Memories of Emergency must be kept alive: Amit Shah

India observed Samvidhaan Hatya Diwas on Wednesday. the day serves as a reminder of what happened when the Constitution of India was trampled on on June 25, 1975. It is also a day to pay homage to every person who suffered due to the excesses of the Emergency.  On this day in 1975, President Fakhruddin Ali Ahmed issued the Emergency Proclamation under Article 352, citing threats from internal disturbance. The Emergency was declared against a backdrop of mounting political unrest and judicial developments that shook the legitimacy of the ruling leadership of Prime Minister Indira Gandhi. The executive acquired overriding powers, and state authority was brought under central control. Following the proclamation, constitutional safeguards were systematically suspended. Article 358 suspended protections under Article 19, affecting freedom of speech, expression, assembly, and movement. Citizens were barred from approaching courts for redress. Pre-censorship was imposed on all newspapers. Even the statutory watchdog, the Press Council of India, was abolished.Constitutional Amendments during that period barred the courts from questioning the President’s decision to declare an Emergency and excluded the election of the Prime Minister and Speaker of the Lok Sabha from judicial scrutiny.

Rajya Sabha MP and Former Prime Minister H.D. Deve Gowda has penned a message commemorating the 50th anniversary of the Emergency, calling it a dark chapter in India’s democratic history. He praised efforts like those by Blue Kraft Digital Foundation to document this period and acknowledged Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s role during the anti-Emergency movement.
Bihar chief minister Nitish Kumar has termed the Emergency of 1975 was a symbol of the dictatorship of the then government. He called it a black day in the history of independent India. 'During the Emergency, the freedom of expression of the people was banned, he said.
On the occasion, Union Home Minister Amit Shah released a book ‘The Emergency Diaries-Years that forged a leader’, in New Delhi on Wedneaday. The book delves into the compelling role of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, then a young RSS Pracharak, played in the fight against the Emergency. The book paints a vivid picture of Mr Modi fighting for the ideals of democracy and how he has worked all his life to preserve and promote it. The book is based on first person anecdotes from associates who worked with Modi, and using other archival material. It is a first of its kind that creates new scholarship on the formative years of a young man who would give it his all in the fight against tyranny.

Delhi: On Samvidhan Hatya Divas, Union Home Minister Amit Shah says, "...Dr. Babasaheb Ambedkar and the makers of our Constitution held intense discussions, using around 2,67,000 words to craft the document. But all that spirit was wiped out when Indira Gandhi declared in a… pic.twitter.com/E8vukhBZ8V

— IANS (@ians_india) June 25, 2025

In a social media post, Prime Minister Modi said that this book chronicles his journey during the Emergency years. The Prime Minister said that he was a young RSS Pracharak when the Emergency was imposed. Modi noted that the anti-Emergency movement was a learning experience for him. He said that it reaffirmed the vitality of preserving India’s democratic framework and at the same time, he got to learn a lot from people across the political spectrum. He urged all those who remember the dark days of the Emergency and those whose families suffered during that time to share their experiences on social media. Mr. Modi further said that it will create awareness among the youth of the shameful time from 1975 to 1977.