As India marks 50 years since the imposition of the infamous Emergency of 1975, a time when democracy was throttled under Indira Gandhi’s authoritarian regime, her grandson Rahul Gandhi now postures as a champion of student rights. In doing so, he conveniently sidesteps his family’s bloody legacy, choosing selective outrage over honest reflection.
As Rahul rails against the BJP for supposedly silencing student voices and communalising education, he is mum about the atrocities young dissenters suffered during the Emergency, when his grandmother’s government imprisoned, tortured and allegedly murdered students for having the temerity to speak up. From the chilling “aeroplane” torture technique to the tragic murder of Kerala student P. Rajan, the Congress’s war on student activism remains one of the darkest and least acknowledged chapters of Indian history.
Rahul Gandhi’s performative campus visits and empty slogans do little to erase this history. Rather, they expose a troubling hypocrisy: the heir of the very regime that crushed student dissent now seeks to use the same demographic for political gain, without accountability, without remorse.
Allahabad High Court’s judgement
It was on June 12, 1975 that the quakes started. In a landmark judgment, the Allahabad High Court held Prime Minister Indira Gandhi guilty of electoral malpractices in the 1971 Lok Sabha elections. Justice Jagmohan Lal Sinha’s order disqualified her from the parliament and debarred her for six years from holding office, and this set off a desperate and unprecedented reaction. What followed was the National Emergency, declared just days later: a 21-month reign of fear, censorship, arrests, and brutal crackdowns on the youth and political opposition alike.
Today, as the nation remembers the students who bled and the democracy that nearly died, Rahul Gandhi’s attempts to rebrand himself as a student messiah ring hollow, haunted by history, and betrayed by his own silence.
The case against Indira Gandhi was initiated by Raj Narain, a socialist leader defeated by Gandhi in the Raebareli constituency during the 1971 elections. Narain alleged malpractices, including the misuse of government machinery, to secure her victory. Justice Sinha’s ruling upheld these charges, declaring Gandhi’s election null and void. The verdict was unprecedented, as it directly challenged the authority of a sitting prime minister. But Gandhi, a giant figure in Indian politics and Congress Party leader, refused to give up her Raebareli constituency, paving the way for a constitutional crisis.
Thirteen days later, on June 25, 1975, Gandhi convinced President Fakhruddin Ali Ahmed to proclaim internal emergency under Article 352 of the Constitution of India, invoking national security threats. This proclamation led to 21 months of authoritarian rule, suspending civil liberties, muzzling press freedom, and unleashing a bout of repression on political opponents, activists, and students. The Emergency is a stark reminder of the weakness of democratic institutions when left at the mercy of unbridled power.
The Emergency
The National Emergency, which lasted from June 25, 1975, to March 21, 1977, was marked by large-scale abuses of power. The Maintenance of Internal Security Act (MISA) was used to arrest people without trial or charge, aimed at opposition leaders, journalists, academics, and civilians. Amnesty International estimated that around 140,000 people were arrested at this time, more than a million being detained under MISA, usually on spurious or trumped-up charges. Notable leaders, such as socialist members Madhu Dandavate and Shyam Nandan Mishra, former Deputy Prime Minister L.K. Advani, and future Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee, were all jailed.
The Emergency also witnessed restrictions on basic rights enshrined by the Indian Constitution. Censorship of the media was prevalent, and newspapers were made to send in content for clearance by the government. Violations of human rights, such as torture and extrajudicial killings, became all too frequent. The forced campaign of sterilisation by the government for population control was even worse, and 6.2 million men were sterilized in one year alone, a number 15 times that of sterilizations done by the Nazi regime, as per historical records.
The students’ plight under Congress
One of the worst features of the Emergency was the persecution of students, who were perceived as a threat because they had been vocally opposed to the regime. Students, motivated by ideals of democracy and justice, became a symbol of resistance, notably through such movements as the Jayaprakash Narayan (JP) Movement and the Nav Nirman Andolan in Gujarat. Their protest was however welcomed with brutal suppression.
