Latest news with #anti-Emergency
Indian Express
27-06-2025
- Politics
- Indian Express
‘50 Years of Emergency': Political, social activists recall the ‘dark period', say ‘memories still fresh'
'It was around 10 am on June 26, 1975. I was addressing a small gathering under the banner of the Lok Sangharsh Samiti of Jayaprakash Narayan, popularly known as JP, near the famous eatery Sher-a-Punjab at the junction of Lower Bazar and the Mall Road — just hours after the imposition of the draconian Emergency in the country. I still remember deputy superintendent of police-rank officer Ami Chand approaching me. He put his right hand around my neck in a friendly manner and whispered in my left ear, 'Aayo Shastri ji, thodi sair kar kai aate hain' (Come Mr Shastri, let's go for a walk). I couldn't resist, and that 'walk' lasted nearly 19 months — from June 1975 to March 1977,' Radha Raman Shastri, a former Sanskrit teacher in a government school, recalled. He was later elected as an MLA from Chopal, on a Janata Dal ticket. A native of Chopal in Shimla, 82-year-old Shastri said: 'Instead of taking me to a nearby police post, I was directly taken to the Sadar police station where they served me two chapatis and a bowl of yellow dal. I assumed, like many, that I would be held for 24 hours and then released. But that illusion was shattered when I was bundled into another police vehicle and sent to the Nahan Central Jail. There, I met many contemporaries from across the state including the senior-most Jan Sangh leader, Shanta Kumar. In 1975, I was the general secretary of the Lok Sangharsh Samiti's Himachal Pradesh unit.' 'For almost six months, I was not allowed to meet my wife and children, who had moved to my father-in-law's house. Back then, I owned a printing press at Nav Bahar in Shimla, which was raided nine times as police suspected anti-government and anti-Emergency posters were published there. Eventually, I had to sell it for Rs 12,000 despite the purchase price being Rs 1 lakh,' Shastri added. Bharat Bhushan Vaidya, an 83-year-old advocate, said: 'I was a practising lawyer back then. I remember how a large number of police personnel took me to the Boileauganj police station from my house a day after the Emergency was declared. Several others were also detained, without any explanation.' Vaidya, another resident of Shimla's Subhash Nagar, said: 'Although I was released on bail much earlier than many of my contemporaries, the real sufferers were the families of those imprisoned for nearly 19 months.' During the Emergency, each of the Nahan Central Jail in Sirmour district, Kaithu Jail in Shimla, and Solan Jail in Solan district was full with hundreds of political and social activists. According to instructions of the Central government, activists from Shimla were detained in Nahan, and the ones from Chamba in Solan — to ensure their family members would not be able to visit them. Including their family members, Shastri, Vaidya, and many others who had endured this 'dark period' attended a programme titled '50 Years of Emergency' — an exhibition, and a mock parliament — organised by the BJP in Shimla, where participants re-enacted debates between the ruling party and opposition leaders from that time.
