Cde Patel buried

non-black hero to be interred at the national shrine after Cde Guy Clutton-Brock and Senator Joseph Culverwell.
In his condolence message, President Mugabe described Cde Patel as “a veteran nationalist and astute politician who belonged to a rare breed of very few courageous non-African revolutionaries in Zimbabwe”.
He said Cde Patel gave wise counsel to many in Zanu-PF, the Hindu community, in business circles and to the charities he was associated with.
“He lived for peace and equality among all races and demonstrated this creed throughout his political, religious and economic life,” President Mugabe said.
Cde Patel’s contributions to the liberation of Zimbabwe and philanthropic work are well-documented and remain etched in the annals of the country’s history.
A member of the Hindu community, his life was an example of cementing unity, which managed to bring together Indians and the rest of the community in Zanu-PF Harare central district.
Born in India in 1928, Senator Patel was involved in black nationalist movement since the 1950s when he came to Southern Africa as teacher.
He did his primary and secondary education at Dharmaj and proceeded to do a BA General at the University of Bombay.
He, however, cut short his studies when he decided to come to Africa.
Cde Patel first went to Zambia in 1951 where he worked as an assistant shopkeeper for a year. His political consciousness and will for justice saw him rebel against injustices inflicted on shop assistants and later formed a shop assistants union to fight the injustices.
For two years he was unemployed, but later took up employment as a teacher at Greenacre School in Kalomo.
Because of racial injustices that barred Indians from travelling to Southern Rhodesia without passports, Cde Patel established relations with the African National Congress and later Zambia’s United National Independence Party to fight colonial domination.
He migrated to Zimbabwe in 1961 where he quickly linked with the National Democratic Party and later Zimbabwe African People’s Union.
Cde Patel was in the 1960s the district treasurer of Zapu in Norton district.
In 1969, he helped organise the Gandhi Centenary Celebrations in the then Rhodesia to commemorate the contribution made by Mahatma Gandhi to the struggles of independence of the people of Southern Africa.
In 1980, he was voted the interim chairman of the Zanu-PF Tongogara Ridgeview branch working with the likes of Cde Nathan Shamuyarira and the late national heroes Cdes Maurice Nyagumbo and Herbert Ushewokunze. He was to take the post of vice chairman when the branch was finally established.
In 1985, he was appointed senator. Once in the Upper House of Parliament, Cde Patel made it clear that he was not in Senate for the Asian community only but for the party and all Zimbabweans.
Cde Patel argued that the time for community leaders to base on racial and ethnic criteria had been relegated to history and time had come for Zimbabweans to work together for the good of the country.
He advocated for the creation of synergies between the rural and urban setting to spearhead development and upliftment of the underprivileged in the country.
Five years later, he was again appointed non-constituency Member of Parliament.
At the Zanu-PF congress in 1994, Cde Patel was elevated to the Central Committee and in 1995 was re-elected a Member of Parliament and served on the public accounts and technical portfolios.
In 1999, he was re-elected into the Central Committee and subsequently elevated to the Zanu-PF Politburo as deputy secretary for finance in 2004.
In 2005 he was again appointed non constituency senator, a clear recognition of his work to national development.
He was a member of the Politburo until his death.
Accepting the party’s decision to accord his father national hero status, Yogesh Patel said the family was elated with the conferment of hero status to their father which was recognition of his contribution to the liberation and development of Zimbabwe.
We remember him this Heroes holiday.