Early this year, senior Congress leader Janardan Dwivedi, the party’s upper caste face had created a stir calling for an end to reservation on caste lines, forcing the party to distance itself both in the Parliament and outside, lest it invoked political repercussions. Now another senior leader and former law minister H R Bhardwaj, has culled a letter from India’s first prime minister Jawaharlal Nehru opposing quota systems on caste and communal lines. In a book titled “Nehru-Gazing at Tomorrow”, scheduled to be released here on Wednesday by Vice-President Hamid Ansari, Bhradwaj, another Brahmin face in the party writes that Nehru’s idea of social justice was to create educational opportunities and reservations at some preliminary stages, not at later stages. “Because he (Nehru) believed that his ambition to build India with first-rate citizens (meritorious) should not be constrained by too much reservation at all levels,” writes Bhardwaj, who till recently was Governor of Karnataka.
Reproducing a letter written by Nehru to the chief ministers on June 27, 1960, Bhardwaj’s book ready to create a stir and headache for the Congress questions how are we going to build our public sector or indeed any sector with second-rate people? Nehru in his letter says, while Scheduled Castes (SCs) and Scheduled Tribes (STs) did deserve help, but even so he dislikes 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 way to help a backward group is to give opportunities for good education,” writes Nehru, India’s first prime minister.
He further writes that everything else, besides helping them in education will be providing them (backward groups) some kind of crutches which don’t add to the strength or health of the body. Nehru laid emphasis to providing universal free elementary education and scholarships on a wide scale at every grade to bright students. “But if we go in for reservation on communal and caste basis, we swamp the bright and able people and remain second-rate or third rate. I am grieved to learn of how far this business of reservation has gone based on communal consideration,” Nehru wrote to chief ministers. He even said he was amazed to learn that even promotions were based sometimes on communal and caste considerations. “This way lies not only folly, but disaster,” he warned. Incidentally, the government is again set to introduce the Constitution (One Hundred Seventeenth Amendment) Bill, to provide reservations in promotions after it lapsed, with the dissolution of 15th Lok Sabha. In 2012, it was introduced in Rajya Sabha by the previous UPA government, disciples of Nehru and was passed with an overwhelming vote of 206 in the 245-member House.
Earlier Congress general secretary Dwivedi's pitch to end caste-based reservation had also come at a time when the Congress was pursuing minority sub quota, supporting reservation in promotion for SCs/STs and also extending reservation for Jats and Marathas. "This (reservation on caste lines) should have come to an end. Why it did not happen so far was because vested interests got into the process. Does the real needy person even among the Dalits and backward castes get the benefits of reservation? Those in the upper crust of these communities only avail the benefits. There is a difference between social justice and casteism,” Dwivedi had said.
Present caste-based reservation system of Union Government
| Scheduled Castes |
15% |
| Scheduled Tribes |
7.5% |
| Other Backward Castes (OBCs) |
27% |
| Total constitutional reservation percentage |
49.5% |
| General (Open to all including SC/ST and OBC) |
50.5% |
*The exact percentages vary from state to state:
In Tamil Nadu, the reservation is 18% for SCs and 1% for STs, based on local demographics.
In Northeast India, especially in Arunachal Pradesh, Meghalaya, Nagaland and Mizoram, reservation for ST in State Govt. jobs is 80% with only 20% unreserved. In the Central Universities of NEHU(shillong) and Rajiv Gandhi University, 60% of seats are reserved for ST students.
In Andhra Pradesh, 25% of educational institutes and government jobs are reserved for OBCs, 15% for SCs, 6% for STs and 4% for Muslims.
In West Bengal, 35% of educational institute seats and government jobs are reserved for SC, ST, and OBC (22% SC, 6%ST,[15] 7% for OBC A &B in West Bengal there is no reservation on religious basis but some economically and educationally backward Muslim castes(basis surnames pertaining to different profession e.g. cobbler, weaver etc.) have been included along with their Hindu counterparts in OBC list namely OBC A and OBC B,
Religion
The Tamil Nadu government has allotted 3.5% of seats each to Muslims and Christians, thereby altering the OBC reservation to 23% from 30%.
The Government of Andhra Pradesh introduced a law enabling 4% reservations for Muslims in 2004. This law is currently being contested in the Supreme Court.
Kerala Public Service Commission has a quota of 12% for Muslims.
Religious minority (Muslim or Christian) educational institutes also have 50% reservation for Muslim or Christian religions. In Maharashtra, the Government has introduced 5% Reservation for Muslims in Jobs and Education.
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