“The more I researched, the more I was convinced that the Iron Man had been misunderstood in many respects and there were cobwebs about his attitude toward Indian Muslims, which needed to be removed. I am glad I was able to do so to my satisfaction,” Advani quoted from the book in the blog.
Zakaria said Fali Nariman, former Solicitor General of India, wrote to him that he enjoyed listening to the lectures, so did the Justice Chapalgaonkar of the Mumbai High Court.
“Many others also felt that I was able to present an objective analysis of Patel's attitude to Indian Muslims, which was sorely needed in the present situation which is so vitiated by communal poison,” Zakaria wrote.
Attempts led by BJP's Prime Ministerial candidate Narendra Modi to claim Patel's legacy has fuelled a spat between it and Congress in recent months with Modi suggesting that Patel would have made a better PM than Nehru.