In 1923-24 British Government had levied heavy taxes and for recovery of the same they started confiscating their cattle, land, properties of the common people. to protest against his oppression, Maniben Motivated women to come out and join campaign led by Gandhiji and Sardar Patel and support No-tax movement.
Exorbitant tax was levied by Britishers on the peasants of Bardoli in 1928 and were going similar harassament as that of Borsad. Mahatma Gandhi directed Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel to take leadership of the Satyagrah. Initially women were reluctant to join the movement, Maniben along with Mithuben Petit and Bhaktiba Desai motivated women, who ultimately outnumbered men in the movement. As a part of protest, they stayed in huts eracted on lands confiscated by the government.
Rajkot Satyagrah
During 1938, Against the unjust rule of Diwan of Rajkot State a Satyagrah was planned. Kasturba Gandhi was keen to join the Satyagrah despite her poor health. Maniben Accompanied her. Later on the government passed an order to separate both the ladies. Maniben went on fast against the order and authorities allowed her to be with Kasturba Gandhi.
Non-cooperation movement
She participated in the Non-Cooperation Movement as well as the Salt Satyagraha and was imprisoned for long periods of time. In the 1930s she became her father's aide, also caring for his personal needs. However, because Maniben Patel was committed to the liberation of India, and thus the Quit India movement, she was again imprisoned from 1942 to 1945 in Yerwada Central Jail. Maniben Patel served her father closely until his death in 1950. After moving to Mumbai, she worked for the rest of her life with numerous charitable organizations and for the Sardar Patel Memorial Trust. She went on to author an account of the freedom struggle as a book on her father's life in the years following Indian Independence.
Principles
Maniben always ensured that her and her father's clothes were weaved from khadi threads which were spun by her. She always insisted on travelling in third class.
1973 : Entered Lok Sabha winning the by-poll from Sabarkantha, defeating Shantubhai Patel of Congress
1977 : Won Mehsana Lok Sabha seat in General Elections, as Janata Party candidate
Vice president
Maniben Vallabhai Patel was once Vice-President of the Gujarat Provincial Congress Committee. Later, she was elected as a member of Indian National congress led by Nehru in first lok sabha from South Kaira constituency, in the second Lok Sabha from Anand. She was also Secretary and Vice President of Gujarat state Congress. She was elected to the Rajya Sabha in 1964 and continued till 1970. Information is lacking about the exact year when she left Congress Party, but in the early 1970s she had joined either Swatantra Party or NCO ; both Swatantra Party and NCO were powerful in Gujarat during the years 1967-1971. She did not contest the 1971 Lok Sabha polls. She was elected to Lok Sabha in 1973 when she won by-poll from Sabarkantha, defeating Shantubhai Patel of Congress by a narrow margin. She was elected to Lok Sabha from Mehsana on Janata party ticket in 1977. She was connected with several educational institutions including the Gujarat Vidyapith, Vallabh Vidyanagar, Bardoli Swaraj Ashram and Navajivan Trust prior to her death in 1990. In 2011, the Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel Memorial Trust undertook a project to publish her Gujarati diary, in collaboration with Navajivan Publications.
Works
Inside Story of Sardar Patel: The Diary of Maniben Patel, 1936-50, by Manibahen Patel. Ed. Prabha Chopra. Vision Books, 2001..
