India’s Emergency 51st Anniversary: Five BJP CMs Recall 1975

Five BJP chief ministers marked the 51st anniversary of India’s Emergency on Thursday, June 25, by posting on X that June 25, 1975, was a “dark chapter” and the “most severe blow” ever dealt to Indian democracy. The day is now formally observed as Samvidhan Hatya Diwas, a designation the central government issued in 2024 and is set to keep in place through June 25, 2026.

Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath, Delhi Chief Minister Rekha Gupta, Uttarakhand Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami, Rajasthan Chief Minister Bhajanlal Sharma, and Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Mohan Yadav all posted on the platform, according to an IANS report published by Lokmat Times on Thursday morning.

Five BJP Chief Ministers Recalled the Night of June 25, 1975

The five chief ministers, all from states governed by the BJP, posted individually on X on Thursday. The framings overlapped, with each post calling the Emergency a “dark chapter” and naming the Congress government led by then-Prime Minister Indira Gandhi as the actor.

Each post closed with a tribute to those the speakers described as Democracy Warriors. None of the five statements acknowledged any nuance or counter-position from the Congress, and none mentioned the 1977 general election that ended the Emergency.

June 25, 1975, marks a dark chapter in the history of Indian democracy – a time when an attempt was made to crush the constitutional soul of the nation by imposing the ‘Emergency’. The darkness of the ‘Emergency’, imposed by the Congress out of the arrogance of power, dealt a severe blow to freedom of expression and civil liberties.

The Uttar Pradesh chief minister, writing in Hindi, said “a million salutations” to the “Democracy Warriors” who “struggled to safeguard democracy while enduring brutal torture during those trying times.”

The Emergency was the most severe blow ever dealt to India’s democracy and Constitution. This decision by the Congress government, led by the then Prime Minister Indira Gandhi, inflicted deep wounds on democratic institutions. During that period, civil rights were violated, the freedom of the press was shackled, and freedom of expression was stifled.

Gupta’s statement, posted in English, said June 25, 1975, was “one of the darkest days in India’s democratic history” and noted that the day is now observed as Samvidhan Hatya Diwas, the Day of the Murder of the Constitution.

The Night the Emergency Began

The Emergency began on the night of June 25, 1975, when President Fakhruddin Ali Ahmed declared a state of emergency on the advice of Prime Minister Indira Gandhi, according to the encyclopedia entry on the 1975 Emergency. The proclamation, made under Article 352 of the Indian Constitution on the grounds of “internal disturbance,” came in the weeks after the Allahabad High Court ruled against Gandhi in an electoral malpractice case filed by Raj Narain, the socialist leader she had defeated in the 1971 general election in Rae Bareli, Uttar Pradesh.

The court struck down Gandhi’s poll victory and barred her from holding office for six years. Calls for her resignation grew louder through May and June 1975. On the night of the proclamation, electricity was cut to the Delhi neighbourhood where most media houses were headquartered, and no newspapers could be printed. The next morning’s papers did not appear, and Indians first learned of the Emergency on All India Radio.

The Machinery of the Emergency

The 21-month period that followed centralised power in the prime minister’s office and rewrote the rules of Indian political life. Civil liberties were suspended. Preventive detention laws were used to jail opposition leaders including Morarji Desai, Raj Narain, George Fernandes, Jayaprakash Narayan, Charan Singh, Atal Bihari Vajpayee, Lal Krishna Advani, and Mulayam Singh Yadav.

The press was censored. The Times of India published an obituary for democracy on June 28, 1975, The Indian Express ran a blank editorial, and The Financial Express carried Rabindranath Tagore’s poem “Where the Mind Is Without Fear.” Several films on the subject, including Aandhi (1975), Kissa Kursi Ka (1978), and Nasbandi (1978), were banned. The Constitution was amended to expand legislative powers and limit judicial review, so the Emergency itself could not be challenged in court.

• Article 352 invoked on grounds of “internal disturbance”
• Civil liberties suspended across India
• Press censorship of newspapers, films, and cultural depictions
• Forced sterilisation campaigns, concentrated in poor and rural areas
• Building demolitions in Delhi that displaced thousands
• Constitutional amendments removing judicial oversight of the Emergency

Forced sterilisation of poor men, an initiative Britannica says was spearheaded by Gandhi’s son Sanjay Gandhi, was carried out at scale. Police fired on civilian crowds at the Turkman Gate demolition in Delhi in April 1976 and at an anti-sterilisation protest in Muzaffarnagar, Uttar Pradesh, in October of the same year. Britannica says the death toll “is disputed, but it is clear that hundreds were killed.”

