Emergency was mentioned again in Parliament, BJP MP Naresh Bansal demanded to include it in the syllabus

New Delhi: In the Rajya Sabha on Monday, a member of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) compared the efforts made to restore democracy during the Emergency to the struggle in the freedom struggle and demanded that the history of this period be included in the school and college curriculum. Raising the issue during Zero Hour in the Upper House, BJP’s Naresh Bansal said that if the Emergency is given a proper place in the textbooks, then democratic forces will develop in the country and the roots of democracy will also be strengthened. Terming the Emergency as a ‘black chapter’ of India’s democracy, he/she said that it can never be called off because the ‘protectors of that time had become predators’. he/she said that a chapter explaining the excesses committed during the Emergency in 1975 in the country and the fight made by those who opposed this repression should be included in the school and college curriculum. Bansal said that there should be a lesson in the textbooks for all students about what the Emergency was, how and why it was imposed. Students should know about the Emergency. The entire story of the Emergency should be included in the children’s curriculum so that the present and future generations can know the struggle of those martyrs. he/she further said that if the Emergency is given a proper place in the textbooks, then democratic forces will develop and the roots of democracy will be strengthened.

‘Emergency was a blot on the country’s democracy’

Bansal said that to make the future generation aware of this ‘dark chapter’, the history of the struggle for restoration of democracy should be included in the school and college curriculum like the freedom struggle. he/she said that by imposing emergency, the then Prime Minister Indira Gandhi had strangled the Constitution of India and tarnished the country’s democracy. During the emergency, civil liberties were violated, consent was suppressed and democratic principles were crushed. Along with this, thousands of people were put in jails without any reason. Many people sacrificed their lives to save the country’s democracy.

he/she said that the time of emergency was a nightmare for the democratic fighters and remembering it even today makes their eyes moist. he/she said that most of the current opposition leaders were also victims of the excesses committed during the emergency. It is known that emergency was imposed in the country on 25 June 1975. It remained in force till 21 March 1977 i.e. for 21 months. Recently the central government has announced to celebrate 25 June as ‘Samvidhan Hatya Diwas’.