MichaleFlint91 at 04:04, 10 April 2026

2026-04-10T04:04:35Z

New page

{{Short description|Indian-born Zimbabwean anti-colonial activist, politician and businessman (1928–2011)}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=December 2023}}
{{Infobox officeholder
| honorific_prefix = [[National Hero of Zimbabwe]]
| name = Kantibhai Patel
| honorific_suffix =
| image =
| image_size =
| caption =
| office = [[Senate of Zimbabwe|Senator of Zimbabwe]]
| status =
| term_start = 2005
| term_end = 2008
| predecessor =
| successor =
| constituency = Non-constituency
| term_start1 = 1985
| term_end1 = 1990
| predecessor1 =
| successor1 =
| constituency1 = Non-constituency
| office2 = Member of the [[House of Assembly of Zimbabwe]]
| term_start2 = 1991
| term_end2 = 2000
| constituency2 = Non-constituency
| birth_name = Kantibhai Gordhanbhai Patel
| birth_date = 28 October 1928
| birth_place = [[Dharmaj]], [[Baroda State]], [[British Raj]]
| death_date = {{Death date and age|2011|9|10|1928|10|28|df=y}}
| death_place = [[Johannesburg]], [[Gauteng]], [[South Africa]]
| resting_place = [[National Heroes' Acre (Zimbabwe)|National Heroes' Acre]]<br/>[[Harare]], [[Zimbabwe]]
| party = [[ZANU–PF]]
| other_party =
| spouse =
| partner = 
| relations =
| children = 3
| education =
| alma_mater =
| occupation =
| profession =
| known_for =
| committees =
| awards =
| website =
}}
'''Kantibhai Gordhanbhai Patel''' (28 October 1928 – 10 September 2011) was an Indian-born Zimbabwean anti-colonial activist, politician, and businessman who served as a [[Senate of Zimbabwe|senator]] in the 1980s before serving as a non-constituency [[National Assembly of Zimbabwe|Member of Parliament]] in the 1990s. A member of Zimbabwe's governing party, the [[ZANU–PF]], he served on the party's Central Committee and Politburo. Following his death, he was declared a [[National Hero of Zimbabwe]].

==Early life and education==
Patel was born on 28 October 1928 into a peasant family in [[Dharmaj]] in what is today [[Gujarat]] in [[India]]. He studied for a Bachelor of Arts at the [[University of Bombay]] but did not finish the degree as he moved to [[Northern Rhodesia]] (now [[Zambia]]) in 1951 where he found employment as a shop assistant for a year.<ref name="RB">{{Cite web |title=Kantibai Patel: One of a rare breed |url=https://www.herald.co.zw/kantibai-patel-one-of-a-rare-breed/ |access-date=29 November 2023 |website=The Herald |language=en |archive-date=15 December 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221215093845/https://www.herald.co.zw/kantibai-patel-one-of-a-rare-breed/ |url-status=live }}</ref> Patel became an activist against the British colonial government and formed a Shop Assistants' Union.<ref name="RB"/> After having lost his job and being unemployed for two years, Patel became a teacher at the Greenacre School in [[Kalomo]].<ref name="RB"/>

==Political activism and career==
Patel was involved with the [[African National Congress]] of [[South Africa]] and later the [[United National Independence Party]] of [[Northern Rhodesia]].<ref name="AARB">{{Cite web |title=Kantibhai Patel, a rare breed of Asian-African revolutionaries |url=https://www.herald.co.zw/kantibhai-patel-a-rare-breed-of-asian-african-revolutionaries/ |access-date=29 November 2023 |website=The Herald |language=en}}</ref> He was later appointed to the Provincial Race Relations Committee in [[Kalomo]].<ref name="AARB"/>

Patel moved to [[Southern Rhodesia]] (now Zimbabwe) in 1961 where he became a member of the [[National Democratic Party (Southern Rhodesia)|National Democratic Party of Southern Rhodesia]] (NDP) and later the [[Zimbabwe African People's Union]] after the NDP was banned by the white minority government.<ref name="AARB"/> He was also elected to the executive of the Asian Association. Patel served as the district treasurer of Zapu in the [[Norton, Zimbabwe|Norton District]] during the 1960s. He was an organiser of the [[Mahatma Gandhi]] Centenary Celebrations in [[Rhodesia]] in 1969.<ref name="AARB"/>

Patel and other members of the Indian community formed the Sarasvati Education Trust to provide scholarships to Black students who were expelled from universities in Rhodesia to study overseas.<ref name="AARB"/>

