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This year marks the 30th anniversary of the impositionof the
Emergency Rule in 1975. Coincidentally, it is also theRajat Jayanti
Year of the Bharatiya Janata Party. Althoughthe BJP was not in
existence then, we are proud of the factthat the Bharatiya Jana
Sangh (the BJP's political predecessor)was in the forefront of the
struggle against the Emergencyregime and, along with other
constituents of the Janata Party(into which the Jana Sangh merged
itself in 1977), foughtcourageously - and successfully -- for
restoration ofdemocracy in India.
It is important to reflect today on the Emergency,which Prime
Minister Indira Gandhi imposed during the nightof June 25-26, 1975,
to crush the movement led byJayaprakash Narayan (JP) against
corruption and misrule andfor all-round empowerment of the people.
All who believein democracy and freedom accept that it remains the
mostshameful and dark interlude in India's
post-Independencehistory. They are also united in their
determination that itmust never be allowed to revisit our democracy
in the future.
This booklet also includes the Hindi version.
PublisherBharatiya Janata Party
Publisher's Note...Publisher's Note...Publisher's
Note...Publisher's Note...Publisher's Note...
The Day The Day The Day The Day The Day Constitution
wasConstitution wasConstitution wasConstitution wasConstitution
wasmurdered :June 25, 1975murdered :June 25, 1975murdered :June 25,
1975murdered :June 25, 1975murdered :June 25, 1975
lafo/kku dh gR;k dk fnu %lafo/kku dh gR;k dk fnu %lafo/kku dh
gR;k dk fnu %lafo/kku dh gR;k dk fnu %lafo/kku dh gR;k dk fnu %25
twu197525 twu197525 twu197525 twu197525 twu1975
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Emergency -The Country Can't Afford To Forget
June 25, 1975 - the day that should never have beenin the annals
of Indian history. It is indeed a black spot onthe face of our
country, our democracy and our traditions.It should best be ignored
and forgotten. In thirty years weshould have erased it from our
memory as an aberration.But we could not. Not because we did not
wish to forgetit. But because the rulers who survived the ordeal
let it notbe a bygone era. But we cannot. With their words
andactions our leaders every now and then continue to hammeron our
heads not to let us forget it.HUMILIATED INDIRA DIDN'T LEARN A
LESSON
Even after a once most powerful and popular primeminister in the
person of Mrs Indira Gandhi had beenworst humbled by the people and
a sitting prime ministerfor the first time not only lost majority
in the elections butalso herself faced the ignominy of being
defeated, she didnot have the guts to repent or apologise.DYNASTY
NO DIFFERENT
The present ruling dynasty continues to exhibit thesame dynastic
traits of arrogance, ego, lack of respect forlaw, constitution and
democratic traditions. For it all theseare not to be respected but
to be used to promote its narrowpolitical designs. They have failed
to infuse a sense of faithin the masses that the same autocratic,
dictatorial tendenciescannot - and will not -- even in a milder
form surface in thecountry any time.NATION'S 1971 WAR VICTORY WENT
INTO HERHEAD
It is, therefore, necessary, to make the newgeneration of our
young men aware of the horrendous
times the country was made to pass through during thosetimes
In the aftermath of country's victory over Pakistanand creation
of Bangladesh in 1971 the Congress won alandslide victory in
elections to Parliament and States.India's victory was the result
of a collective effort of all - thethen leadership and the valour
and determination of ourarmed forces strengthened by the resolve of
a nation toteach its enemy a lesson for life. But the victory
seemed tohave gone into the head of Mrs Indira Gandhi who seemedto
have taken it as a personal victory ignoring the greatsacrifices
made by our valiant and patriotic soldiers withthe unstinted
support of people from all walks of life,including the opposition.
