Important Days

National Unity Day 2026 - October 31

October 31 , 2026 11 hrs 0 min 19 0

National Unity Day (Rashtriya Ekta Diwas) is observed on October 31 to mark the birth anniversary of Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel.
In 2026, his 151st birth anniversary will be celebrated.
Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel (1875–1950) was a freedom fighter and senior leader of the Indian National Congress.
He led the Bardoli Satyagraha (1928) in Gujarat, after which he became popularly known as “Sardar”.
He played a key role in integrating more than 560 princely states into the Indian Union after Independence in 1947, with the help of V. P. Menon.
He served as India's first Deputy Prime Minister and Home Minister from 1947 to 1950 and is popularly known as the “Iron Man of India.”
The 2026 theme is “Ek Bharat Shreshtha Bharat”.
He also led the Kheda Satyagraha (1918), supporting farmers who were unable to pay land revenue due to crop failure.
He served as the President of the Indian National Congress (INC) during its Karachi Session in 1931.
He was posthumously awarded the Bharat Ratna in 1991.
The Statue of Unity, inaugurated in 2018 at Kevadia (Ekta Nagar), Gujarat, was built in his honour and is the world's tallest statue.