50 years ago, on 12th June 1975, Justice Jagmohan Lal Sinha from the Allahabad High Court delivered an extraordinary verdict that altered the trajectory of Indian politics and history for generations to follow. Prime Minister Indira Gandhi’s membership in Parliament was revoked and she was prohibited from holding political office for six years.
She was found guilty of fraud during the general elections in 1971 after a case was filed by Raj Narain, who had been defeated by her. However, she refused to give up her Raebareli seat. A disgraced Indira subsequently persuaded President Fakhruddin Ali Ahmed to declare an internal emergency, thirteen days later, in accordance with Article 352 of the constitution.
A national emergency (NE) was announced on 25th June 1975 that lasted until March 1977. She enforced a period of blatant authoritarianism as a result, imprisoning her political rivals, suppressing the media, violating human rights, brutalising students, disregarding fundamental rights, torturing and murdering citizens in cold blood and even mangling the Constitution.
No aspect of the emergency was devoid of shock, however, her unprecedented assault on defenseless students is especially reprehensible. The government apparatus of a self-proclaimed strong leader, who was even referred to as the “Iron Lady” by her party members and sycophants, was unleashed to target young boys and girls whose primary goal at that point in their lives should have been to pursue education and create a future for themselves.
However, they found themselves obligated to counter a regime that brought about a dark chapter in India’s history, leading to harsh curbs on individual and institutional freedoms including severe media censorships.
It has been the history of the Congress party and especially of the Gandhi family to brutally suppress voices of dissent. Artists and students have always suffered when they raised their voice against the Gandhis and the Congress. Yet, Indira Gandhi’s grandson, Rahul Gandhi, pretends to be a well-wisher of students, merely to use them as a tool to gain power. In reality, Rahul Gandhi is no different from his grandmother who tortured and even killed students during the Emergency. The dictatorial streak never ended.
He never has, so far, addressed the issue of the suppression of students under the reign of his grandmother either. He clearly does not possess any genuine concerns for the students and utilizes them as a means to further his political agenda and attack the saffron party.
Interestingly, he does not only speak to students in India, but also abroad, to raise awareness about the “wrong” policies of the government, yet, his party’s own record is never referenced in these events as he desparately tries to paint Congress as pro-students and BJP as their adversary. From raking up the bogey of saffronization to fueling language politics, the Gandhi scion has executed all measures to incite the students while remaining silent about the atrocities of the emergency during which they were truly oppressed.
Rahul Gandhi calls NEP 2020, a weapon to communalise
Rahul Gandhi claimed that the National Education Policy 2020 was implemented by the center without seeking input from teachers and students, in 2021. He added that it was being used as a tool to spread a specific ideology and communalize Indian society. “An education system is for our students and it is run by our teachers. If we are going to have any policy made for the education system, then, it has to come from a conversation with students and professors. Unfortunately, this was not done.”
Rahul was talking to college professors at Saint Xavier’s College in Tirunelveli of Tamil Nadu before the assembly elections in the state. “There is too much power is being centralised in one institution (in the NEP). This is going to damage the education system. The positive side is that it is reasonably flexible on many counts but is a weapon to communalise, to push a particular ideology into Indian society,” he charged.
The parliamentarian added, “I don’t believe that education should be only for financially strong people. When we come to power, we are going to push for scholarships in education.” He claimed, “You don’t want to necessarily remove religion from the discourse. You want all religions to be part of it. As long as ideas are competing without hatred and anger, there is no problem. The problem is when you tell someone that you cannot open your mouth because you are from a certain religion,” in response to a query.
“The Government of India says that they represent Hinduism but a lot of the ideas they espouse have nothing to do with the religion. Nowhere does it say insult, kill people,” he proclaimed, as part of his habitual practice of only insulting the majority religion and its adherents under the guise of slamming BJP and the centre.
“One organisation is trying to destroy the Indian education system, and that organisation is the RSS. If our education system falls into their hands, the country will be destroyed and employment will be finished,” the Congress functionary announced as he tried to instigate the students by invoking the fabricated fear of RSS at Jantar Mantar during a protest arranged by National Students Union of India (NSUI) in March of this year.
The protest was directed at the University Grants Commission (UGC) draft rules, the National Education Policy (NEP) 2020 and the alleged paper leaks. He claimed that public universities are about to come under the same kind of control as the RSS, which is appointing its “nominated candidates” as vice chancellors in universities across the country.
