India, Nov. 1 -- October 31 is observed as Rashtriya Ekta Diwas (National Unity Day) to mark the birth anniversary of Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel. He was born on October 31, 1875, in Nadiad, Gujarat.

Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel (1875-1950), India's first Deputy Prime Minister and Home Minister, is credited with uniting India into one territorial and administrative entity. In roughly two years, he brought more than 560 princely states into the Union, built an all India civil service to run it, and shaped the constitutional rules that bind states and Centre together.

It is often said that without Patel, India would most likely still have held together, but more slowly, or involved more compromise, such as more autonomy for some rulers or a less...