideas which Sardar Patel had for India.

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  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
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    1 out of 5 stars
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    4 out of 5 stars
  • MG
  • 03-06-23

very good book but narration could 've been better

A very good book very insightful but narration is full of mis-pronunciation taking the pleasure away.

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  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    4 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

New insights into Sardar Patrl

Keeps you engrossed. The last 2 chapters literally gives you goosebumps. Worth a listen and kids will also like it

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

Wonderful rendition of a true nationalist.

This book is a true rendition of the immense effort of SardarPatel in unifying this nation at the time of partition, the undercurrents at the top level of the Congress leadership. The boundaries of India would not have been the way it is today if it was not for the Herculean efforts of Sardar Vallabhai Patel, but sadly the current Congress leadership is not giving due credit to his contribution.

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

Very interesting and informative

This book shows the story of a man who gave everything in his life for this comtry till his last breath, a man who did everything in his power to win his country the freedom, without expecting any thing.

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