“A few days ago, the Prime Minister spoke about the Kumbh Mela. It is good that he spoke about the Kumbh, but I wanted him to speak about employment. Your government has made the youth of this country unemployed and you should speak about that too,” he added.
He delivered additional rhetoric regarding RSS and the industrialists Adani and Ambani before concluding his speech by expressing solidarity with the students and assured, “We are all united and we will fight together.”
Rahul Gandhi and his political coalition’s tendency to invoke RSS and Hindutva ideology to criticize the BJP, regardless of the truth, is neither novel nor original. The Modi government has consistently clarified that the entire policy, including the three-language formula, will only be enacted with the approval of students and their teachers, however, he never allows facts to interfere with his propaganda.
Furthermore, aside from the propaganda deeply embedded in hatred, he lacks any proof to substantiate his ridiculous claims against the RSS.
Rahul Gandhi tries to provoke students over NEET exam
The Raebareli MP argued last year that the medical undergraduate entrance exam was “designed to suit rich students” and was more of a “commercial exam” than a “professional one,” in the lower house.
He insisted, “NEET students spend years and years preparing for their exams. Their family supports them financially and emotionally, and the truth is that NEET students today do not believe in the exam because they are convinced that the exam is designed for rich people, not meritorious people. I have met several NEET students. Every single one of them tells me that the exam is designed to create a quota for rich people and to create a passage for them into the system and is designed not to help poor students.”
He had earlier issued a video in which he addressed candidates for the National Eligibility-cum-Entrance Test (NEET) as well as other competitive exams and accused the centre of avoiding a discussion on paper leak in the parliament. “The idea behind the discussion was to get a resolution to this issue. It is unfortunate the government didn’t want it. It seemed to me the direction was directly from the Prime Minister,” he stated.
Rahul further charged, “It is sad the Prime Minister of India, who should be leading the discussion and should be telling us about his opinion and what he is going to do, simply doesn’t want a debate. We don’t want to fight the government, we want to place our views on the table.”
“I tried to raise it in Parliament, of course I was not allowed to speak. It is clear there is a systemic problem and there is a huge amount of corruption and we simply cannot continue like this,” he alleged while reiterating that there was a paper leak and everyone knew about it.
He had previously attacked PM Modi and declared that even before the latter took power for a fresh term, the “irregularities” in the NEET-UG medical entrance examination had crushed the hopes of over 24 lakh students. “We had pledged in our manifesto to give students ‘freedom from paper leak’ by making a law.
The Congressman enphasised, “Six students from a single exam centre topped the exam with maximum marks, while many got such marks which are technically not possible, but the government is continuously denying the possibility of paper leak.”
“Today, I assure all the students of the country that I will become your voice in the Parliament and strongly raise the issues related to your future,” he conveyed and added that the youth have expressed faith in the I.N.D.I. Alliance which will not let their voice be suppressed.
नरेंद्र मोदी ने अभी शपथ भी नहीं ली है और NEET परीक्षा में हुई धांधली ने 24 लाख से अधिक स्टूडेंट्स और उनके परिवारों को तोड़ दिया है।
— Rahul Gandhi (@RahulGandhi) June 9, 2024
एक ही एग्जाम सेंटर से 6 छात्र मैक्सिमम मार्क्स के साथ टॉप कर जाते हैं, कितनों को ऐसे मार्क्स मिलते हैं जो टेक्निकली संभव ही नहीं है, लेकिन सरकार…
Notably, the National Testing Agency denied any anomalies and maintained that some of the factors contributing to the improved scores were the modifications made to the NCERT textbooks and the grace marks for students who were late for the exam.
The issue of paper leaks indeed is a harsh reality that requires firm action, however, rather than addressing the problem, Rahul appears more interested in exploiting it for political gain which clearly demonstrates his real intentions behind raising these matter.
Rahul Gandhi’s unannounced visit to DUSU sparks row
The former Congress supremo frequently engages with students from different educational institutions to present his party as a supporter of their interests, while criticizing the BJP government’s actions as detrimental to students. Nevertheless, a similar incident recently triggered significant backlash in the national capital.