It inflated her ego and turned ademocrat in her into a diehard
autocrat dictator.INDIRA FAILED TO MANAGE POST-WARSITUATION
The Indira Government failed to come to termswith the social,
political and economic situation thatemerged in the aftermath of a
war. The economy wasshattered. Price rise and inflation witnessed
the worst oftimes. Shortages of essential commodities rendered the
lifeof the common man miserable. Corruption was rampantand
uncontrolled. Worsening economic situation anduncontrolled
corruption gave rise to social discontentmentand strife. Mrs Indira
Gandhi's infamous "gharibi hatao"slogan turned out to be a
nightmare for people who hadpinned great hopes in her.BECAME
INTOLERANT OF OPPOSITION
The Indira government indulged in a policy ofrepression and
suppression. It became intolerant of theother point of view. For
Indira Gandhi opposition becameirrelevant, insignificant and an
unnecessary evil. Thosewho raised their voice against the
government were dubbedas anti-nationals, enemies of the people, CIA
agents andwhat not. The sycophants in the Congress leadership
gavethe slogan: "India is Indira and Indira is India".
1 2
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DISCONTENTMENT GREWPeople became restless and discontented.
Students
and social organisations raised a banner of revolt. It wasat
this juncture that the Sarvodaya leader Lok NayakJaiprakash Narayan
who had so far kept himself aloof fromthe humbug of power politics
could no longer ignore thecall of his conscience. He gave a clarion
call to the youthand every section of Indian people having love of
thecountry uppermost in their heart to come out to realise thegoal
of total revolution - sampooran kranti.JP JUMPS IN
It was for the first time that student power underJP's
leadership showed its mettle. It became so strong thatit led to a
fall of the government in Gujarat and violentlyshook the
foundations of government in Bihar. The studentsand youth of
Gujarat were the first to raise a banner ofrevolt against
corruption in their State and formed NavNirman Samiti.REIGN OF
TERROR LET LOOSE
As a counter the Indira government let loose a reignof terror
and suppression. Hundreds of people were putbehind bars. The then
dreaded Maintenance of InternalSecurity Act (MISA) was used against
political leaders inviolation of the solemn assurance not to use
against politicalopponents.
The response to the JP crusade against oppression,corruption and
dictatorial regime of Congress at the Centreand the States was so
massive that it soon converted itselfinto an all-India
movementBHARTIYA JANA SANGH JOINS THE CRUSADE
Bhartiya Jana Sangh, the forerunner of the presentBhartiya
Janata Party, extended its whole-hearted supportto the JP movement.
The then Socialist Party, SwatantraParty and many other State and
national political outfitsalso jumped into the fray.
The turning point came in June 1975 when the
Allahabad High Court set aside the election of Mrs IndiraGandhi
to Parliament on the ground of corrupt practices.Intoxicated by the
political power, Mrs Indira Gandhirefused to yield and respect the
verdict of the court orlisten to any saner advice of reason.INDIRA
DEFIES HIGH COURT JUDGEMENT
The Congress party has never respected the verdictof the courts.
Had Mrs Gandhi bowed before the law of theland, the country would
have been spared the agony andsufferings of Emergency and
atrocities people faced.
Only a few months back the High Court had setaside the election
of Congress MP A. N. Chawla on thesame grounds. No eyebrows were
raised then. It was onlywhen the law pricked her own self that Mrs
Gandhi madea hue and cry about it.INDIRA HAS FAITH IN NONE
Like all dictators, Mrs Indira Gandhi couldcountenance no
opposition, no advice that militated againsther lust for power and
desire to stick to office. She becamesuspicious of her own top
confidants and supporters. Heryounger son, Sanjay Gandhi, though
propped up into activepolitics to succeed her, was too young and
inexperiencedto take the place of his mother. Rajiv was then an
IndianAirlines pilot. She turned down the sane advice of her
wellwishers to step down handing over the reigns of office toone of
her top confidants till her appeal in the SupremeCourt was
decided.