Torture and atrocities
The Emergency witnessed terrible acts of brutality against students, most of whom were tortured for their opposition. A particularly known torture, referred to as the “aeroplane” torture, was publicly known in Karnataka. Victims were tied up with their hands behind their backs, lifted into the air with the help of a pulley, and left hanging, resulting in unbearable pain. College students in Belgaum went through this torture, which most of the time resulted in unconsciousness due to the pain. Student leaders like Puttu Swamy, Padmanabh Harihar, and Shrikant Desai in Hubli, and Ravi in Mysore, were treated to this harsh method, combined with beatings and starvation.
In Mangalore, on November 12, 1975, Udaya Shankar, a Canara College student, was picked up without a warrant. He was beaten, caned, and treated to the “aeroplane” torture several times in the presence of the Superintendent of Police. His body was marked red and blue by the beating, and he was not given food during detention. Likewise, in Bangalore, a student called Shrikant was tortured similarly, and another student leader named Sesha was covered with poisonous caterpillars as a kind of psychological torture.
Students of Delhi University also underwent equally terrifying experiences. Hemant Kumar Vishnoi, the Union Secretary of Delhi University, was picked up from a picnic in the Buddha Gardens and brutally tortured. His soles were scorched with candles, and hot chilli powder was put into his nose and rectum. Even though the torture was brutal, Vishnoi would not “confess” to the concocted charge of plotting against Gandhi. Another student, Mahavir Singh, was tortured so brutally that his skin became hypersensitive, reacting even to clothing. Shiv Kumar Sharma was beaten with rifle butts, shoes, and rods, and made to breathe in chili powder. On June 26, 1975, more than 200 teachers at Delhi University were arrested in a day, again highlighting the regime’s agenda of stifling academic dissent.
In Kerala, the story of P. Rajan, a student at Calicut Regional Engineering College, is still one of the most tragic instances of state violence. Arrested on 1st March 1976 for an unsolved crime, Rajan was tortured to death in police custody at the Kakkayam police camp. His corpse was never found, and it was only due to his father’s constant pressure, T.V. Eachara Warrier, that the truth came out in a Kerala High Court hearing. The division bench of the court, consisting of Justices P. Subramanian Poti and V. Khalid, upheld Rajan’s death through “repeated police torture with iron and wooden rollers.”
The JP movement and student resistance
The Jayaprakash Narayan Movement of the early 1970s was a strong impetus for student activism. It was headed by freedom fighter Jayaprakash Narayan, and the movement was aimed at fighting corruption and misrule, mobilising students of Bihar and elsewhere. Bihar Chhatra Sangharsh Samiti (BCSS), organised under leadership from the likes of Lalu Prasad Yadav, Sushil Kumar Modi, and Ram Vilas Paswan, was asking for improved living standards and education. Students gheraoed the Bihar Assembly on March 18, 1974, which resulted in violent confrontations with police. Police opened fire, killing three students, and protests turned violent, killing eight more students on April 12, 1974.
In Gujarat, the Nav Nirman Andolan succeeded in toppling the Congress government, but at a price. The police resorted to tear gas and lathicharges, detaining 326 students. The Raina Enquiry Commission subsequently faulted the Madhya Pradesh Congress government for high-handedness in such protests, where eight students lost their lives on 17 August 1973, in Bhopal.
A Case Study: Ashwini Kumar Choubey
The life of Ashwini Kumar Choubey, a present Union Minister, best describes the individual cost of the Emergency. Being a student leader at Patna University and a member of the RSS, Choubey uncovered corruption in sugar mill scandals during the Abdul Ghafoor regime. As a response, he was arrested on 12 June 1974 under the Defence of India Act and brutally tortured. Choubey was put on a heated iron skillet, was beaten with lathis, and almost blinded with spikes. Once rolled up in a sack and abandoned to die, he was saved by activists and hospitalised with severe burns and a damaged kidney.
