New Delhi: 46 years ago, on June 25, 1975, Emergency was declared in India for a period of 21 months by the then Prime Minister Indira Gandhi. On this day, the then President of India, Fakhruddin Ali Ahmed, on the recommendation of the Indira Gandhi-led Congress government at the center, declared a state of emergency for the entire country.
President Fakhruddin Ali Ahmed imposed a state of emergency under Article 352 of the Constitution due to the current “internal unrest”. The Emergency, considered the darkest phase of independent India, remained in force on June 25, 1975, until its withdrawal on March 21, 1977.
During this period, the Congress regime ordered crackdown on civil liberties, suppressed dissenting voices, imprisoned all top opposition leaders, denounced freedom of expression and serious human rights violations.
What was the reason for imposing emergency?
On June 12, 1975, the Allahabad High Court convicted Prime Minister Indira Gandhi of electoral misconduct and barred her from holding any elected office. The decision had far-reaching consequences and is believed to be one of the reasons that led to the imposition of emergency.
In the 1971 Lok Sabha elections, Indira Gandhi defeated socialist leader Raj Narayan from Rae Bareli Lok Sabha seat in Uttar Pradesh. Narayan later challenged Gandhi’s election to India alleging electoral malpractice and violation of the Representation of the People Act, 1951.
The Samajwadi leader alleged that his election agent Yashpal Kapoor was a government employee and used government officials for personal election related work. The Allahabad High Court convicted Indira Gandhi of electoral malpractice and disqualified her from Parliament and imposed a six-year ban from holding any elected office.
Just a day after the Allahabad High Court verdict, Indira Gandhi imposed emergency by suspending all fundamental rights, ordering action on all opposition leaders and banning the media.
Gandhi lifted the Emergency in 1977 and called for Lok Sabha elections, in which the Congress suffered a crushing defeat by a joint opposition of the Janata Party for the first time since the country’s independence in 1947.
On the 46th anniversary of the imposition of Emergency, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said those “dark days” can never be forgotten and called for strengthening India’s democratic spirit and taking a pledge to live up to the values enshrined in the Constitution.
Sharing a link about several drastic measures taken by the then Congress government, he tweeted, “This is how Congress crushed our democratic ethos. We remember all the great people who opposed the Emergency and Indian Democracy. protected.”
“The dark days of emergency can never be forgotten. The period from 1975 to 1977 saw the systematic destruction of institutions. Let us make every effort to strengthen the democratic spirit of India and live up to the values enshrined in our Constitution. Take a pledge.” he said.
Other senior BJP leaders also hit out at the Congress with Home Minister Amit Shah saying the Congress had “murdered” democracy for the lust of power and arrogance on this day in 1975.
Emergency was imposed to quell voices raised against one family, he said, calling it a dark chapter in India’s democracy. BJP President JP Nadda paid tributes to those who fought against the Emergency while facing many atrocities.
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