India TV Chairman and Editor-in-Chief Rajat Sharma.
After being elected the Speaker of the 18th Lok Sabha by voice vote, Om Birla on Wednesday reminded the House how on 25 June 1975, the then Prime Minister Indira Gandhi and her Congress government imposed emergency in the country and abolished the basic freedom of the people and put the leaders of all opposition parties in jail. Speaker Om Birla called it a dark chapter in the history of India, and the members also observed two minutes of silence. Congress MPs created a ruckus over this, and the House had to be adjourned till Thursday. Speaker Om Birla said in the resolution, ‘This House strongly condemns the decision to impose emergency in 1975. Along with this, we appreciate the resolve of all those people who strongly opposed the emergency, fought unprecedentedly and took the responsibility of protecting India’s democracy. That day of 25 June 1975 will always be known as a black chapter in the history of India. On this day, the then Prime Minister Indira Gandhi imposed emergency in the country and fiercely attacked the Constitution made by Baba Saheb Ambedkar. India is known all over the world as the mother of democracy. In India, democratic values and dialogue have always been promoted, democratic values have always been protected, they have always been encouraged. Dictatorship was imposed on such an India by Indira Gandhi, India’s democratic values were crushed and freedom of expression was strangled.
Om Birla said, ‘This was the period when opposition leaders were put in jails, the whole country was turned into a prison. The then dictatorial government had imposed many restrictions on the media and the autonomy of the judiciary was also curbed. That period of emergency was an unjust period in the history of our country, a dark period. We also believe that our young generation must know about this dark chapter of democracy. Emergency had destroyed the lives of so many citizens of India, so many people had died. In that dark period of emergency, we observe two minutes of silence in the memory of such dutiful and country-loving citizens of India who lost their lives at the hands of the dictatorial government of Congress.’ On the first day of the 18th Lok Sabha, Prime Minister Narendra Modi had reminded the country how Indira Gandhi had imposed emergency in the country in 1975 and demolished the Constitution.
Let me tell you here that I am a witness to that dark night of emergency. I have been a victim of the tyranny and atrocities of that era. Exactly 50 years ago, emergency was imposed on the midnight of 25th June. The freedom of the citizens of the country was snatched away so that Indira Gandhi could remain the Prime Minister. Overnight, all the leaders who opposed Indira ji were arrested and put in jail. These included leaders like Jai Prakash Narayan, Morarji Desai, Atal Bihari Vajpayee, Chaudhary Charan Singh, Prakash Singh Badal. There were countless student leaders of that time across the country, Arun Jaitley, Lalu Yadav, Nitish Kumar, Ram Vilas Paswan, the police knocked on their doors at night, some were arrested, some went underground, the public had no idea, the electricity of newspapers was cut off at night, at that time Doordarshan was the only TV channel which showed only news approved by the government, censorship was imposed on newspapers, no one had the freedom to speak openly, the police was given the right to shoot at sight.
I have seen that period closely. I have lived through that suffocating environment. I was only 17 years old. I was a part of Jayaprakash Narayan’s movement. I was associated with the Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad. For freedom of expression, for freedom of speech and writing, I started a newspaper. When I was caught, I was beaten up by the police. I endured torture in the police station, spent many months in jail, but did not lose courage. That is why I can never forget that day. That day when the media was put under surveillance, the voice of all the leaders of the opposition parties was suppressed, the judiciary was captured by the government, the Constitution was mortgaged, democracy was murdered. 50 years have passed. Most people do not remember that era, but it is important to know and understand that struggle and that fight for freedom of expression. If I get an opportunity, I will explain in detail why this happened in that era? For whom did it happen? And how 19 months later, to save democracy, the people of the country overthrew the government that ended the tradition of Parliament. (Rajat Sharma)
Watch: ‘Aaj Ki Baat, Rajat Sharma Ke Sath’ full episode of June 25, 2024
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