Patel was named interim chairman of the ZANU–PF Tongogara Ridgeview branch in 1980. He was later elected as the branch's vice chairman following the branch's establishment. He established the district executive committee of the ZANU–PF Harare Central branch and was named its treasurer.<ref name="AARB"/> In 1985, [[Prime Minister of Zimbabwe|Prime Minister]] [[Robert Mugabe]] appointed him as a member of the [[Zimbabwe Senate]]. Patel was appointed a non-constituency member of the [[National Assembly of Zimbabwe|House of Assembly]] in 1990.<ref name="RB"/> He won a seat on the ZANU–PF Central Committee at the party's congress in 1994 and was reappointed as a Member of Parliament the following year.<ref name="AARB"/> He was re-elected to the Central Committee in 1999, before being elected to the party's Politburo, its highest decision-making body, in 2004.<ref name="AARB"/> Following the [[2005 Zimbabwean Senate election|2005 Senate election]], Patel was appointed one of six non-constituency senators by Mugabe.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Kubatana - Archive - President appoints ministers, Senators - The Herald - Nov 30, 2005 |url=http://archive.kubatana.net/html/archive/elec/051130herald1.asp?spec_code=051130sendex&sector=ELEC&year=0&range_start=1&intMainYear=0&intTodayYear=2023 |access-date=29 November 2023 |website=archive.kubatana.net}}</ref>

Patel was also a member of the board of trustees of the Child Survival and Development Foundation and a member of the board of the 21 February Movement. He served as treasurer of the Zimbabwe–Indian Friendship Association as well.<ref name="AARB"/>

==Personal life and death==
[[File:The Vice President, Shri M. Venkaiah Naidu at the Samadhi of Kantibhai Govardhanbhai Patel who had migrated to Zimbabwe in 1961 and rose to become a senator and was elected as Member of Parliament, in Harare, Zimbabwe.JPG|thumb|Indian Vice President [[Venkaiah Naidu]] visiting the [[memorial]] of Patel at the [[National Heroes' Acre (Zimbabwe)|National Heroes' Acre]] in November 2018.]]
Patel was married and had three sons. His wife died in 1973.<ref name="AARB"/>

Patel broke his [[hip bone]] and sustained a [[skull fracture]] after he fell at his home in Ridgeview in [[Harare]] on 25 August 2011.<ref name="Nehanda">{{Cite web |date=15 September 2011 |title=Zanu PF declare Patel a national hero |url=https://nehandaradio.com/2011/09/15/zanu-pf-declare-patel-a-national-hero/ |access-date=29 November 2023 |website=Nehanda Radio |language=en-US |archive-date=3 December 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231203230410/https://nehandaradio.com/2011/09/15/zanu-pf-declare-patel-a-national-hero/ |url-status=live }}</ref> He was treated at The Avenues Clinic in Harare before being transferred to the Linksfield Hospital in South Africa where he died on 10 September 2011.<ref name="AARB" /> His body was returned to Zimbabwe on 14 September. On the same day, the ZANU–PF Politburo met and unanimously declared him a [[National Hero of Zimbabwe]], the highest civilian honour in the country.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Zanu-PF politburo declares cremated Patel a national hero |url=https://bulawayo24.com/index-id-news-sc-national-byo-7502.html |access-date=29 November 2023 |website=Bulawayo24 News |archive-date=19 November 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171119093226/http://bulawayo24.com/index-id-News-sc-National-byo-7502.html |url-status=live }}</ref> Patel's remains were cremated at the Pioneer Cemetery as per [[Hindu burial]] rights and some of his ashes were transported to [[India]] to be thrown in the [[Ganges River]].<ref name="Nehanda"/> The remainder of his ashes were interred at the National Heroes' Acre during the [[Zimbabwe Heroes' Day|National Heroes' Day]] commemorations in August 2012.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Preps for Heroes commemorations go a gear up |url=https://www.herald.co.zw/preps-for-heroes-commemorations-go-a-gear-up/ |access-date=29 November 2023 |website=The Herald |language=en |archive-date=18 November 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171118141257/http://www.herald.co.zw/preps-for-heroes-commemorations-go-a-gear-up/ |url-status=live }}</ref>

== See also ==
* [[Indians in Zimbabwe]]

==References==
{{reflist}}

{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Patel, Kantibhai}}
[[Category:1928 births]]
[[Category:Zimbabwean people of Indian descent]]
[[Category:2011 deaths]]
[[Category:20th-century Zimbabwean politicians]]
[[Category:Members of the National Assembly of Zimbabwe]]
[[Category:Members of the Senate of Zimbabwe]]
[[Category:National Heroes of Zimbabwe]]
[[Category:Indian emigrants to Zimbabwe]]
[[Category:People from Anand district]]
[[Category:Members of the 6th Parliament of Zimbabwe]]
[[Category:Zimbabwean people of Gujarati descent]]

Kantibhai Patel - Revision history

MichaleFlint91 at 04:04, 10 April 2026