New Delhi: On the occasion of the 50th anniversary of the Emergency, the Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad (ABVP) organised a massive torchlight procession in the Delhi University campus to remember the horrors and cruel memories of the oppression imposed during the Emergency in 1975. The march started from Ramjas College and concluded at Kranti Chowk, passing through the Faculty of Arts, Daulat Ram College, Shri Ram College, and the Faculty of Law.
It is well-known that the emergency was imposed in the country on June 25, 1975, by the then Prime Minister Indira Gandhi. During this period, democratic institutions, human rights, and constitutional values were openly violated. Oppressive actions were taken against youth, students, leaders, and common citizens. ABVP had then also fought against this dictatorship from the front lines, and since then, every year on June 25, it remembers its cruel tortures and marks it as “Constitution Assassination Day.
On this occasion, National Secretary Shivangi Kharwal said, The Emergency is not just a memory of unbearable tortures or human rights violations, but it is also a chapter of trampling the very soul of Indian democracy and tarnishing India’s global image. The Vidyarthi Parishad has always opposed the Emergency and organized programs to bring its memories before the public. Today’s torch march is a strong effort in that series, through which we reiterate our resolve to protect democracy.
ABVP National General Secretary Dr Virendra Singh Solanki said, “The Emergency was those 21 months of dictatorship imposed on the Indian Republic by the arrogance of power, during which India’s democracy was gasping for breath. In that period, when speaking was a crime, ABVP workers filled jails merely for the ‘crime’ of pasting posters, awakened consciousness by working underground, and did not let the lamp of democracy extinguish. Today, as we stand on the 50th anniversary of the Emergency, it is important to remember that ABVP’s struggle was not just against power – it was for the soul of India, the dignity of the Constitution, and the future of the youth. Today’s young generation must reiterate this resolve that India will not accept authoritarianism in any form, and ABVP will always stand on the front lines for the protection of democracy, freedom, and national interest.
