Entire nation became jail: Ex-MPs, MLAs recall horror of Emergency

New Delhi, June 25
As India marks 50 years since the imposition of the Emergency on June 25, 1975, former parliamentarians, leaders, and officials who were jailed or forced underground during the 21 months have come forward with chilling recollections of state repression, political arrests, and the stifling of civil liberties.

Former MP Anand Mohan, from Bihar, described the Emergency as a “dark chapter” in Indian democracy.

“Indira Gandhi, though known as the Iron Lady, made a historic blunder by declaring an Emergency. She was terrified after the Allahabad High Court invalidated her election. The entire country turned into a jail,” he said.

He added that despite the arrests of top opposition leaders, the Congress was wiped out in North India in the next elections.

Former MLA from Jaunpur, Uttar Pradesh, Surendra Pratap Singh, who spent 19 months in jail under the Maintenance of Internal Security Act (MISA), recounted, “On June 25, 1975, Indira Gandhi imposed Emergency to save her chair after her election was nullified. Lakhs were thrown into jails. Even newspapers published blacked-out front pages. Students and youth were arrested overnight. I was a student union leader and spent one month in Jaunpur jail before being shifted to Naini jail in Allahabad.”

P.V. Krishna Bhat, Chancellor of Central University, Odisha, recalled how Jayaprakash Narayan started the anti-Emergency movement. He said, “When the Emergency was imposed, JP gave the call. The movement began in Gujarat, then Bihar, and soon covered the country. I dodged police for months before finally surrendering. I was jailed for 21 months.”

Former Lalit Kala Akademi Chairperson Krishna Shetty, a student leader then, recounted the times when activism was considered a sin. He was also put in jail for opposing the order.

He said, “Indira Gandhi panicked. Senior leaders were arrested overnight. I was jailed with L.K. Advani in Bellary and Bangalore. We smuggled a camera and a transistor into prison. The images of the Emergency that you see today, many were taken by me. We were tortured, but we stood firm.”

Economic thinker Swaminathan Gurumurthy added, “Congress has never apologised. Rahul Gandhi must realise that the Constitution he holds was dismantled by his grandmother and reclaimed by the people.”

He said that the Congress party must be held accountable and asked to apologise for the Emergency, something that has not happened to this day.

"In fact, Rajiv Gandhi once publicly stated that they would impose the Emergency again. Second, Rahul Gandhi must acknowledge that the Constitution he held up is not the one his grandmother enacted; it is the one his mother undermined and which was later restored by the people of India. These facts must be acknowledged. That is why I say Rahul Gandhi should be thanked for reigniting the debate on the Emergency, hence the observance of Constitution Hatya Day," he added.