PM Modi Quotes Nehru in Parliament, But What Did the Former PM Exactly Say?

Did Nehru call Indians lazy? Was he against reservations. We look at the full version of Nehru's statements.

PM Modi had recently targeted former PM Nehru in the Parliament.

(Photo: Altered by The Quint)

In his reply to the Motion of Thanks on the President's address, Prime Minister Narendra Modi made several remarks targeting the Congress party and India's first PM, Jawaharlal Nehru.

PM Modi in Lok Sabha claimed that Nehru believed that Indians were lazy, and quoted the latter's Independence Day speech from 1959.

Soon after this, PM Modi quoted a letter in Rajya Sabha that was written by Nehru to the then chief ministers of different states of the country. The former alleged that Nehru was against reservations.

But are these statements true?

Team WebQoof compared the statements made by PM Modi and what Nehru spoke/wrote to put the later's statements in context.

Did Nehru Say Indians Were Lazy in His Independence Day Speech?

What did PM Modi say?: In his speech in Lok Sabha, he said that Congress never trusted people's capability. They always thought of themselves as rulers and underestimated the public.

Supporting his statements, he quoted former PM Nehru's statements from the Red Fort during the Independence Day in 1959.

"In India, people do not have the habit of working very hard. We do not work as much as the people of Europe or Japan or China or Russia or America. Don't think that these countries prospered due to magic, but through hard work and intelligence."

Following this, PM Modi said that Nehru used to think that Indians were lazy and less intelligent.

What did Nehru exactly say in 1959?: We found the full version of Nehru's speech from 1959, which was uploaded on the official YouTube channel of Prasar Bharati Archives.

At around the 11:20 timestamp, Nehru said, "Look at the countries that have prospered, how did they become prosperous? It is through their hard work. Be it Europe, America, or countries from Asia. All of them have prospered due to their continuous hard work and unity."

"In India, people do not usually have the habit of working hard. It is not our fault. Such habits get formed. But we don't work as much as the people in Europe or Japan or China or Russia or America do. Don't think these countries prospered through magic, but it was through hard work. So, we too can progress through hard work and intelligence, there is no other option, we cannot progress through magic."

Jawaharlal Nehru, former Prime Minister

Was Nehru Against Reservations? 

PM Modi's statement: Hitting out at the Congress for talking about caste, the Prime Minister said that the opposition party has been the biggest enemies of Dalit, backward castes, and tribals.

Supporting his statement, PM Modi in Rajya Sabha mentioned about a letter written by Nehru to the then chief ministers. The former then read out a translated bit from the letter.

"I dislike any kind of reservation, especially in jobs. I am against any step that will promote inefficiency and will lead to second-class standards."

PM Modi then said that according to Nehru, giving reservations to SC, ST, OBCs in jobs would have led to a decline in the quality of government work. The figures that these people quote today, this is where its roots lie."

What did Nehru exactly say?: Team WebQoof found an archive of the book named Letters For A Nation: From Jawaharlal Nehru To His Chief Ministers on Wayback Machine.

In a letter dated 27 June 1961, he wrote, "The recent meeting we held here, at which the Chief Ministers were present, to consider national integration, laid down that help should be given on economic considerations and not on caste."

"It is true that we are tied up with certain rules and conventions about helping the scheduled castes and tribes. They deserve help but, even so, 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."

Jawaharlal Nehru, former Prime Minister

Nehru said that the real way to help a backward group is to provide opportunities of good education that includes technical education. He added that the government has made two important decisions — universal free elementary education and scholarships on a very wide scale."

The text is available on page 79-80 of the book.

(Source: Letters For A Nation: From Jawaharlal Nehru To His Chief Ministers/Screenshot)

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