The imposition of the Emergency in 1975 led to the arrests of several opposition leaders, with new cases being filed or existing ones revived, forcing many into hiding. CPI(M) leader Prakash Karat, who was the president of the Students' Federation of India (SFI) at the time, was among those who went underground, taking refuge in the All India Institute of Medical Science (AIIMS) hostel.
In an interview with PTI, Karat, who was the General Secretary of the Communist Party of India (Marxist) from 2005 to 2015 and served as the party's interim coordinator after the sudden demise of Sitaram Yechury last year, described the Emergency imposed by Indira Gandhi as a "knee-jerk reaction." He further noted that the current "authoritarianism" is much more "institutionalised".
Karat, then a young activist with CPI(M) and a PhD student at the Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU), recalled that he was in Kolkata when the Emergency was declared. He reminisced about the arrests made at Delhi's Vitthal Bhai Patel House, commonly known as VP House, a hostel for Parliament members, as well as the crackdown at JNU.
"I used to stay in the Vitthal Bhai Patel House at Rafi Marg. At least half a dozen people residents there were arrested because many political party leaders were staying there, including the CPI(M) state secretary of Delhi at that time, Major Jaipal Singh," Karat said.
The party suggested he go underground, following which he went by the alias Sudhir. He recalled how old cases were reopened and people were arrested under the 'Defence of India Rules' or ' Maintenance of Internal Security Act' (MISA).
During the 21-month Emergency, Karat spent about 18 months underground. But what did being 'underground' actually mean?
"In the first few weeks, I realized that as long as I stayed away from JNU, the CPI(M) party office, and my flat in VP House, I would be comparatively safe, as the police were not actively looking for me. So, the only place I could find to stay was with some friends who were postgraduate medical students," Karat recounted.
"AIIMS, back in those days, was a much more relaxed place, not so crowded and frenetic as it is now".
However, he remembered that students were being detained at JNU. "There was a concerted attack on JNU students and the students' union. Just a little over a week after the Emergency was declared, hundreds of policemen raided the hostels on campus, rounding up scores of students and taking them to police stations for interrogation."
Karat also recalled how Prabir Purkayastha, a founding member of the Delhi Science Forum and news website NewsClick, was arrested by police, who mistook him for DP Tripathi, the JNU students' union president, who was also later arrested under the MISA.
He described JNU as a bastion of ongoing resistance against the Emergency. As SFI president, he said they worked "covertly," distributing leaflets and holding campaigns among students.
"Two significant events affected Delhi and the neighbouring areas and states: one was the demolitions carried out in the name of beautifying the city and clearing slums; the second was the compulsory sterilisation drive. These issues galvanised opposition in rural areas, particularly in places like Uttar Pradesh and Haryana," he said.
When asked to compare the Emergency to the present-day situation, especially regarding his party's concerns about rising "neo-fascism," Karat remarked that such a comparison would not be fitting as the current conditions differ greatly.
"People tend to compare the present situation to this 21-month Emergency of 1975-77. I think that is not appropriate. Indira Gandhi was fighting for survival to be in power and she took this desperate measure of imposing the Emergency, which was there in the Constitution. It was a knee-jerk reaction.
"That was an authoritarian attack on democracy, no doubt, but what we have today is an authoritarianism which is much more institutionalised, being implemented as part of a political agenda," he said.
Karat also noted that a whole generation of leaders in India emerged from the Emergency. When asked why parties that opposed the Emergency at the time are now standing with the Congress in the INDIA bloc, Karat explained that these parties, including his own, have stood for safeguarding democracy.
"The danger to democracy today is much higher, and the form of authoritarianism is much more comprehensive and insidious. So, I think that is what has brought all these opposition parties together because they all realise that what is at stake is the very democratic system that we have had under the Constitution," he stated.
In an interview with PTI, Karat, who was the General Secretary of the Communist Party of India (Marxist) from 2005 to 2015 and served as the party's interim coordinator after the sudden demise of Sitaram Yechury last year, described the Emergency imposed by Indira Gandhi as a "knee-jerk reaction." He further noted that the current "authoritarianism" is much more "institutionalised".
Karat, then a young activist with CPI(M) and a PhD student at the Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU), recalled that he was in Kolkata when the Emergency was declared. He reminisced about the arrests made at Delhi's Vitthal Bhai Patel House, commonly known as VP House, a hostel for Parliament members, as well as the crackdown at JNU.
"I used to stay in the Vitthal Bhai Patel House at Rafi Marg. At least half a dozen people residents there were arrested because many political party leaders were staying there, including the CPI(M) state secretary of Delhi at that time, Major Jaipal Singh," Karat said.
The party suggested he go underground, following which he went by the alias Sudhir. He recalled how old cases were reopened and people were arrested under the 'Defence of India Rules' or ' Maintenance of Internal Security Act' (MISA).
During the 21-month Emergency, Karat spent about 18 months underground. But what did being 'underground' actually mean?
"In the first few weeks, I realized that as long as I stayed away from JNU, the CPI(M) party office, and my flat in VP House, I would be comparatively safe, as the police were not actively looking for me. So, the only place I could find to stay was with some friends who were postgraduate medical students," Karat recounted.
"AIIMS, back in those days, was a much more relaxed place, not so crowded and frenetic as it is now".
However, he remembered that students were being detained at JNU. "There was a concerted attack on JNU students and the students' union. Just a little over a week after the Emergency was declared, hundreds of policemen raided the hostels on campus, rounding up scores of students and taking them to police stations for interrogation."
Karat also recalled how Prabir Purkayastha, a founding member of the Delhi Science Forum and news website NewsClick, was arrested by police, who mistook him for DP Tripathi, the JNU students' union president, who was also later arrested under the MISA.
He described JNU as a bastion of ongoing resistance against the Emergency. As SFI president, he said they worked "covertly," distributing leaflets and holding campaigns among students.
"Two significant events affected Delhi and the neighbouring areas and states: one was the demolitions carried out in the name of beautifying the city and clearing slums; the second was the compulsory sterilisation drive. These issues galvanised opposition in rural areas, particularly in places like Uttar Pradesh and Haryana," he said.
When asked to compare the Emergency to the present-day situation, especially regarding his party's concerns about rising "neo-fascism," Karat remarked that such a comparison would not be fitting as the current conditions differ greatly.
"People tend to compare the present situation to this 21-month Emergency of 1975-77. I think that is not appropriate. Indira Gandhi was fighting for survival to be in power and she took this desperate measure of imposing the Emergency, which was there in the Constitution. It was a knee-jerk reaction.
"That was an authoritarian attack on democracy, no doubt, but what we have today is an authoritarianism which is much more institutionalised, being implemented as part of a political agenda," he said.
Karat also noted that a whole generation of leaders in India emerged from the Emergency. When asked why parties that opposed the Emergency at the time are now standing with the Congress in the INDIA bloc, Karat explained that these parties, including his own, have stood for safeguarding democracy.
"The danger to democracy today is much higher, and the form of authoritarianism is much more comprehensive and insidious. So, I think that is what has brought all these opposition parties together because they all realise that what is at stake is the very democratic system that we have had under the Constitution," he stated.
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