NEW DELHI — June 25, the day when the Emergency was imposed on the nation by Late Prime Minister Indira Gandhi's regime in 1975, will now be observed as the 'Samvidhaan Hatya Diwas', every year, Union Home Minister Amit Shah said on Friday.
Home Minister Shah made the announcement on social media platform X and also shared a gazette notification.
"The Government of India has declared June 25th as Samvidhaan Hatya Diwas to pay tribute to all those who suffered and fought against the gross abuse of power during the period of Emergency and to recommit the people of India to not support in any manner such gross abuse of power, in future," read the notification.
25 जून 1975 को तत्कालीन प्रधानमंत्री इंदिरा गाँधी ने अपनी तानाशाही मानसिकता को दर्शाते हुए देश में आपातकाल लगाकर भारतीय लोकतंत्र की आत्मा का गला घोंट दिया था। लाखों लोगों को अकारण जेल में डाल दिया गया और मीडिया की आवाज को दबा दिया गया। भारत सरकार ने हर साल 25 जून को 'संविधान… pic.twitter.com/KQ9wpIfUTg
— Amit Shah (@AmitShah) July 12, 2024
Prime Minister Narendra Modi welcomed the move, saying that this will serve as a "reminder of what happened when the Constitution of India was trampled over".
"To observe 25th June as Samvidhaan Hatya Diwas will serve as a reminder of what happens when the Constitution of India was trampled over. It is also a day to pay homage to each and every person who suffered due to the excesses of the Emergency, a Congress unleashed dark phase of Indian history," the Prime Minister said in a post on X.
Notably, it was on June 25, 1975, that the then Prime Minister Indira Gandhi, in a brazen display of a dictatorship, decimated democracy and imposed a national emergency.
The nearly two-year period saw lakhs of being put behind bars and the voice of the media silenced.
The Home Minister said that the 'Samvidhaan Hatya Diwas' will commemorate the massive contributions of all those who endured the inhuman pains of the 1975 Emergency.
"The observance of 'Samvidhaan Hatya Diwas' will help keep the eternal flame of individual freedom and the defence of our democracy alive in every Indian. Thus preventing dictatorial forces like the Congress from repeating those horrors," he said.