India.com
25-06-2025
- Politics
- India.com
Young Narendra Modis Secret Fight Against Emergency Tyranny: Stories Of Protecting Indian Democracy
As the nation observes the 50th anniversary of the Emergency, imposed by the then Indira Gandhi government on June 25, 1975, it also marks a moment to recall the contributions and sacrifices of those who fought against the 'murder' of democracy and the suspension of civil liberties and fundamental rights of citizens for more than 20 months. Modi Story, a popular social media handle on X, has documented some details of the darkest hours of the Emergency and also how a young Narendra Modi struggled to defend democracy and safeguard the Constitution as a 'ground worker'. The X handle also shared some inspiring instances from the dark era, when Narendra Modi juggled between different roles to strengthen people's faith in democracy and rally students to stand up against the state oppression. It shared videos of some 'defenders of democracy' who worked with young Modi and narrated stories of how he concealed his identity during the Emergency and kept rallying the students to stand up against the dictatorship. When the Emergency was imposed, I was a young RSS Pracharak. The anti-Emergency movement was a learning experience for me. It reaffirmed the vitality of preserving our democratic framework. At the same time, I got to learn so much from people across the political spectrum. I am… — Narendra Modi (@narendramodi) June 25, 2025 Vijay Rajpal, who met Modi for the first time in 1973 at the RSS office in Ahmedabad, recalled that Narendra Modi once took shelter at his house, and it was here that he learnt the art of wearing turban to avoid police lens. 'Narendra Bhai was under the watch of Gujarat police then because of his association with mass movement against Emergency. We went to Chandni Chowk area, where he bought turban and went to Gujarat disguising himself as Sardar,' he recalled. Prakash Mehta, an NRI citizen currently living in Australia, recalled the days of their resistance against Emergency under the banner of 'Navnirman movement'. 'Police were not allowed inside the campus. We worked as underground workers from this place. Narendra Modi rallied students to stand up against the Emergency. He held secret meetings in hostels and encouraged them to spread the message through graffiti in public spaces. To evade police and act swiftly, he gave them an innovative idea — making steel stencils to spray 'Emergency Hatao' in just two minutes!' he recounted. Daxesh Mehta, former Councillor in Gujarat, also reminisced the days of fightback against Emergency, where he along with young Narendra Modi worked to contribute to the movement against Emergency. 'During the peak of the Emergency, key documents and literature often had to be moved from the RSS office in Ahmedabad — which was under constant police surveillance. To avoid detection, Modi would send young boys to carry them, instead of older men, slipping past street checks unnoticed. A seemingly small task, but it reflected a young Modi's foresight and strategic clarity even under intense pressure,' he shared in video message. Swami Govind Dev Giri Mahraj, a seer of Shri Ram Janambhoomi Tirth Kshetra Trust disclosed that not many know that during the Emergency, Narendra Modi spent several weeks in solitude, meditating at the Garudeshwar Mandir. One of the anecdotes refers to young Modi's role as 'food transporter'. Nirmal Motwani, a resident of Surat recalled: 'One of Narendra Modi's key responsibilities during the Emergency was looking after the families of jailed karyakartas. On one occasion, the wife of an imprisoned karyakarta requested him to deliver some home-cooked food to her husband. Modi agreed — and despite the constant threat of arrest, he personally went to the jail and delivered the food!'
New Indian Express
25-06-2025
- Politics
- New Indian Express
Will you completely forget your father just to spread BJP's propaganda: Congress' jibe at Scindia
"The thoughts of the respected Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi on her towering personality and contributions are inspiring for all of us," he said. Hitting back at Scindia, Congress' media and publicity department head Pawan Khera said, "Dear Maharaj, why don't you ever mention your revered father, or will you completely forget him just to spread BJP's propaganda?" "The late Madhavrao Scindia ji became an MP in Indira Gandh's government in 1980. Did you never ask your father why he was against the Sangh? Why didn't he support the Sangh in opposing the Emergency?" Khera said in a post on X. In another post, Khera said, "Balasaheb Deoras, the RSS chief at the time, went so far as to write a letter to Prime Minister Indira Gandhi, congratulating her on the Supreme Court's verdict upholding her election in 1975. He outrightly distanced the RSS from the pre and anti-Emergency movements." But today, the same RSS is busy setting up shop, selling stories of resistance it never lived, the Congress leader said. "As they say, 'The father couldn't swat a fly, and the son calls himself a warrior.' The history of the RSS is built on lies and the entire story of their so-called struggle can be written on a single grain of rice," Khera claimed.
