Forty years have passed since the evening of 25th June 1975, when the autocratic Congress government led by Indira Gandhi imposed national emergency on India and opened a chapter of horrible repression on the people of the country, who were deprived of all basic political rights guaranteed by the constitution of the nation. For a period of less than two years, the country experienced the most severe abuses on the fundamental rights of the people and on the basic human rights.
The emergency lasted nearly two years, and thousands of political opponents were thrown behind the bars, numerous people were killed in cold blooded executions by the police and paramilitary forces and many just disappeared. Though, soon after the emergency was lifted, the autocratic regime of Indira Gandhi was shown the exit door by the victorious Janta Party led rainbow alliance, but the Congress managed to return back to power within few years riding high tides of popularity. The Janta government and their constituents as well as outside supporters promised a thorough investigation of the atrocities committed by the state machinery during the emergency period. However, alike every other election manifesto rhetoric that very promise was left unimplemented and Indira led Congress and her son cum heir apparent aka the defacto ruler of India – Sanjay Gandhi went scot-free until the accident that killed the latter.
The people till date has no government released information regarding the atrocities committed by the Indira regime at that period, even when the octogenarian leaders like L.K Advani and his accomplices rake up the emergency issue to fire salvo against their political opponents every other day. No government in the past ever took up the issue to investigate the serious anti-national activities conducted by the Indira Gandhi regime, namely the violation of the basic human rights and constitutional rights of the people, utmost nepotism and despotism, etc.
Instead of investigating her crimes, subsequent governments led by both Congress and non-Congress alliances, portrayed Indira Gandhi as a national icon, echoing the Congress slogan of “Indira is India” or the title given to her by the Congress, which called her “Liberation Sun of Asia”, etc. School text books still show cases her as a courageous prime minister, repeating the Congress eulogies. No institutional attempt has been made to critically analyse the role of Indira Gandhi led Congress Party regime's atrocities and no attempts were ever taken to draft a realistic history on the subject. Leave alone the Congress, the self styled anti-Indira Gandhi BJP and other Janta Party outfits have never raised these subjects during their rule. This clearly shows the hidden nexus between the right wing forces of the nation, about which even the official left parties maintain conspicuous silence.
Instead of investigating her crimes, subsequent governments led by both Congress and non-Congress alliances, portrayed Indira Gandhi as a national icon, echoing the Congress slogan of “Indira is India” or the title given to her by the Congress, which called her “Liberation Sun of Asia”, etc. School text books still show cases her as a courageous prime minister, repeating the Congress eulogies. No institutional attempt has been made to critically analyse the role of Indira Gandhi led Congress Party regime's atrocities and no attempts were ever taken to draft a realistic history on the subject. Leave alone the Congress, the self styled anti-Indira Gandhi BJP and other Janta Party outfits have never raised these subjects during their rule. This clearly shows the hidden nexus between the right wing forces of the nation, about which even the official left parties maintain conspicuous silence.
The nation needs to know who the real culprits of the emergency were, how Indira Gandhi used the national emergency to consolidate her rule, how Sanjay Gandhi and his coterie could rule India without any official position in the government, along with many other unanswered questions. The ruling bloc cannot overlook or avoid answering these questions; the establishment must answer to the people, atleast for the sake of keeping alive the much fabricated democratic structure on which their jingoism is based on.
Placing those figures as national heroes, who have violated the rights of the people, demolished the very foundations of the constitution by snatching away the leftover political rights of the people, cannot go on at this stage of human civilisation. People cannot be tamed to worship those monster idols eulogised by the ruling classes unconditionally. The people as well as the younger generation have the right to know the truth, and it is the state that must answer at any cost, and that is the collective demand of the people.
