50 Years Since Emergency: Dark Chapter of 1975 Remembered

Exactly 50 years ago, in the year 1975, from the intervening night of 25 and 26 June to 21 March 1977 (21 months), the then Prime Minister Indira Gandhi declared emergency in the country. Today this emergency has completed 50 years. The then President Fakhruddin Ali Ahmed declared emergency in the country under Article 352 of the Indian Constitution on the recommendation of the government led by then Prime Minister Indira Gandhi. Later the Union Cabinet approved this proclamation. With this, the country saw such a situation for the next 19 months, which is considered the darkest chapter in the history of India.

Even today, after 50 years, the emergency is not leaving the Congress party. The then Prime Minister Indira Gandhi took dictatorial decisions to retain the Prime Minister's chair and Congress will probably have to bear the brunt of it forever. All the political parties and press of that time came out on the streets in protest against the dictatorial decision of Prime Minister Indira Gandhi.

At that time Indira Gandhi had taken many dictatorial decisions. One of these decisions is the sterilization program. At that time people were forcibly captured and sterilized. This story of sterilization is closer to Turkman Gate of Delhi. : The wounds of emergency are still fresh in Turkman Gate of Delhi. The stories of atrocities like bulldozers, firing and forced sterilization are still alive in the eyes of the elderly. The pain of forced sterilization campaign, sudden demolition of houses and separation of families is still clearly visible in the eyes of the elderly.

So let us take you to that page of the past, where we will know what torture was given to the people of Turkman Gate of Delhi during the Emergency. Before that, let us know why the need to impose emergency arose?

Actually, the announcement of imposing emergency in 1975 came after a decision of Allahabad High Court. The High Court gave its verdict on 12 June 1975 on the petition challenging the election of Indira Gandhi. The High Court had cancelled the election of the then Prime Minister Indira Gandhi from Rae Bareli and also banned her from contesting elections for the next 6 years. After this, the demand for resignation of Indira Gandhi started. Protests started happening in various places in the country. The Supreme Court also upheld the order of the High Court. Seeing the PM's chair slipping from his hands, the then Prime Minister declared emergency in the country on 25 June 1975. After this, Indira Gandhi's emergency torture started on opposition leaders, journalists and people.