Emergency issue raised in Parliament, BJP MP said- ‘It should be included in children’s curriculum’
In Rajya Sabha on Monday, Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) member Naresh Bansal compared the efforts made to restore democracy during the Emergency to the struggle in the freedom struggle and demanded that the history of this period be included in school and college syllabus. Raising this issue during Zero Hour in the Upper House, BJP’s Naresh Bansal said that if the Emergency is given a proper place in the textbooks, then democratic forces will develop in the country and the roots of democracy will also be strengthened.
Describing the Emergency as a dark chapter of India’s democracy, he said that it can never be called because the protectors of that time had become predators. He also said that a chapter explaining the excesses committed during the Emergency in 1975 in the country and the fight made by those who opposed this repression should be included in the school and college syllabus.
‘Children should know about the Emergency’
Bansal said that there should be a lesson in the textbooks for all students about what the Emergency was, how and why it was imposed. Students should know about the Emergency. The entire story of the Emergency should be included in the children’s curriculum so that the present and future generations can know the struggle of those martyrs. If the Emergency is given a proper place in the textbooks, then democratic powers will develop and the roots of democracy will be strengthened.
‘People were thrown in jail without reason’
To make the future generation familiar with this dark chapter, like the freedom struggle, the history of the struggle for restoration of democracy should also be included in the school and college curriculum. He said that by imposing the Emergency, the then Prime Minister Indira Gandhi had strangled the Constitution of India and tarnished the country’s democracy. Civil liberties were violated, consent was suppressed and democratic principles were crushed during the Emergency. Along with this, thousands of people were thrown in jails without reason. Many people sacrificed their lives to save the country’s democracy.
That time of Emergency is a nightmare for democratic fighters. Remembering it even today their eyes become moist. Most of the current opposition leaders were also victims of the excesses committed during the Emergency. Emergency was imposed in the country on 25 June 1975. It remained in force till 21 March 1977 i.e. for 21 months. Let us tell you that recently the central government has announced to celebrate 25 December as Constitution Hatya Diwas.
