<span style="color: #222222;">Chief of Defence Staff General Bipin Rawat has said that it is to the credit of Sardar Patel that the integration of the princely Indian states into the Indian Union and the political unification of India took place. Delivering the annual Sardar Patel Memorial Lecture organised by All India Radio in New Delhi on the topic "Role of Indian Armed Forces in Nation Building, General Rawat said, Sardar Patel's contribution in integrating 565 princely states into a new independent India is unforgettable. He said, later, the liberation of Goa, Daman and Diu carried forward the consolidation of our territorial frontiers.</span><br />'' <span style="color: #222222;"> </span><br />'' <span style="color: #222222;">The lecture will be broadcast on the occasion of Sardar Patel's birth anniversary today across All India Radio Network at 9:30 PM.</span><br />'' <br />'' <span style="color: #222222;">The visual version of the lecture will be broadcast on DD National today at 10 PM.</span><br />'' <br />'' <span style="color: #222222;">Sardar Patel Memorial Lecture has been an annual tradition of All India Radio since 1955, wherein famous leaders, thinkers and opinion makers present their views on select topics in front of an invited audience. The lecture is then broadcast across All India Radio network.</span><br />'' <br />'' <span style="color: #222222;">Collection of all Sardar Patel Memorial lectures delivered by eminent personalities since 1955 is available on Prasar Bharati Archives YouTube channel. </span><br />