India remembers Emergency as 'dark period': PM Modi

Prime Minister Narendra Modi said the country remembers the Emergency as a 'dark period', during which every institution was subverted and an atmosphere of fear was created.

The Prime Minister also saluted the courage of those who steadfastly resisted the Emergency, which was imposed 43 years ago.

"India remembers the Emergency as a dark period during which every institution was subverted and an atmosphere of fear was created. Not only people but also ideas and artistic freedom were held hostage to power politics," Prime Minister Modi said in a series of tweets.

"I salute the courage of all those great women and men who steadfastly resisted the Emergency, which was imposed 43 years ago. Their struggles ensured people power prevailed over authoritarianism and the stifling of civil liberties," he said in his second tweet.

 

"Let us always work to make our democratic ethos stronger. Writing, debating, deliberating, questioning are vital aspects of our democracy which we are proud of. No force can ever trample the basic tenets of our Constitution," said the third tweet.

June 25 marks the day when Indira Gandhi had declared a state of Emergency in the country for a 21-month period from 1975 to 1977.

Officially issued by President Fakhruddin Ali Ahmed under Article 352 of the Constitution due of the prevailing "internal disturbance", the Emergency was in effect from June 25, 1975, until its withdrawal on March 21, 1977.

The order vested upon the Prime Minister the authority to rule by decree, allowing elections to be suspended and civil liberties to be curbed.

The final decision to impose an emergency was proposed by Indira Gandhi, agreed upon by the president of India, and thereafter ratified by the cabinet and the parliament (from July to August 1975), based on the rationale that there were imminent internal and external threats to the Indian state.

The Emergency is considered to be one of the most controversial periods of independent India's history.