In the middle of June 1975 JP organised a massiverally at Delhi
in which people from all over the countryconverged demanding Mrs
Gandhi's resignation. She stageda counter-rally in Delhi using the
official machinery of theCongress State governments in the country
to display herstrength.ON JUNE 25 INDIA LOST WHAT SHE WON IN
1947
The dictator in Mrs Gandhi surfaced when to crushopposition with
an iron hand, on June 25, 1975 she imposed
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a state of Emergency, imprisoned thousands of oppositionleaders
and workers, media persons, and all those who hadat one time or the
other raised their voice against thedictatorial tendencies of the
Congress. Fundamental rightswere trampled down the feet of the
rulers. Completecensorship was imposed on the media. Nobody could
dareto speak or write against the Congress or its governmenteven by
implication. Freedom of thought, speech andexpression were snatched
from the people. And above all,numerous atrocities were perpetrated
on the people.Perhaps India had not gone through this type of
ordeal ofa dictatorship and brutalities even at the hands of
foreignaggressors and invaders during the last about 1200
yearsunder foreign domination. On that dark night, India lost
allshe had won on August 15, 1947 by throwing out the
alienrule.TIMES WORST THAN ALIEN RULE
With the opposition in jails, a pliant President tooeager to
sign on the dotted lines, a docile bureaucracy anda judiciary
handicapped by suspension of fundamentalrights and other laws, Mrs
Indira Gandhi let loose a reignof terror for 18 months till she
announced elections inJanuary 1977. Innumerable atrocities were
committed onthe people. Forcible sterilisation operations were
conductedeven on the aged and unmarried men and women. Policethen
became an instrument of terror and harassment.Nobody's life and
honour was safe.ROLE PLAYED BY THE RSS AND OTHERNATIONALIST
FORCES
The RSS silently organised a massive protest againstEmergency.
It was banned, its offices were locked andsealed, its important
leaders and scores of activists weresent to jails. Still
undeterred, the RSS organised a massivesatyagrah, lakhs of swayam
sevaks and supporters of itcourted arrest demanding withdrawal of
emergency. Itran underground newspapers to keep the
countrymenposted of what is happening and also to instil
confidence
among the people kept in detention. Bulletins likeVandemataram,
giving latest information and progress ofthe movement were also
made to reach inmates in jailthrough well wishers in the
administration.
Indian Express, the newspaper founded by ShriRamnath Goeonka,
was in the forefront and stood steadfastsupporting JP movement and
opposing the emergency.Any amount of pressure could not deter Shri
Ram NathGoenka so much so various newspapers in different partsof
the country, though small in number, also raised theirvoice and
supported the movement.
Lok Sangharsh Samiti was formed at the call of ShriJP in which
the RSS and Jana Sangh supporters played amajor role by organising
underground movement. Studentsused to writee anti-emergency slogans
on the walls duringnights and used to distribute pamphlets in
public places.Literature was made available to the people
throughunderground activity.
Opposition leaders, like Shri Atal Bihar Vajpayee,Shri Lal
Krishna Advani, Shri Madhu Dandavathe, ShriMorarji Desai and scores
of activists of nationalistorganisations like RSS, ABVP were put
behind bars.Thousands of people not only courted arrest but
alsosuffered torture meted out to them. Shri George Fernandesand
his associates played a heroic role against emergency.THE GREAT
BETRAYAL BY COMMUNISTS
The Communist Party, as usual, played the role ofHer Majesty's
Loyal Opposition and supported emergency.A minor section of them
realised later and supported themovement against emergency.PRESENT
TIMES NO DIFFERENT
Congress preaches others to respect the courtverdicts. But it
has never practised what it preached. Toappease the minority
community it enacted a law to fructifythe court verdict in the
famous Shah Bano case.
Congress has never got itself attuned to listening to
5 6
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a voice of dissent. It cannot tolerate a government that isnot
either of its own party or pliable to its dictates. Morethan 150
times has it imposed President's rule in non-Congress States only
to weaken the opposition and stifle itsvoice. Mrs Indira Gandhi
even went to the extent ofimposing President's rule in UP on the
basis of a commandreport from the then Governor to get rid of an
inconvenientCongress chief minister Shri Hemvati Nanand
Bahugunaalthough the Congress party enjoyed an
overwhelmingmajority.
The same story is getting repeated today. We stillcontinue to
witness the same authoritative, autocratic,fascist, dictatorial
tendencies manifesting in the Congressleadership today. The
instances are numerous to quote.DEFILING PEOPLE'S MANDATE IN GOA
&JHARKHAND
The first manifestation was the removal of NDAappointed
governors. The opposition apprehensions werefurther strengthened
when it appointed hard coreCongressmen as Governors in BJP-ruled
States. With activeconnivance of this coterie of Governors
faithfully obedientto Congress it succeeded first in destabilising
BJPgovernment in Goa. Later, ignoring the claim of NDA thathad
majority from day one, it imposed a Shiboo Sorengovernment in
Jharkhand although it never enjoyedmajority. In Bihar it misused
the office of Governor to defythe verdict of the people and impose
President's rule just toprevent the NDA from forming a popular
governmentthere.TAINTED MINISTERS
It was for the first time in the history of the countrythat a
'decent' prime minister is sharing ministerial berthswith persons
who have been charge-sheeted or are facingcharges of heinous
crimes, like murder, rape, dacoity,extortion, abduction, mafia
connections, corruption, livingbeyond known sources of income and
other crimes invarious courts.
