Leader of Opposition in Rajya Sabha Mallikarjun Kharge on Monday (Dec 16) accused Prime Minister Narendra Modi of “distorting facts” about Jawaharlal Nehru’s letter to chief ministers, in which he mentioned reservation for weaker sections of society.
Speaking in the Upper House, Kharge said, “Nehruji wrote a letter to the Chief Ministers, which Modiji mentioned in his speech to defame Nehruji by distorting the facts. He should apologize to the country for this.”
Prime Minister Modi said in the Lok Sabha on SaturdayCongress Prime Ministers from Nehru to Rajiv Gandhi strongly opposed reservation. History proves it. Nehru wrote a long letter to the Chief Ministers opposing reservation.
What has Modi mentioned in this letter, and what has Nehru written about reservation?
Nehru’s Letters to Chief Ministers
As Prime Minister, Nehru was in the habit of writing fortnightly letters to Chief Ministers, usually on the 1st and 15th of each month. It was a practice he began immediately after independence, and continued for a few months before his death. Explaining his reasons for doing so in 1947, he said, “In times of extraordinary stress like the present, it is a more than usual responsibility to keep in close touch with each other, so that we can make concerted efforts to overcome it. The serious dangers we face.” Nehru wrote about 400 such letters and they shed light on his views on various issues.
When the letters were collected and published by the Jawaharlal Nehru Memorial Fund in 1985, Rajiv Gandhi wrote a foreword. He wrote. “Jawaharlal Nehru, as the first Prime Minister, was convinced that the building of institutions and assemblies, so important in a democracy, he followed with his colleagues in whatever decisions and courses of action he took. Demanded to share the reason. Change through Consensus and Greater Social Justice were the songs of Panditji’s Prime Ministership… These fortnightly letters have long been regarded as basic texts on nation-building and open statecraft. has come
What did Nehru’s letter say about reservation?
In a letter dated June 27, 1961, Nehru wrote about the need for efficiency and “breaking out of our traditional norms”. He wrote, ‘It is necessary to get out of the old habits of reservation and special facilities given to this caste or that group. In the recent meeting we held here to discuss national unity, it was said that we should cooperate on financial basis and not on ethnic basis. It is true that we are bound by certain rules and norms in relation to assisting Scheduled Castes and Tribes. They deserve help but, still, I don’t like any kind of reservation, especially in services.
He continued, “I react strongly against anything that causes
Disability and second-rate standards. I want my country to be a first class country in everything. The moment we encourage second-rate, we lose. The only real way to help the backward groups is to provide opportunities for better education, including technical education which is becoming more important day by day. All else is a provision of some kind of crutch which adds neither to the strength nor to the health of the body.”
Regarding efforts to ensure “good education”, he wrote, “We have recently taken two decisions which are very important: one, universal free primary education, that is the foundation; and second, scholarships to bright boys and girls in every class of education on a very wide scale. , and this applies not only to literary education, but even more so, to technical, scientific and medical training.
He added, ‘I have no doubt that there is a huge pool of talented talent in this country if only we can give it a chance. But if we go for reservation on communal and caste basis, we swamp bright and capable people and remain second-rate or third-rate. I am saddened to know how far this business of reservation based on communal ideas has gone. I was surprised to learn that even promotions are sometimes based on communal or caste considerations. This path is not only foolish, but also disastrous. Let us help the disadvantaged groups by all means, but never at the cost of efficiency.
What policy did the Nehru government implement on reservation?
Despite the views in this paper, the Nehru government did not implement policies to remove or weaken the provision of reservation. Nehru actually said“Frankly speaking, I would like to end reservations but in the present affairs of India it would not be desirable to do so in respect of Scheduled Castes.”
Also, the Constituent Assembly had a vigorous debate on reservation, in which Nehru did not oppose them.
While the constitution is made Provision of reservation for seats For Scheduled Castes and Tribes in the Legislature, in 1950, under Nehru, they were given quotas in government jobs of 12.5% and 5% respectively.
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