50 years of Emergency: Prime Minister Narendra Modi said on June 25 that no Indian will ever forget the manner in which the spirit of the Constitution was violated during the Emergency.
In a series of posts on X on the 50th anniversary of the Emergency, PM Modi affirmed his government’s commitment to strengthening constitutional principles and called the Emergency one of the darkest chapters in India’s democratic history.
The values enshrined in the Constitution were set aside, fundamental rights suspended, press freedom extinguished, and a large number of political leaders, social workers, students and ordinary citizens jailed, he noted.
The prime minister said, “It was as if the Congress Government in power at that time placed democracy under arrest.”
Last year, Modi government decided to observe June 25, the day the Emergency was declared in 1975, as “Samvidhaan Hatya Diwas” to commemorate the “massive contributions” of those who endured “inhuman pains of the period”,
The 42nd Amendment, which made extensive changes to the Constitution and was reversed by the Janata Party government, is a prime example of the shenanigans of the Congress government that imposed Emergency, Modi said, adding that the poor, marginalised and downtrodden were particularly targeted, including their dignity insulted.”
The 42nd Amendment of the Indian Constitution, enacted in 1976 during the Emergency, is a significant and controversial piece of legislation often referred to as the ‘Mini-Constitution.’ Some key changes included adding “Socialist,” “Secular,” and “Integrity” to the Preamble, adding Fundamental Duties, and transferring subjects from the State List to the Concurrent List.
“We also reiterate our commitment to strengthening the principles in our Constitution and working together to realise our vision of a Viksit Bharat. May we scale new heights of progress and fulfil the dreams of the poor and downtrodden,” Modi said.
The prime minister saluted every person who stood firm in the fight against the Emergency, and said these were the people from all over India, from all walks of life, from diverse ideologies who worked closely with each other with one aim: to protect India’s democratic fabric and to preserve the ideals for which freedom fighters devoted their lives.
“It was their collective struggle that ensured that the then Congress Government had to restore democracy and call for fresh elections, which they badly lost,” he said.
The Emergency from 1975-1977
The Emergency in India was a 21-month period from 1975 to 1977 when Prime Minister Indira Gandhi declared a state of emergency across the country by citing internal and external threats to the country.
Officially issued by President Fakhruddin Ali Ahmed under Article 352 of the Constitution because of a prevailing “Internal Disturbance”, the Emergency was in effect from 25 June 1975 and ended on 21 March 1977.
It was as if the Congress Government in power at that time placed democracy under arrest.
Emergency would mean the prime minister had the authority to rule by decree, allowing elections to be cancelled and civil liberties to be suspended. Most of Indira Gandhi’s political opponents were imprisoned and the press was censored during Emergency.