New Indian Express
22-06-2025
- Politics
- New Indian Express
A tale of twists and turns of two leaders in Kerala during Emergency
THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Half a century after the country suffered through Emergency, the twists and turns that it left behind in Kerala continues to spin curious political tales. As the nation prepares to observe the 50th anniversary of Emergency on June 25, not many would be aware of how two veterans of state politics, switched to the other side of the political spectrum during the period. The dark days of the Emergency are obviously something that the entire Congress leadership in Kerala would want to forget; but not him. Senior Congress leader and former speaker N Sakthan Nadar would probably be the only leader who has happy memories associated with the period. Sakthan who was part of the Kerala Congress -- not a Congress ally back then -- underwent a two-month jail term in the initial days of Emergency in 1975. Beginning his public life via student politics at Catholicate College, Pathanamthitta, Sakthan went on to win the student union election at Thiruvananthapuram Law College as a Kerala Student Congress (KSC) candidate. He was district secretary of the Kerala Congress when he took part in the anti-Emergency protest. He was arrested from the picket line at the Secretariat. 'It was 1975. A host of leaders such as C K Hareendrdan and Selvaraj served jail terms with me. Comrade K Anirudhan was our leader in prison. I was in jail for two months,' recounts Sakthan. As fate would have it, the Kerala Congress became part of the Congress-led political front in 1976 and Sakthan crossed over to the other side. 'It was Mani sir (K M Mani) who brought me into politics. In 1977, I was fielded as a Kerala Congress candidate. In 1984, I joined the Congress and became minister and speaker. Incidentally, I'm the only leader in the entire country who has served as pro-tem speaker, deputy speaker and speaker of the house in the same assembly session,' Sakthan told TNIE. The tale takes an interesting turn, with the entry of the other leader. Even as Sakthan moved to the Congress, at around the same time, a prominent Congress leader decided to part ways with the grand old party.
Time of India
21-06-2025
- Politics
- Time of India
BJP looks for youth to debate in favour of Emergency for ‘mock parliament'
Lucknow: Imagine a BJP functionary urging youth to speak in favour of the Emergency imposed by Indira Gandhi in 1975. Surprised? But that's what the saffron outfit plans to do as it gears up to organise a 'mock parliament' in nine districts to mark 50 years of the Emergency between June 25 and June 27. Tired of too many ads? go ad free now Though the BJP describes it as a "black chapter" in the history of Indian democracy, the party is looking for at least 7,000 youths who can stir up a debate by speaking in favour of the Emergency, which was imposed by Gandhi for 21 months — between June 25, 1975, and March 21, 1977 — citing a breakdown of the law and order situation in the country owing to massive protests by the opposition parties alleging corruption by the Congress regime. "Since it is a mock parliament, we have decided to enrol at least 40% of the youth who can speak in favour of the topic. This would serve the purpose of striking a balance during the event," UP BJP yuva morcha's state general secretary and in charge of the campaign, Varun Goyal told TOI. The BJP has decided to register at least 18,000 youths in the 18-25 age group for the event, which will see a clash of pro and anti-Emergency views. These youths will be screened by a committee of the BJP yuva morcha, and at least 80-100 people will be shortlisted for each of the nine districts — Meerut, Jhansi, Kanpur, Lucknow, Prayagraj, Gorakhpur, Ghaziabad, Aligarh and Bareilly — where the event will be organised. However, Goyal said, the party is not able to get that many youths who can speak in favour of the Emergency. "We are somehow convincing a host of them to do so," he said, asserting that most of the youth want to speak against Gandhi's decision to impose the Emergency. Tired of too many ads? go ad free now Goyal said that the idea of the event was to make people aware of how Congress strangled democracy. He said that today's youth was guided by the present-day political dispensation, which sought to inculcate the feeling of nationalism and democracy. Analysts believe that encouraging youth to argue for the Emergency may well be part of a mock exercise where debating controversial topics from all sides fosters critical thinking and rhetorical skill. Nevertheless, experts said, by inviting young people to argue in favour of the Emergency, the BJP aims to ultimately discredit those arguments by confronting them head-on with counterpoints. This can also provide the BJP with harder ammunition to further criticise Congress while letting those arguments hang in public only to get them torn down with stronger rebuttals, say analysts.