Student representatives protested and university administrators voiced strong objections to his unplanned trip to the Delhi University Students Union (DUSU) office and interactions with students, last month. He spent more than an hour at the DUSU office, which was surrounded by security guards during that period, according to a statement from the university.
Unsurprisingly, he extended his infamous caste politics to the varsity, which appears to be the only cornerstone of his party’s political strategy after suffering repeated defeats at the hands of PM Modi and the BJP.
Rahul reportedly urged students from the Scheduled Castes (SC), Scheduled Tribes (ST), and Other Backward Classes (OBC) to actively participate in building a fair and inclusive educational environment by taking inspiration from Dr BR Ambedkar’s teachings to “educate, agitate, and organise.”
Ronak Khatri, NSUI leader and DUSU president conveyed, “The students raised concerns over caste-based discrimination, lack of representation of marginalised communities in faculty positions and their exclusion from jobs in top companies.”
However, the visit was denounced by the institution, which also noted that it was the second time he had visited without warning. The university’s proctor Rajni Abbi Rajni Abbi issued a notice and highlighted, “The DUSU secretary was not allowed to enter her office and was not let in by National Students Union of India (NSUI) students. There were some students inside the DUSU secretary’s room who were locked and were subjected to harassment by the NSUI members. Strict action will be taken against students involved in this.”
Rahul pretendts to be devoted to student issues, especially for those from the lower levels of society and he never passes up a chance to express the same by attacking the government. Nevertheless, he often fails to live up to his own words, as clearly illustrated by the DUSU incident. His concern for students is limited to their potential benefit to him politically, otherwise, he shows no regard for their harassment by his party members.
He even wrote to PM Modi on 10th June to discuss the dire living conditions in the residential dormitories for students from underprivileged families and the delays in the distribution of post-matric scholarships for them, after he went to a university hostel in poll-bound Bihar.
“I request you to resolve two critical issues which hinder education opportunities for the 90% of students who are from marginalized communities. Firstly, the conditions in residential hostels for students from Dalit, ST (scheduled tribe), EBC (extremely backward classes), OBC (other backward classes) and minority communities are deplorable,” he stated.
The shadow of the Bihar election is prominently visible in his comments. He is a shrewd politician who knows how to capitalize on any opportunity to create an impression on the voters. It is simply that people are able to see through him and he is unable to deceive them to secure votes for his party’s rise to power.
The grim era of Emergency: How students were treated under Congress rule
The aforementioned instances are just a few among several and illustrate Rahul Gandhi’s attempts to politicize matters concerning education and students while attributing blame to the BJP for political gain. However, he fails to acknowledge the egregiously anti-student actions of his own party during the emergency, which have been inscribed in the dark annals of history.
The Maintenance of Internal Security Act (MISA) was widely abused. Ironically, the former Chief Minister of Bihar and ex-union minister, Lalu Prasad Yadav, who is currently a part of Congress-led I.N.D.I. Alliance, named his eldest daughter after the act to commemorate the hardships he experienced during that period.
People were detained for no other reason than outright victimization, false accusations and vague suspicions. The controls and gags immediately became unacceptable to young people including students. Their leaders were arrested and imprisoned with the exception of those who supported the grand old party.
Consequently, the youth rose up against the tyranny of Indira’s government and their protest was met with ruthless crackdown. Many students fell victim to the violence inflicted in the name of crimes that were never validated, leaving their families in despair as they mourned the uncertain fate of their children.
On 1st March 1976, P. Rajan, a student at Calicut Regional Engineering College, was arrested by the police for an unproven offense. He was later found to be dead “while in unlawful police custody at the Kakkayam police camp on 2nd March 1976, as a result of continuous police torture with iron and wooden rollers.”
The returns filed in the form of affidavits by the respondents, including the former chief minister, K Karunakaran, acknowledged this before a division bench of the Kerala High Court, consisting of Justice P. Subramanian Poti and Justice V. Khalid, during the hearing of the habeas corpus petition submitted by the father of the victim, TV Eachara Warrier.
His corpse was disposed of and has yet to be found. It was the lengthy and solitary battle of Eachara that uncovered the truth regarding his disappearance. Rajawardhan, a sudent leader, was brutally thrashed until he passed out and vomited blood. He did not, however, receive any medical care from the authorities.
