Despotic ruler imposed Emergency to preserve her dynastic rule: Amit Shah

New Delhi: The Emergency, imposed 50 years ago, by a despotic ruler, whose sole aim was to preserve her dynastic rule, was one of the darkest chapters in India's history, Union Home Minister Amit Shah said on Wednesday.

Shah said the Emergency was not a national necessity but a reflection of the anti-democratic mentality of the Congress and just "one person", a reference to then prime minister Indira Gandhi.

The Indira Gandhi government imposed the Emergency on June 25, 1975. The Modi government observes this day as 'Samvidhan Hatya Diwas'.

"Emergency, imposed 50 years ago, by a despotic ruler, whose sole aim was to preserve her dynastic rule, was one of the darkest chapters in India’s history," the home minister posted on X.

Shah, who was just 11 years old in 1975, said he was a 'Bal Swayamsevak' of the RSS then and heard firsthand the excesses and injustices during the dark days of the Emergency.

He said the memories of that time, though blurry, as he was very young then, the suppression, the torture, the blatant assault on democratic values were still vivid in his memories.

"I take immense pride in having been associated with a movement that stood up against this tyranny, and with a leader who fearlessly raised his voice to protect Bharat’s democracy and its Constitution," he said.

Paying tributes to those who suffered after the imposition of Emergency by the Indira Gandhi government, Shah said the day reminds everyone that when those in power become dictatorial, the people have the power to overthrow them.

The home minister said the Emergency was the "Age of Injustice of Congress's hunger for power".

"This day tells us that when power becomes dictatorial, the people have the power to overthrow it," he said in another post on 'X' in Hindi.

"The Emergency was not a national necessity, but a reflection of the "anti-democratic mentality" of the Congress and one person," the minister said.

He said freedom of the press was crushed, the hands of the judiciary were tied and social workers were put in jail.

"The countrymen raised the slogan of 'sinhasan khali karo' (vacate the throne) and uprooted the dictatorial Congress. A heartfelt tribute to all the heroes who sacrificed their lives in this struggle," he said.

Last year, Shah had announced that the Modi government would observe June 25 as the 'Samvidhaan Hatya Diwas' to commemorate the "massive contributions" of those who endured "inhuman pain" during the period.

He had also said the observance of 'Samvidhaan Hatya Diwas' will help keep the eternal flame of individual freedom and the defence of democracy alive in every Indian, thus preventing "dictatorial forces" like the Congress from "repeating those horrors".

A gazette notification to this effect noted that the Emergency was declared on June 25, 1975, following which there was "gross abuse of power by the government of the day and people of India were subjected to excesses and atrocities".