Choubey was detained again on July 12, 1975, when he was trying to give his B.Sc. exams. Shifted from one prison to another, he suffered from starvation, torture, and detention in inhuman conditions. He was kept in a mosquito-borne cell close to the mentally challenged division of Buxar Jail for five months, which pushed him to the brink of death. His nightmare came to an end after 11 months of being detained by the police in a hospital.
Rahul Gandhi and Emergency silence
Half a century on, Emergency continues to be a debate in Indian politics and is especially pertinent in the context of the legacy of the Congress Party under the Gandhi dynasty. Rahul Gandhi, grandson of Indira Gandhi and a senior Congress leader, has been faulted for using issues of students for political purposes at the expense of remaining silent over the abuses of his party during the Emergency.
Rahul Gandhi has often set himself up as a defender of the rights of students, interacting with students within India and outside to deride the policies of the BJP government. His speeches tend to single out NEP 2020, NEET, and claimed paper leaks, blaming the government for tilting towards the rich and oppressing marginalised groups.
During 2021, addressing Saint Xavier’s College in Tirunelveli, Tamil Nadu, Gandhi asserted that NEP 2020 was a weapon to “communalise” Indian society and concentrate power and that it was brought in without talking to students or teachers. He contended that it privileged the economically powerful and threatened inclusivity, and that he would provide scholarships if Congress came to power.
During a National Students Union of India (NSUI) protest in March 2025 at Jantar Mantar, he blamed the RSS for trying to “destroy” the education system by appointing ideologically inclined vice-chancellors and criticised the government for ignoring youth unemployment.
Gandhi’s remarks on NEET have been particularly pointed. In 2024, he described the exam as a “commercial” tool designed for rich students, alleging systemic corruption and paper leaks. He claimed that the government, led by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, avoided parliamentary discussions on the issue, citing a lack of transparency. However, the National Testing Agency (NTA) refuted these claims, attributing higher scores to changes in NCERT textbooks and grace marks for latecomers.
The DUSU Controversy
Gandhi’s unannounced visit to the Delhi University Students Union (DUSU) office in May 2025 sparked significant controversy. During the hour-long visit, he discussed caste-based discrimination and the lack of representation for marginalised communities, urging students to follow Dr. B.R. Ambedkar’s mantra of “educate, agitate, and organise.” However, the visit drew condemnation from university authorities and student representatives. Proctor Rajni Abbi put out a notice saying that the DUSU secretary was kept out of her office, and a few students were harassed by NSUI members. The university threatened severe action, the second time Gandhi visited unannounced.
Gandhi’s failure to acknowledge the Emergency’s atrocities, particularly against students, undermines his credibility. His accusations against the BJP, ranging from “saffronisation” to favouring the wealthy, lack substantive evidence; his rhetoric is an attempt to deflect attention from Congress’s own record. The Emergency, during which democracy was “sincerely threatened,” as critics note, remains a stain on the Congress Party’s legacy, one that Gandhi avoids addressing.
The Emergency’s legacy
The Emergency of 1975-1977 stands as one of the darkest chapters in India’s history, defined by rampant authoritarianism, suppression of dissent, media censorship, and gross human rights violations. Students, who emerged as the frontline defenders of democracy, suffered immensely; many lost their lives, while countless others endured lasting trauma. The tragic stories of P. Rajan, Ashwini Kumar Choubey, and numerous others remain a stark reminder of the human cost of unchecked power.
As India marks the 50th anniversary of the Emergency, the gap between historical truth and today’s political narratives is glaring. Rahul Gandhi’s efforts to cast himself as a champion of student rights often ring hollow against the backdrop of the Congress Party’s oppressive legacy during that era. His focus on contemporary issues like the National Education Policy, NEET, and examination paper leaks is frequently seen as a political tactic aimed more at rallying students against the BJP than at genuinely addressing systemic challenges.
The Emergency continues to serve as a powerful warning for Indian democracy, highlighting the vital need to protect civil liberties and maintain institutional independence. As the nation reflects and moves forward, the lessons of 1975 remind us that democracy flourishes only when dissent is nurtured rather than crushed. For Rahul Gandhi and the Congress Party, confronting their past may be essential for true accountability and meaningful reform.
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