47 years since the Emergency – 1975, BJP observes “Black Day”

Chandigarh : 25 June was observed as Black Day by BJP to mark 47 years since the Emergency in 1975 imposed by the then government, To apprise the new generation about the incidents that happened during the 21 long months of Emergency and the atrocities committed by the then government. Ram Vilas Sharma, former education minister (Haryana) & victim of emergency, addressed the audience at an event organised by BJP Chandigarh.

Ram Vilas Sharma was unlawfully imprisoned for 19 long months during the Emergency. The event was also attended by State President Arun Sood, Vice President Asha Jaswal, Prem Kaushik, General Secretary Chandrashekhar, Rambir Bhatti, Mayor Sarabjit Kaur Dhillon along with all the state & elected officials.

As per State Spokesperson Kailash Chand Jain, the then opposition leaders across the country were arrested including Satyapal Jain, Desraj Tandon, Jitinder Veer Gupta, Babu Dalipchand Gupta, Ravindra Sehgal, Jitendra Chauhan, Prem Sagar Jain, Prem Narad, Om Ahuja, Rameshwar, Ram Lal Gupta, Surendra Mahajan from Chandigarh.

Describing the emergency as the darkest times, Ram Bilas Sharma said that 47 years ago, emergency was declared in the country at the midnight of 25 June 1975, which lasted till 21 March 1977.

The then President Fakhruddin Ali Ahmed declared an emergency in the country under Article 352 of the Indian Constitution on the recommendation of the government led by then Prime Minister Indira Gandhi who announced the emergency over the radio on 26th June.

One of the reasons that led to the drastic step was the Allahabad High Court’s decision against Indira Gandhi on June 12, 1975. It is said that the foundation of the Emergency was laid on 12 June 1975.

On this day, the Allahabad High Court found Prime Minister Indira Gandhi guilty of misusing government machinery in the election campaign of Rae Bareli and rejected her candidature, she was further banned from contesting elections for the next six years and from holding government office.

Although the Supreme Court upheld the order on 24 June 1975, a day later Jayaprakash Narayan called for demonstrations forcing Indira Gandhi to resign due to massive protests across the country demanding the Prime Minister step down.

As a result, the Emergency was announced and the opposition leaders including Atal Bihari Vajpayee, Lal Krishna Advani, and Mulayam Singh Yadav were put in jail. It was followed by violations of the fundamental rights of the citizens which eventually led to the end of democracy.

Forced mass sterilization drives were conducted which were a breach of fundamental rights. The atrocities of the govt. gave birth to Janata Party under the leadership of Morarji Desai.General elections were held again in 1977, Indira Gandhi-led Congress was defeated by Janata Party.

This was termed the new dawn for India. The 21-month-long period of Emergency is engraved in Indian history as the darkest phase and a stigma on Indian democracy.