Amid escalating tensions with Congress, Congress MP from Thiruvananthapuram has written articles strongly criticising the Emergency and directly targeting Indira Gandhi.
In his latest articles – one in Project Syndicate and another in Malayalam daily Deepika — Tharoor described the 1975-77 Emergency as a “dark period” and cited “unspeakable atrocities” committed during that time.
In his article published in Malayalam daily Deepika under the headline ‘Atiyantharavasthayute padam ulkondu (Imbibing the lessons of Emergency), Tharoor described the Emergency as a “dark period” in India’s democratic history and called out the “unspeakable atrocities” committed during that time.
Tharoor, in his article, reminds us that we should not just remember the Emergency as a dark chapter in India’s history, but rather learn its lessons. “For 21 months, fundamental rights were abrogated. The press was silenced. Political dissent was brutally suppressed. The essence of the constitutional promises of liberty, equality and fraternity was put to the test. The world’s largest democracy was left holding its breath. Fifty years later, that period remains etched in the memories of Indians as the ‘Emergency’,” Tharoor wrote in the article.
Tharoor did not mince words while blaming former prime minister Indira Gandhi for enforcing harsh measures and accused her son, Sanjay Gandhi, of committing “terrible atrocities”, including forced sterilisations and the use of violence in rural areas. “The efforts for discipline and order often turned into unspeakable atrocities. The forced sterilization programs led by Indira Gandhi’s son Sanjay are a case in point. Force and violence were used to achieve arbitrary goals in poor rural areas. In urban centers like New Delhi, slums were ruthlessly demolished, leaving thousands homeless. There was no regard for their welfare,” Tharoor says in the article.
During the Emergency, Tharoor emphasised the suspension of fundamental rights, press restrictions, and extensive human rights violations. “The silencing of dissent, the curtailment of fundamental rights to assemble, write and speak freely, and the open disregard for constitutional rules left indelible scars on Indian politics. Although the justice system later recovered its footing, the initial stumble was not soon forgotten.”
“The atrocities of this period caused deep and lasting damage to countless people. They left a legacy of fear and distrust in the oppressed communities.They demonstrated this by ousting Indira Gandhi and her party by a landslide in the first free elections held after the lifting of the Emergency in March 1977,” Tharoor further writes in the article.
Tharoor concluded his article by urging the nation to not just remember the Emergency as a dark chapter but to learn lasting lessons from it.
Tharoor’s article came at a time when the BJP is using it as a major propaganda tool on the occasion of the half-century anniversary of the Emergency.