Sunday, May 21, 2006
BHU medicos release Pandit Nehru's anti-reservation letter
The Banaras Hindu University(BHU) campus today released a letter reportedly written by India's first Prime Minister Jawahar Lal Nehru, against the practice of caste and communal reservation.
The very grand-father-in-law of our illustrious super Prime Minister Sonia Gandhi, Pt Nehru, had this to say on Reservation in a letter that he wrote on the 27th of June 1961 to the Chief Ministers of that time:,
The letter reads :
''I dislike any kind of reservation, more particularly in Services. I react strongly against anything, which leads to inefficiency and second rate standards. I want my country to be a first class country in everything. The moment we encourage the second rate, we are lost.
''The only real way to help a backward group is to give opportunities of good education, this includes technical education, which is becoming more and more important. Everything else is provision of some kind of crutches which do not act to the strength or health of the body.
''We have made recently two decisions, which are very important, one is universal free elementary education to, that is the base and the second is scholarships on a very wide scale at every grade of education to the bright boys and girls, and this applies not merely to literary education, but much more so, to technical, scientific and medical training.
''I lay stress on the bright and able boys and girls because it is only they who will raise our standards. I have no doubt that there is a vast reservoir of potential talent in this country if only we can give it opportunity.'' ''But if we go in for reservations on communal or caste basis, we swamp the bright and able people and remain second rate or third rate. I am grived to learn how far this business of reservation has gone based on communal considerations.
''It has amazed me to learn that even promotions are based sometimes on communal or caste considerations. This way lies not only folly, but disaster. Let us help the backward groups by all means, but never at the cost of efficiency. How are we going to build our public sector or indeeed any sector with second rate people.''
This way, he added, "Lies not only folly, but also disaster."
The very grand-father-in-law of our illustrious super Prime Minister Sonia Gandhi, Pt Nehru, had this to say on Reservation in a letter that he wrote on the 27th of June 1961 to the Chief Ministers of that time:,
The letter reads :
''I dislike any kind of reservation, more particularly in Services. I react strongly against anything, which leads to inefficiency and second rate standards. I want my country to be a first class country in everything. The moment we encourage the second rate, we are lost.
''The only real way to help a backward group is to give opportunities of good education, this includes technical education, which is becoming more and more important. Everything else is provision of some kind of crutches which do not act to the strength or health of the body.
''We have made recently two decisions, which are very important, one is universal free elementary education to, that is the base and the second is scholarships on a very wide scale at every grade of education to the bright boys and girls, and this applies not merely to literary education, but much more so, to technical, scientific and medical training.
''I lay stress on the bright and able boys and girls because it is only they who will raise our standards. I have no doubt that there is a vast reservoir of potential talent in this country if only we can give it opportunity.'' ''But if we go in for reservations on communal or caste basis, we swamp the bright and able people and remain second rate or third rate. I am grived to learn how far this business of reservation has gone based on communal considerations.
''It has amazed me to learn that even promotions are based sometimes on communal or caste considerations. This way lies not only folly, but disaster. Let us help the backward groups by all means, but never at the cost of efficiency. How are we going to build our public sector or indeeed any sector with second rate people.''
This way, he added, "Lies not only folly, but also disaster."