SAVING CONGRESSMEN, HARASSING NDAMINISTERS
The present Congress rulers continue to behavelike autocratic
feudal rulers who thought their word wasthe ultimate word of god
and law. On the one hand,Congress is protecting leaders with
criminal records andwithdrawing criminal cases involving corruption
chargesagainst its own leaders, like Capt. Satish Sharma,
andindulging in "judicial burial" of corruption cases, like thetoo
well known Bofors case, and is sitting tight over theNanavati
Commission report on anti-Sikh riots because,according to reports,
it has commented adversely againstcertain important political
leaders. On the other hand, outof sheer vindictiveness it is trying
to engineer criminalcases against former NDA ministers. It has
rejected thePhukan Commission report exonerating the former
DefenceMinister George Fernandes and ordered registration of aCBI
inquiry against him, because it did not serve the
politicalobjectives of Congress.
Although a judicial inquiry is already on into thewhole gamut of
what happened in Godhra and subsequentriots in Gujarat, UPA has
appointed a parallel committee toinquire into these incidents with
ulterior political motives.PARLIAMENT NOT ALLOWED TO FUNCTION
During the last one year, because of the stubbornand
intransigent attitude of Congress-led UPA government,Parliament has
not been able to function smoothly. It wasfor the first time that
Budget had to be passed withoutparticipation of the Opposition. It
is the duty of the rulingparty to manage the House and create
conditions conduciveto its functioning smoothly. In a healthy
democracy it isincumbent on a ruling party to take the opposition
along.During the NDA rule many a times such situations didarise
when business of the house could not be transactedbecause of
disruption or boycott by opposition. But eachtime without standing
on prestige and by adopting a healthyattitude of give-and-take NDA
was able to break the ice
7 8
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and make the opposition play its constitutional role.UPA
ARROGANT & STUBBORN
Parliament has not been able to function smoothlybecause of
arrogance of power displayed by UPA, anattitude which has no place
in a democracy. It is the dutyof the Opposition to oppose the
ruling party but it is notthe duty of the ruling party to oppose
the opposition, as theUPA has been doing. Opposition may be an
inconvenientroadblock in a ruling party's autocratic designs, yet
in ademocracy it continues to be as important as the rulingparty
itself. Opposition certainly is not an enemy to anyone, not even to
the ruling party. When senior NDA leaders,like even Shri Atal
Bihari Vajpayee, were prevented fromspeaking in the House, the
opposition was left with noalternative but to boycott the house. It
could certainly notafford to put up with humiliation to elected
representatives,as much representative of the people as is the
ruling party.From the behaviour of the ruling alliance, it looked
as if itwas not at all interested in ensuring the presence of
theopposition in Parliament and wanted to run the
houseunilaterally.UPA TREATS OPPOSITION AS ENEMY, IRRELEVANT
Even if we wish to forget the Emergency era, forgiveit, the
present Congress leadership leading the UPA seemshell-bent not to
allow us to do so. It continues to remindthe country that Emergency
may have been withdrawnafter the people gave a crushing defeat to
the then Congressunder Shrimati Indira Gandhi but the situation has
changedfor the better for them. They keep on hammering out
themessage: Never forget June 25.