Samvidhan Hatya Diwas, Set to Run Through 2026

The Government of India, through the Ministry of Culture and the Ministry of Home Affairs, formally notified that Samvidhan Hatya Diwas would be observed annually on June 25 to mark the imposition of the Emergency, according to the press release designating Samvidhan Hatya Diwas. The notification was first issued in 2024.

For the 50th anniversary, the central government is commemorating Samvidhan Hatya Diwas for the period from June 25, 2024 to June 25, 2026, the PIB said. The two-year programme includes essay contests, poster-making, slogan contests, quizzes, street plays, and film screenings on constitutional values. Each state and union territory is directed to hold events at 50 key locations, with the Ministry of Culture tracking participation through attendance records, photographs, and event reports.

• Period of observance: June 25, 2024 to June 25, 2026
• Lead ministries: Ministry of Culture and Ministry of Home Affairs
• Key locations per state and UT: 50
• Minister cited in Lok Sabha reply: Gajendra Singh Shekhawat

In a written reply in the Lok Sabha, Union Minister for Culture and Tourism Gajendra Singh Shekhawat said the commemoration is meant to focus on education and public engagement, with “special attention to the Preamble and features of the Constitution in panel discussions.” Major events have already been held in Madhya Pradesh and Chhattisgarh, according to the PIB release, and the official page on the Samvidhan Hatya Diwas programmes lists seminars, lectures, and awareness marches among the activities planned through the end of the period.

Fifty-One Years of Polarised Memory

The Emergency has divided Indian political discourse for half a century, with Britannica noting it “has been widely condemned for its curtailment of civil liberties, arrests of Gandhi’s political opponents, and censorship of the press.” For the BJP, the period remains a foundational political reference, and the anniversary is a date on which the party restates a critique of the Congress.

The five chief ministers’ posts on Thursday are a continuation of that pattern, and they share three features: each names Indira Gandhi and the Congress as the actor, each invokes “Democracy Warriors” as the resisters, and each ends on a call to vigilance rather than reflection. None of the statements, for example, mentions the Allahabad High Court ruling that triggered the proclamation, the 1977 election that ended the Emergency, or the constitutional amendments that followed.

Why the 51st Anniversary Echoes Differently

The 51st anniversary lands near the end of the central government’s two-year Samvidhan Hatya Diwas programme, and within weeks of the 50th anniversary events that filled state capitals with the BJP’s top leadership last year. With national elections concluded and state assemblies cycling through their own calendars, the BJP’s state-level leaders used Thursday to restate a position the party has held for five decades.

The chief ministers’ posts also point to a recurring feature of the day: the X platform, where each post appeared within minutes of the others, has become the venue of choice, and the framing has converged to a single line. The medium is part of the message, since a date on which the party does not need to convene press conferences, file press releases, or schedule interviews can still be marked across five states within a single hour.

Frequently Asked Questions

What Was India’s Emergency of 1975?

India’s Emergency was a 21-month period from June 25, 1975 to March 21, 1977, during which civil liberties were suspended under Article 352 of the Constitution. Prime Minister Indira Gandhi’s government arrested political opponents, censored the press, and centralised power after the Allahabad High Court invalidated her 1971 election victory in Rae Bareli.

Why Is June 25 Observed as Samvidhan Hatya Diwas?

The Government of India, through the Ministry of Culture and the Ministry of Home Affairs, formally notified in 2024 that June 25 would be observed annually as Samvidhan Hatya Diwas, the Day of the Murder of the Constitution, to mark the imposition of the Emergency. The commemoration is set to run for two years, from June 25, 2024 to June 25, 2026.

Who Imposed the Emergency in India?

President Fakhruddin Ali Ahmed declared a state of emergency on the night of June 25, 1975, on the advice of Prime Minister Indira Gandhi. The proclamation was made under Article 352 of the Constitution on the grounds of “internal disturbance.”

How Long Did India’s Emergency Last?

India’s Emergency lasted 21 months, ending on March 21, 1977, when Indira Gandhi called fresh general elections. The Janata Party won the election, and Morarji Desai became the first non-Congress prime minister, the first time an incumbent Indian government had lost a general election.

What Changes Were Made to the Constitution After the Emergency?

The Desai government amended the Constitution in 1978 to substitute “armed rebellion” for “internal disturbance” as the grounds for declaring an emergency, removing the language that had enabled the 1975 proclamation. Several films banned during the Emergency were also cleared in subsequent years.