Rashtriya Ekta Diwas Marks Patel's 151st Birth Anniversary

Rashtriya Ekta Diwas, or National Unity Day, was observed on 31 October 2026. The day is kept every year on this date because it is the birth anniversary of Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel, and in 2026 it was his 151st birth anniversary.

The pledge in the ministries

Union Minister for Health and Family Welfare J. P. Nadda administered the Rashtriya Ekta Diwas pledge to officers and officials of two ministries together, the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare and the Ministry of Chemicals and Fertilizers. The ceremony was held at Kartavya Bhawan-1 in New Delhi. Through the pledge those present reaffirmed a shared commitment to the unity, the integrity and the security of the country.

Who was present

• Punya Salila Srivastava, Secretary, Department of Health and Family Welfare.
• Rajat Kumar Mishra, Secretary, Department of Fertilizers, and Tejveer Singh, Secretary, Department of Chemicals and Petrochemicals (DCPC), both in the Ministry of Chemicals and Fertilizers.
• Dr Rajiv Bahl, Secretary, Department of Health Research, who is also Director General of the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR).
• Dr Lovneesh G. Krishna, Director General of Health Services, and Sunil Kumar Barnwal, Chief Executive Officer of the National Health Authority (NHA).

Tributes at the highest level

The President of India, Droupadi Murmu, placed floral tributes before Sardar Patel at Rashtrapati Bhavan on the same day, and earlier went to Sardar Patel Chowk in New Delhi to pay her respects at his statue. Prime Minister Narendra Modi paid homage to Patel as the Iron Man of India and the architect of a united India, saying that Patel gave his life to the building of a strong, prosperous and capable country and that his sacrifice remains a source of inspiration for the work of making India developed and self-reliant.

Why the day is read this way

Patel is remembered chiefly for welding the princely states into one union, which is the reason a day in his name is given to unity rather than to any single department of government. The observance is therefore not limited to one ceremony: pledges are taken across offices and institutions, and the message repeated is that unity, integrity and national cohesion hold the country's development together.