#Emergency: Day to Remember Victory of India’s Democratic Ethos over Authoritarian Mindset…
New Delhi, June 25: “India salutes all those greats who fiercely and fearlessly resisted the Emergency. India’s democratic ethos successfully prevailed over an authoritarian mindset.” In these words, Prime Minister Narendra Modi today paid tribute to all those courageous Indians who strived to save India’s democracy from the black clouds of 1975 emergency.
There was a big question in the minds of the citizens of India that why Jayprakash Narayan, a genuine non-violent social activist and the hero of the period, who was a good friend of Pandit Nehru and considered Indira as his daughter once upon a time, had been sent to jail by Indira Gandhi herself? Only because he raised voice against the then government? There was an official attempt to axe the opposition, judiciary and the press, the pillars on which the democracy stands.
However, Indians didn’t bow down. Thousands of Indians from every nook and corner of the country made peaceful protests against the curtailment of Fundamental Rights. Manifestations of protests happened under the RSS and the Sikh leaderships against the ‘fascist leadership of congress’. Today is the day, not to remember the day of emergency but the day to recall and salute all those brave Indians who, without any fear saved our democracy from authoritarian forces.
“Remembering that black day, we have been striving to keep ourselves awakened on our precious democracy and will continue it unendingly. Eternal vigilance is the price of liberty. The principle of democracy must be in mind at every moment and hence there must be the forever remembrance of the possible threats to democracy. Today it is our duty to take our democracy to the most ideal point,” said Narendra Modi in his address to the nation.
The role of RSS was in fighting against emergency was indeed unforgettable. Many activists including the then Sarsanghchalak Madhukar Dattatraya Deoras voluntarily faced the jail. More than 1 lakh of the 1,30,000 Satyagrahis were from RSS. Atal Bihari Bajpayee in his speech in the parliament said, “This is a beginning of a police state and a blot on democracy. It is the first step towards dictatorship. This will not be used against foreign spies but against political opponents”.
Former Justice K. T. Thomas had said that “If an organization would be credited for freeing the country from emergency, I would give that to the RSS”. From Kashmir to Kanyakumari, at thousands of places of the whole India, Satyagraha was organized by the underground leadership and workers of Sangh. “The underground campaign against Mrs. Gandhi claims to be the only non-left-wing revolutionary force in the world, disavowing both bloodshed and class struggle,” reported a newspaper on 12th December 1976.