“Aeroplane ” assault on students
According to multiple accounts, the “aeroplane” was the police’s “favorite” method of torture in Karnataka. The victim was bound by securing their hands behind their body with a rope and then hauled many feet above the ground while the rope was pulled toward the ceiling using a pulley. The person hung midair as their hands were tied behind their back.
Young Belgaum college students were hanged from the ceiling via this method and tortured to the third degree. They were rendered unconscious by the intense pain. Puttu Swamy, Padmanabh Harihar and Shrikant Desai, three student leaders in Hubli were assaulted and underwent same torture. Student leader Ravi was detained, battered, kicked and suspended as an “aeroplane” in Mysore as well.
On 12th November 1975, Udaya Shankar, a student from Canara College, was taken by the police without a warrant, in Mangalore. He was thrashed, caned and kicked until his body was left with red and blue marks. He was also denied food. These acts of cruelty occurred in the presence of Superintendent of Police. Udaya was later tormented employing the “aeroplane” technique three times.
Another student, Shrikant from Bangalore was also attacked and subjected to “aeroplane” torture. Student leader, Sesha, was covered entirely with poisonous caterpillars. Shimoga (Shivamogga) students were lathicharged.
Delhi University Union Secretary Hemant Kumar Vishnoi was captured while having a picnic in the Buddha Gardens of Delhi with other students. They beat him and hung him upside down. His bare soles were covered with burning candles and his nose and rectum were covered in chili powder. However, he refused to “confess” to a fictitious conspiracy against Indira Gandhi in spite of the cruelty. All of this occurred despite the fact that he had no charges against him. The agony caused his entire body to swell.
Another Delhi University student, Mahavir Singh, suffered torture and abuse to the point where his skin began to react to even the clothes he wore. Another pupil of the institution, named Shiv Kumar Sharma was made to breathe in chili powder. Rods, shoes and rifle butts were also used to pound him. Ashwini Kumar, a student leader, was forced to lie down at the police station while a constable in ammunition boots danced on his chest.
Furthermore, more than 200 Delhi University teachers were taken into custody on 26th June 1975 alone.
On 23rd June 1976, Jawaharlal Nehru University student Jasbir Singh was apprehended and he detailed the abuse he suffered in his statement. He described how, from 6 pm till midnight, he was brought into a police station room and thrashed with clubs, boots and slippers. The following day, two chairs were attached to a pole and his wrists and feet were chained to it as he was left hanging between them.
He began to spew blood as he was swung on it and shoved side to side. Police repeatedly threatened him that his body would be tossed into the Yamuna River, where no one would ever know he had died. The pain and misery dragged on for days.
The corrupt Congress administration’s brutality on a student
A year before to the declaration of Emergency, Ashwini Kumar Choubey, who is currently a Union Minister, was introduced to state terror. The Abdul Ghafoor administration in Bihar targeted him because, as the head of the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) unit at Patna University, he actively supported freedom fighter Jayaprakash Narayan’s movement against corruption and misrule.
Aside from his dedication as an activist, Choubey gained recognition for exposing Ghafoor and the then-finance minister Daroga Rai’s involvement in scams pertaining to sugar mills. Predictably, the government persecuted him in retaliation. “Congress goondas and the police had planned to finish me,” he unveiled.
He was arrested by the police on 12th June 1974, charged with DIR (Defence of India) act and taken to the Phulwarisharif Jail outside of Patna. The night was one of unspeakable horror. Choubey was propped upon a massive hot iron pan used to make chapatis, beaten with lathis and tortured with blazing iron rods.
The police also attempted to employ spikes to blind him. Afterwards, he was “disposed of” and wrapped in a sack. At the moment, other activists broke into the jail. Choubey awoke in the hospital four days after the occurrence, suffering from serious burns and kidney damage. Afterward, he was arrested again and charged under MISA.
With repeated calls for a public curfew, morchas and dharnas demanding the ousting of the government, JP’s campaign had gained traction by the time the Emergency was declared. The state arrested, imprisoned and tortured leaders across the nation in retaliation. Unfortunately, it Choubey’s time on 12th July 1975 when he was taken to Arrah Jail after being apprehended while attempting to enter Patna Science College secretly to take his B.Sc. Hons. (Bachelor of Science with Honours) examinations.
