Emergency tried to crush democracy, says Himanta

Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma on Thursday said the Emergency imposed in 1975 was an attempt to crush India’s democratic values and civil liberties. Remembering the period, Sarma paid tribute to all the “brave warriors” who struggled to protect democracy.

“We remember that dark chapter in the history of Indian democracy, when in 1975 the Emergency was imposed in an attempt to crush the country’s democratic values and civil liberties,” he said in a social media post.

“Humble salutations to all the brave warriors who struggled to protect democracy,” he added. In a programme organised by the BJP in the evening, Sarma honoured “Loktantra Senanis” and said people must not let that dark chapter in the nation’s history be forgotten.

“Just to cling on to power, the then Cong govt trampled upon the Constitution and converted the country into a jail,” he said in another post. The Emergency was in force from June 25, 1975, to March 21, 1977, after it was proclaimed under Article 352 of the Constitution.

Since 2025, the Narendra Modi Government has observed June 25 as ‘Samvidhan Hatya Diwas’.

A gazette notification issued in this regard said the Emergency was declared on June 25, 1975, and was followed by a “gross abuse of power” by the government of the day, with people subjected to excesses and atrocities.