“Democracy Was Placed Under Arrest”

Addressing the nation through social media and public statements on Wednesday, Modi said, “No Indian will ever forget the manner in which the Constitution was subverted during the Emergency. It was not just a political event. It was an assault on the very soul of our democratic framework.”

He said that “the then ruling party turned the country into a jail” by curtailing civil liberties, silencing the press and jailing opposition leaders. “Democracy was placed under arrest. Parliament was rendered impotent, the judiciary was pressured, and citizens lost their basic rights overnight,” he said.

Paying tribute to those who resisted the Emergency, Modi stated, “We salute every person who stood firm during that time—political workers, students, intellectuals, and ordinary citizens who opposed authoritarianism.” He added that their resilience laid the foundation for the eventual restoration of democracy.

In a symbolic move, the government has announced that June 25 will now be observed annually as ‘Samvidhan Hatya Diwas’ (Constitution Murder Day), a gesture Modi said was meant to “remind future generations of how fragile democracy can be if we are not vigilant.”

The Prime Minister also encouraged citizens to learn more about Emergency, engage with personal accounts from that era and share them widely “so that the mistakes of the past are never repeated.”

“I call upon all those who remember those dark days of the Emergency or those whose families suffered during that time to share their experiences on social media. It will create awareness among the youth of the shameful time from 1975 to 1977,” he posted on X.

Modi, who was a young political worker during Emergency and worked underground to support the resistance, has often referred to the period as a turning point in his own political awakening. “That experience reinforced my lifelong conviction that India’s strength lies in its democracy, not in dynastic entitlement or authoritarian impulses,” he said.

Modi explained on X: “When the Emergency was imposed, I was a young RSS Pracharak. The anti-Emergency movement was a learning experience for me. It reaffirmed the vitality of preserving our democratic framework. At the same time, I got to learn so much from people across the political spectrum. I am glad that BlueKraft Digital Foundation has compiled some of those experiences in the form of a book, whose foreword has been penned by Shri HD Deve Gowda Ji, himself a stalwart of the anti-Emergency movement.” Titled ‘The Emergency Diaries – Years that Forged a Leader’, the book is “based on first-person anecdotes from associates who worked with young Modi, and using other archival material,” BlueKraft Digital Foundation said in a statement.

1975 EmergencyIndira GandhiNarendra Modisocial mediaWeb Exclusive