His incarceration was a recurrence of his previous imprisonment experiences. He was transported from Arrah Jail to Buxar Jail, where he was not given food or water during the trip. He was tortured and placed in a cell near the mentally challenged section of Buxar Jail. The cell was stinky, gloomy and mosquito-infested. Choubey was close to death after five months under these conditions.
Eventually, he was transferred to Patna Medical College, where he spent the following 11 months in a hospital under police control until the emergency ended.
Congress govt’s atrocities on students during JP movement
The Gujarat Congress government was overthrown by the Nav Nirman movement, which also witnessed the arrest of 326 students as the cops resorted to tear gas and lathicharge. Afterward, political student organizations including Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad (ABVP) of the Jana Sangh, Samajwadi Yuvajan Sabha (SYS) from the Samajwadi Party and Lok Dal joined the Jayaprakash Narayan (JP) movement.
All India Students Federation (AISF) of the (Communist Party of India) CPI also became a part of it. A countrywide strike was called by opposition groups in 1973. Due to their involvement in the movement, eight students were killed on 17th August 1973, when police targeted agitators in Bhopal, the capital of Madhya Pradesh. Additionally, the Raina Enquiry Commission confirmed that the Madhya Pradesh Congress government’s actions were excessive and it had not handled the matter appropriately.
Student leaders from throughout the state were invited to a convention hosted by the Patna University Students Union on 18th February 1974. They organized the demonstration under the name Bihar Chhatra Sangharsh Samiti (BCSS). Lalu Prasad Yadav was selected as the president, Sushil Kumar Modi, Narendra Singh, Bashistha Narain Singh, Chandradeo Prasad Verma, Mohammad Shahabuddin and Ram Vilas Paswan were among its prominent youth leaders. Their requests included meals in dorms and education.
The Bihar Assembly was gheraoed by students on their call on 18th March 1974, a significant moment in the Jayaprakash Narayan movement. Three students were killed after police opened fire when clashes broke out. All around Bihar, protests broke out calling for Ghafoor to be ousted from his position. Jayaprakash Narayan intensified the demonstrations, demanding democratic reforms and integrity in public life, when eight more students were slain by police shooting on 12th April.
Horrors of Emergency
After the glory of the 1971 victory over Pakistan faded, the brutality of Indira’s regime was witnessed by all during the Emergency.
Approximately one million people, including members of opposition political parties, journalists, academics, activists and community members were arrested under MISA and held without charge or trial for up to 18 months. The act infringed upon fundamental human rights and freedoms guaranteed to the people by the Indian Constitution.
During the 21-month emergency, 1,40,000 people nationwide were arrested without charge or trial, according to reports provided by Amnesty International. No one was spared from the wrath of the Congress government including socialist stalwarts Madhu Dandavate and Shyam Nandan Mishra, former deputy prime minister LK Advania nd former prime minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee.
A staggering 6.2 million men in India underwent sterilisation within a single year, a figure that is “15 times greater than the number of individuals sterilised by the Nazis.” A plane was even hijacked and later the action was shamelessly defended in the Parliament.
Her grandson too frequently transforms every student issue into a political campaign against the BJP, accusing the government of targeting students and suppressing their voices. However, much like his grandmother, Rahul Gandhi too has a dictatorial streak who views students as a tool for politics and a means to achieve power. For example, in 2011, a student was arrested merely for mocking Rahul Gandhi. In the same breath, Rahul Gandhi himself supported “students” like Umar Khalid after seditious statements like “Bharat Tere Tukde” were chanted in JNU. It is pertinent to remember that Umar Khalid then went on to mastermind the Delhi 2020 anti-Hindu Riots in which Congress workers were also involved, including a close aide of Rahul Gandhi himself. Essentially, just like his grandmother, Rahul Gandhi uses students, arresting and persecuting them when it suits his politics and supporting the worse elements who pose as students when it suits his politics.
The unfounded allegations he directs at the present government account for not even 1% of the anguish and suffering they experienced during the Emergency and even before that, when they were subjected to the most severe punishments and had to sacrifice their lives just for speaking out against the corrupt practices of Congress, in a democracy.
The democracy which the Congress claims to bestow upon the nation and frequently vocalizes is in jeopardy since they are not in power. The fact remains that the only time Indian democracy has been sincerely threatened was during Indira’s leadership in the Emergency.
