HR Bhardwaj stirs hornet's nest: Quotes Jawaharlal Nehru demanding end to caste based reservation

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 former law minister HR 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 (117th 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.

Present caste-based reservation system of Union Government

Reservation Percentage

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%