Satyam Patel (4 August 1932 – 14 January 2005) was a

social worker Social work is an academic discipline and practice-based profession concerned with meeting the basic needs of individuals, families, groups, communities, and society as a whole to enhance their individual and collective well-being. Social work ...

and

activist Activism (or Advocacy) consists of efforts to promote, impede, direct or intervene in social, political, economic or environmental reform with the desire to make changes in society toward a perceived greater good. Forms of activism range fro ...

for the cause of labourers, farmers, untouchables and religious unity in the western state of

Gujarat Gujarat (, ) is a state along the western coast of India. Its coastline of about is the longest in the country, most of which lies on the Kathiawar peninsula. Gujarat is the fifth-largest Indian state by area, covering some ; and the ninth ...

India India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the so ...

Biography

Satyam Patel was born to Dr. Kishorbhai Patel and Maniben Patel in

Vadodara Vadodara (), also known as Baroda, is the second largest city in the Indian state of Gujarat. It serves as the administrative headquarters of the Vadodara district and is situated on the banks of the Vishwamitri River, from the state capital ...

, Gujarat, India. He was the 4th of the seven children. His father, Dr. Kishorbhai Patel, was a pathologist to the

Baroda State Baroda State was a state in present-day Gujarat, ruled by the Gaekwad dynasty of the Maratha Confederacy from its formation in 1721 until its accession to the newly formed Dominion of India in 1949. With the city of Baroda (Vadodara) as its c ...

. He spent his childhood in many Indian cities, including

Pune Pune (; ; also known as Poona, (List of renamed Indian cities and states#Maharashtra, the official name from 1818 until 1978) is one of the most important industrial and educational hubs of India, with an estimated population of 7.4 million ...

Mumbai Mumbai (, ; also known as Bombay — the official name until 1995) is the capital city of the Indian state of Maharashtra and the ''de facto'' financial centre of India. According to the United Nations, as of 2018, Mumbai is the second- ...

and

Sojitra Sojitra is a village in the Indian state of Gujarat. It is in the Anand district Anand District is an administrative district of Gujarat state in western India and whose popular nickname is Charotar. It was carved out of the Kheda dist ...

. Satyam Patel started his career as a prominent young leader of Mahagujarat Movement, demanding a separate state of Gujarat. The movement culminated in separation of the old state of Bombay into two states of Gujarat and Maharashtra on 1 May 1960 (The Labour Day). During the movement, he was a member of

Praja Socialist Party The Praja Socialist Party, abbreviated as PSP, was an Indian political party. It was founded when the Socialist Party, led by Jayaprakash Narayan, Rambriksh Benipuri, Acharya Narendra Deva and Basawon Singh (Sinha), merged with the Kisan Mazdoo ...

(PSP) that was led by

Jayprakash Narayan Jayaprakash Narayan (; 11 October 1902 – 8 October 1979), popularly referred to as JP or ''Lok Nayak'' (Hindi for "People's leader"), was an Indian independence activist, theorist, socialist and political leader. He is remembered for le ...

and

Ram Manohar Lohia Ram Manohar Lohia ; (23 March 1910 – 12 October 1967) was an activist in the Indian independence movement and a socialist political leader. During the last phase of British rule in India, he worked with the Congress Radio which was broadcast s ...

. As an ardent orator for the cause of Maha Gujarat, whose fiery speeches drew more crowd and attention than competing rallies of the then prime-minister

Jawaharlal Nehru Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru (; ; ; 14 November 1889 – 27 May 1964) was an Indian anti-colonial nationalist, secular humanist, social democrat— * * * * and author who was a central figure in India during the middle of the 20t ...

. After completing undergraduate degree in history, he studied law at Gujarat University and received LLB. Then he settled in

Ahmedabad Ahmedabad ( ; Gujarati: Amdavad ) is the most populous city in the Indian state of Gujarat. It is the administrative headquarters of the Ahmedabad district and the seat of the Gujarat High Court. Ahmedabad's population of 5,570,585 (per t ...

. In 1957, during his student movement years, he met and married, Prabhatshobha Majithia, with whom he had four children. Their marriage took place in the town of

Nadiad Nadiad is a city in the state of Gujarat, India and the administrative centre of the Kheda district. The city is managed by the Nadiad Municipality. It is known for the Santram Mandir, the Mai Mandir,

, which also served as constituencies for his bids to the state and national legislative bodies. After the formative years as a lawyer, Satyam Patel became a member of

Indian National Congress The Indian National Congress (INC), colloquially the Congress Party but often simply the Congress, is a political party in India with widespread roots. Founded in 1885, it was the first modern nationalist movement to emerge in the British Em ...

, and went on to lead the Seva Dal (Volunteer Force) under the leadership of

Indira Gandhi Indira Priyadarshini Gandhi (; Given name, ''née'' Nehru; 19 November 1917 – 31 October 1984) was an Indian politician and a central figure of the Indian National Congress. She was elected as third prime minister of India in 1966 ...

. He remained a close ally and fervent supporter of Indira Gandhi all through his life. Under the umbrella of Seva Dal, he arranged many unity camps all throughout Gujarat encouraging participation of youth members of Hindu and Muslim communities. The camps allowed a chance for the youth to live for an extended period with one another, interact with one another and discover the similarities and differences amongst themselves; ultimately leading to better understanding and peace among people of different religious backgrounds. He was the Secretary of Gujarat chapter of the Indian Federation of United Nations Associations (IFUNA).https://www.muna.org.in/IFUNA%20News/Apr-Jun%202002.pdf In 1988, he attended the General Assembly meeting of the UN on disarmament on behalf of India. He was also a prominent member of peace delegation to China to promote peace through cultural and economic exchanges. His follow-up work resulted in first high-level visit to China by

Rajiv Gandhi Rajiv Gandhi (; 20 August 1944 – 21 May 1991) was an Indian politician who served as the sixth prime minister of India from 1984 to 1989. He took office after the 1984 assassination of his mother, then Prime Minister Indira Gandhi, to beco ...

, the then prime minister of India, opening a new page of peace talks between the two countries. Late 1980 onwards, along with his wife Prabhatshobha (who is a physician), he took keen interest in promoting the Gandhian way of life by activities of the Pra-Yog Trust. The Pra-Yog Trust was established to further the work of Late Mr. V.P.Gidwani, who devoted all his life for scientific quest for alternative and natural cures for human ailments. The organization, housed at the Gandhi Ashram in the city of

, promotes simpler and healthier way of life through natural therapies and non-intrusive prevention techniques. At the time of his death, he was the General Secretary of World Gujarati Society (

Gujarati Gujarati may refer to: * something of, from, or related to Gujarat, a state of India * Gujarati people, the major ethnic group of Gujarat * Gujarati language, the Indo-Aryan language spoken by them * Gujarati languages, the Western Indo-Aryan sub- ...

વિશ્વ ગુજરાતી સમાજ), ardently promoting the Gujarati culture amongst the Gujarati diaspora around the world. Also, on the home front, he was leading a fight for the poor farmers of Gujarat under the umbrella of Committee of Protesting Farmers (

કિસાન સંઘર્ષ સમિતિ).

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Patel, Satyam Activists from Gujarat Gujarat politicians People from Vadodara 1932 births 2005 deaths Gujarat University alumni Praja Socialist Party politicians 20th-century Indian politicians Indian National Congress politicians from Gujarat