twu 25] 1975 & ;g fnu tks ns'k ds bfrgkl ds iUUkksa ij gksuk
gh ughapkfg;s FkkA ;g fnu rks oLrqr% gekjs ns'k] gekjs iztkrU= vkSj
gekjhijEijkvksa ds uke ij ,d dyad gSA vPNk rks ;gh gksrk fd bls
rksut+jvUnkt+ gh dj fn;k tk;s ;k Hkqyk gh fn;k tk;sA rhl o"kZ chr
tkus dsckn rks bls gekjh Le`fr ls gh feV tkuk pkfg;s Fkk ekuks fd
;g ,d vioknFkk] dqN le; ds fy;s iFkHkz"Vrk dk uewukA ij ge ;g dj u
ik;sA blfy;sugha fd ge bls Hkwyuk ugha pkgrsA ij blfy;s fd tks
dkaxzslh 'kkld bl=klnh dh kwy ls mits mUgksaus bl dky dks xqtjh
?kVuk cuus gh ugha fn;kAvius 'kCnksa vkSj dkjukeksa ls gekjs orZeku
dkaxzslh 'kkld gekjs fnekx+ ijckj&ckj pksV dj gesa ;kn fnykrs
jgrs gSa fd vkikr~dky dks Hkwyus dh dHkhHkwy er dj cSBukA
pquko esa viekfur bfUnjk us lcd ugha fy;kpquko esa viekfur
bfUnjk us lcd ugha fy;kpquko esa viekfur bfUnjk us lcd ugha
fy;kpquko esa viekfur bfUnjk us lcd ugha fy;kpquko esa viekfur
bfUnjk us lcd ugha fy;k,d le; ns'k dh lc ls l'kDr vkSj yksdfiz;
usrk Jhefr bfUnjk
xkakh dh ikVhZ dks turk us yksd lHkk pquko esa gh kwy ugha pVkbZ
cfYd Lo;amudks Hkh ,d viekutud gkj dk dM+ok lR; p[kk fn;kA bfUnjk
dks fQjHkh le> ugha vkbZ vkSj mUgksaus u rks [ksn gh O;Dr fd;k
vkSj u {kek ghekaxhA
'kkld ifjokj mlh yhd ij'kkld ifjokj mlh yhd ij'kkld ifjokj mlh
yhd ij'kkld ifjokj mlh yhd ij'kkld ifjokj mlh yhd ijorZeku dkaxzslh
'kkld oa'kkofy vkt Hkh ?ke.M] vge~] vkSj dkuwu]
lafokku ,oa turkfU=d ijEijkvksa esa vfo'okl dh vius iqjkuh
eu%fLFkfrvkSj iqjkus
-
dh fot; ds QyLo:Ik dkaxzsl ikVhZ dks yksdlHkk o fokkulHkk
pqukoksa esa cgqrHkkjh fot; feyhA oLrqr% fdlh O;fDr ;k jktuSfrd ny
fo'ks"k dh fot; ugks dj lewps jk"V dh fot; FkhA ;g fot; Fkh rRdkyhu
usr`Ro dh] gekjhlsukvksa ds lkgl dh] mudh cgknqjh dh] mudh
ns'kHkfDr dh vkSj nq'eu dkset+k p[kkus dh jk"V dh fu'p;'kfDr dh
ftls Jhefr bfUnjk xkakh viuhfuft O;fDrxr fot; eku cSBha vkSj gekjh
lsukvksa }kjk fd;s x;s vufxurcfynkuksa] vkSj foi{k o ns'k ds gj
dksus ls gj ukxfjd ds foiqy leFkZu dhvuns[kh dj nhA blls mudk
vgadkj vkSj Hkh vkleku p
-
dh ckr Hkh u lquh ftUgksaus mUgsa lykg nh fd og rc rd ds fy;s
lRrkvius fdlh fo'oklik= dks lkSai nsa tc rd fd mudh vihy ij
mPpreU;k;ky; fu.kZ; ugha lquk nsrkA
twu 1975 ds e; esa Jh t;izdk'k ukjk;.k us fnYyh esa ,d
fo'kkyjSyh dk vk;kstu fd;k ftl esa lewps ns'k ls vk;s vHkwriwoZ
tulewg esaJhefr xkakh ds R;kxi= dh ekax dh xbZA Jhefr xkakh us blds
eqdkcys esadsUnz o izns'kksa esa dkaxzsl ljdkjksa dh ljdkjh e'khujh
