New Delhi | Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Monday paid homage to Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel on his 75th death anniversary, saying he unified a fragmented Independent India into a strong nation despite numerous adverse circumstances.

In a message posted on 'X', Shah termed the country's first home minister a "symbol of national unity, the architect of a strong India, the Iron Man" who "made the protection of Mother India, internal stability, and the establishment of peace the goal of his life".

"By reviving the cooperative movement and laying the foundation of a self-reliant India through the self-reliance of women and farmers, Sardar Sahab will continue to guide us all like a pole star on the path of nation first," he said.

Born in Nadiad, Gujarat, in 1875, Patel was a pivotal figure in India's struggle for Independence. As the country's first home minister, he was instrumental in integrating over 560 princely states into the Indian Union post-Independence. He died in 1950.