On June 25, 1975, democracy in India was not just shaken — it was suspended. The Emergency, imposed by then Prime Minister Indira Gandhi, remains one of the darkest and most shameful chapters in India’s constitutional history. For 21 months, civil liberties were crushed, the press was gagged, political opponents were jailed, and the Constitution was bent to serve authoritarian interests.
And yet, when the Directorate of Education in Goa issued a circular asking schools to observe “Samvidhan Hatya Diwas” — a day to remember the killing of the Constitution — the Congress party erupted in anger. It accused the BJP of politicising education and misusing government machinery to target the Opposition.
But let’s ask the real question here: Is teaching students about the Emergency “spreading venom” or is it an act of restoring historical truth?
The Emergency isn’t fiction. It’s not propaganda. It’s not a “BJP-created” story. It is a fact recorded by historians, documented by journalists, and confirmed by court rulings and commissions. It was a blatant abuse of power. Lakhs were jailed without trial. Citizens lived in fear. Newspapers went blank. Youth were sterilised in the name of population control. Opposition leaders were thrown behind bars.
So what is the Congress afraid of? students will learn the truth?
The Emergency deserves a rightful place in history textbooks — not because the BJP says so, but because the students of India have a right to know how democracy was strangled from within. If we can teach about British colonialism, the Partition, and Mughal conquests, why should the Emergency be kept out? Is it because
the perpetrators wore
Gandhi caps and sat under the tricolour?
Let’s not pretend that our school history curriculum is flawless. For decades, it has glorified dynasties and downplayed inconvenient truths. From over-romanticised Mughal history to sanitised accounts of political blunders post-independence, our children are often served half-baked narratives. Very little is taught about the unsung heroes of the freedom struggle, revolutionary movements, tribal uprisings, or regional voices who shaped our country.
It is in this context that including the Emergency — and other post-independence challenges — becomes even more essential. We cannot build informed citizens by hiding uncomfortable truths. The purpose of education is not to protect political legacies but to expose young minds to facts, debates, and consequences.
Now, if the Congress has objections to the way the Emergency is being taught — if it feels the language of the circular is politically coloured — it can ask for balance and neutrality. But opposing the very idea of teaching about the Emergency only reeks of guilt and denial.
Ironically, the Congress itself has, in recent years, spoken about the need to preserve constitutional values. Yet, the same party refuses to confront its biggest betrayal of the Constitution in 1975. This double standard is not lost on the youth.
Instead of opposing such observances, the Congress should use this opportunity to reflect, apologise, and educate. Great democracies are built when past mistakes are acknowledged — not buried. Germany does not hide the Holocaust; South Africa teaches about apartheid. Why can’t India teach about the Emergency?
The young generation deserves to know how fragile democracy can be. They must learn that it wasn’t an external force that attacked Indian democracy in 1975, but a democratically elected government itself. That knowledge is not “venom” — it is a vaccine against future authoritarianism.
History must never be censored for the sake of political convenience. The Emergency happened. It was wrong. It must be taught. Not for scoring political points, but to ensure that “Never Again” is not
just a slogan — but a national promise.