dk nq:Ik;ksx dj fnYyhesa viuh tu'kfDr dk izn'kZu djus ds fy;s ,d
jSyh dhA
1 twu 1975 dks Hkkjr us og lc [kks;k tks 1947 esa ik;k Fkk1 twu
1975 dks Hkkjr us og lc [kks;k tks 1947 esa ik;k Fkk1 twu 1975 dks
Hkkjr us og lc [kks;k tks 1947 esa ik;k Fkk1 twu 1975 dks Hkkjr us
og lc [kks;k tks 1947 esa ik;k Fkk1 twu 1975 dks Hkkjr us og lc
[kks;k tks 1947 esa ik;k FkkJhefr bfUnjk xkakh ds vUnj dk rkuk'kkg
rc ckgj vk [kM+k gqvk tc
mUgksaus 25 twu 1975 dks vius fo:) meM+s vHkwriwoZ tukdzksk dks
l[rhls dqpy nsus ds eulwcs ls lkjs ns'k esa vkarfjd vkikr~dky ykxw
dj fn;k]gt+kjksa foi{kh usrkvksa o dk;ZdrkZvksa rFkk Ik=dkjksa vkSj
vU; lHkh dks ftUgksausdHkh mudk fojksk fd;k Fkk] mUgsas tsyksa esa
Bwal fn;kA ekuokfkdkjksa dks 'kkldksaus vius ikao rys jkSan MkykA
lekpkj ek;eksa ij iw.kZ lSaljf'ki yxk fn;kx;kA dksbZ Hkh dkaxzsl ;k
bldh ljdkj ds fo:) u cksy ldrk Fkk vkSj ufy[k ldrk FkkA fopkj o
vfHkO;fDr dh Lora=rk dk vfkdkj Nhu fy;kx;kA mlls Hkh ij] turk ij
vusdksa izdkj ds vR;kpkj
-
vfkd ckj foi{kh ljdkjksa dks fxjkus ds fy;s kkjk 356 dk
nq#Ik;ksx djfofHkUu izns'kksa esa jk"Vifr 'kklu ykxw fd;k gSA Jhefr
bfUnjk xkakh us rksviuh gh ikVhZ ds ,d eq[; eU=h Jh gseorh uUnu
cgqxq.kk dks gVkus ds fy;svius jkT;iky ls fjiksVZ ysdj dqN le; ds
fy;s jk"Vifr 'kklu ykxw djfn;k Fkk gkykafd dkaxzsl dks iw.kZ cgqer
izkIr Fkk D;ksafd og cgqxq.kk ls NqVdkjkikuk pkgrh FkhaA
vkt ogh dgkuh fQj nksgjkbZ tk jgh gSA ogh iqjkuh rkuk'kkgh]
QkflLV]vgadkjh izo`fr;ka vkt Hkh mtkxj gks jgh gSaA cs'kqekj
mnkgj.k fn;s tk ldrsgSaA
xksok o >kj[k.M esa tukns'k dk viekuxksok o >kj[k.M esa
tukns'k dk viekuxksok o >kj[k.M esa tukns'k dk viekuxksok o
>kj[k.M esa tukns'k dk viekuxksok o >kj[k.M esa tukns'k dk
viekubu izo`fr;ksa dk igyk mtkxjhdj.k Fkk jktx }kjk fu;qDr
jkT;ikyksa dks
gVkus dkA dkaxzsl dh ea'kk rc vkSj Hkh Li"V gks xbZ tc mlus muds
LFkkuij Hkktik 'kkflr jkT;ksa esa fo'oLr dkaxzslh usrkvksa dks
jkT;iky fu;qDrfd;kA dkaxzsl ds bu oQknkj jkT;ikyksa dh tq.Myh ds
ek;e ls igys rksdkaxzsl us xksok esa Hkktik ljdkj dks vlaoSkkfud
rjhds ls vinLFk fd;kAfQj jkT;iky ds cycwrs ij jktx ds Li"V cgqer dh
vuns[kh dj >kj[k.Mesa f'kCcw lksjsu ljdkj dks 'kiFk fnyk nhA
fcgkj esa tukns'k dh vogsyukdjrs gq;s jkT;iky ds ek;e ls dkaxzsl us
fcgkj esa jk"Vifr kklu ykxw djfn;k rkfd jktx dh yksdrkfU=d ljdkj u
cuus ik;sA
nkxh eU=hnkxh eU=hnkxh eU=hnkxh eU=hnkxh eU=hjk"V ds bfrgkl esa
;g igyk volj gS tc fd dksbZ LoPN Nfo okyk
izkku eU=h mu O;fDr;ksa ls vius efU=e.My dh 'kksHkh c
