Indira Gandhi imposed Emergency in India on the night of 25-26 June, after she lost a case in Allahabad High Court which declared her election null and void and disqualified her from contesting for six years
In 1975, Prime Minister Narendra Modi disguised as a Sikh to escape arrest during Emergency. Image courtesy: @anshulsigh
“The President has proclaimed Emergency. There is nothing to panic about”. These were the words of Prime Minister Indira Gandhi blared from the All India Radio in the wee hours of June 26, a time widely considered as a dark period in the Indian politics.
Gandhi imposed Emergency in India on the night of 25-26 June, after she lost a case in Allahabad High Court which declared her election null and void and disqualified her from contesting for six years. Several of her political opponents, including LK Advani, Atal Bihar Vajpayee, Morarji Desai and JP Narayan, were put behind bars, and the RSS, which led a movement against the Emergency, was banned.
While these are facts recalled by one and all, little does one know about how Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who was an RSS Pracharak back then, played a crucial role in the underground movement at that time and had to adorn different looks such as a Sikh or a saint to hide his real identity from the police and administration.
Prime Minister Modi has given a first-person account of the Emergency era in his book ‘Sangharshma Gujarat’, which was reportedly published in 1978 after the Emergency was lifted. While working closely with leaders like George Fernandes, Modi provided support to the families of those who were arrested under MISA and even played a key role in the printing and dissemination of banned literature against the government and Emergency in Gujarat, Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan and Maharashtra.
Sharing lesser-known stories of the Prime Minister with modistory.in, Rohit Agrawal of Gujarat said Modi stayed at his house during the Emergency in 1975.
“During Emergency, Narendra Modi came to our house. He had disguised himself as a Sardarji. Once while he was stepping out dressed as a Sardar, a policeman approached him and asked, ‘Where does Narendra Modi live?’ He replied, ‘I don’t know, you go inside and inquire’. He then left on a scooter with my brother. Not just the policeman even we were often deceived by his appearance.”
While recounting an encounter, Rajeev Dave of Ahmedabad told the website, “Once he (Modi) met an autorickshaw driver, who was Sikh. He started talking in Punjab with him. There was a little problem at that time, but later he said that I have been staying in Gujarat since my childhood so, my Punjabi is not that good.”
Another person, named Prakash Mehta said, “Modiji held the responsibility for underground activity back then. He was seen dressed up as a Sadhu (saint) once. Also, he was seen in a Sikh avatar.”
PM Modi himself mentioned in his book that he used a pseudonym and was on the verge of being caught by the police on several occasions who were constantly looking for him.
During the Emergency period, all powers were vested in the hands of the Union Government. The 42nd Amendment to the Constitution was also passed during this period.
Later on, Indira Gandhi declared elections to Lok Sabha in January, 1977. The polls were held from 16-20 March, 1977. Congress was routed, Indira Gandhi and Sanjay Gandhi lost their own seats also. The Janata Party government that came to power repealed the Emergency on 21 March, 1977.
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