BHU medicos release Nehru's anti-quota letter

Varanasi, May 19: Junior doctors agitating against reservation on 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.

BHU Sir Sunder Lal Hospital (SSU) Resident Doctor's Association president Mahesh Kante released to the media, a letter written by Nehru to chief ministers of states.

The letter has been taken out of the book 'Jawahar Lal Nehru Letters to Chief Ministers 1947-1964 Volume Five' published by Oxford University Press in 1989, Dr Kante told UNI.

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.''

The letter has been released to expose the faith of the UPA regime in their most revered leaders including Pandit Nehru, who were not in favour of any form of reservation, Dr Kante said. ''We now ask HRD minister Arjun Singh, that will he go against the wishes of Pandit Nehru and put the same question to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and UPA chairperson Sonia Gandhi, and her MP son Rahul Gandhi.'' Meanwhile, the indefinite strike of the junior doctors at the SSU entered its fourth day with the resident doctors holding parellel OPD outside the main OPD of the hospital.

One of the MBBS students spearheading the movement, Dr Avinash Singh said 100 medicos from Institute of Medical Sciences (IMS-BHU)including residents, MBBS and PG students are leaving this evening for New Delhi to join an anti-reservation march tomorrow.

The remaining agitationists will resort to a relay hunger strike from tomorrow on the IMS campus, he added.

The medicos also got a shot in the arm this morning with the Varanasi Branch of Indian Medical Association (IMA) joining their cause.

''At a meeting last evening, we decided to join the cause of the anti-reservation doctors in BHU,'' IMA local wing general Secretary Sanjay Rai said.

Addressing the agitating students on the IMS campus, Dr Rai said the IMA members spread across the entire district will wear black bands to protest the OBC reservation proposal, while the UP Branch of IMA has also decided to act identically from tommorow.

Dr Rai further said IMA office bearers will meet the agitating doctors soon to chalk out a common strategy to further intensify movement.

UNI