Emergency was ‘ominous' for country: K N Govindacharya
'The Sangh Parivar gave stability to that movement, kept it going and a ban was also imposed on it and finally there was a change of power,' he told PTI Videos in an interview.
The former BJP functionary asserted that the Sangh Parivar gave stability to that movement.
New Delhi, Jun 22 (PTI) The Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) played an important role in public awakening during the 'ominous' Emergency period with 65,000 people associated with it going to jail, former Sangh pracharak and political thinker N Govindacharya has said.
Responding to a question about the role of the RSS in the 'Sampoorna Kranti' movement ahead of the Emergency, Govindacharya said the Sangh had a very big role in that movement.
'Just like Kurma had played a role in maintaining balance during the 'samudra manthan' with Basuki Nag and Mandara Parvat, the RSS had a similar role. In such a situation, Sangh played an important role in public awakening,' he said.
According to mythology, Kurma, the tortoise avatar of Lord Vishnu, played an important role during the 'samudra manthan' (churning of ocean) to obtain the nectar of immortality.
He said the Emergency imposed by then Prime Minister Indira Gandhi on June 25, 1975 was an outcome of her 'lust for power'.
'The Constitution was violated, fundamental rights and freedom of expression were crushed, forced sterilisation took place, censorship was imposed, human freedom and system were attacked. The Emergency was completely ominous and could have been avoided. But such a situation arose due to lust for power,' he said.
In response to a question about the circumstances leading to the Sampoorna Kranti movement, Govindacharya said such a situation arose due to issues like inflation, unemployment, bad governance, corruption, poor education.
'It started with the Bihar movement and at that time the students demanded arrangements for better studies, hostel facilities etc. But the then Education Minister of Bihar lathi-charged the students, chased them away and neglected them due to vote bank,' he recalled.
Govindacharya said with the arrival of Jayaprakash Narayan, the movement got leadership, gained stature and its credibility was established.
Asked about the reasons for imposing Emergency, Govindacharya said Indira Gandhi's insecurity within her party, the atmosphere created by some close people spreading wrong information and her objective of remaining in power by hook or by crook must have been the main reasons and for that morality was set aside.
Attacking the then Indira Gandhi led government, he said there was a stagnation in the system. The entire public was against insensitivity, irresponsibility and lack of accountability in the system and this was expressed during the students' movement.
In response to a question about his experience during the Emergency, he said he was in jail for two months during the Bihar movement (students' movement) and at the end of the Emergency he also had to go to jail.
The former Sangh Pracharak said during the movement, people associated with the Sangh Parivar used to go among the people with different names so that they could avoid arrest.
The Sampoorna Kranti movement against the Emergency was an unusual act of ordinary people, he stated.
When asked whether the objectives of the Emergency were achieved, Govindacharya said, 'The opposite happened. There was a change of power but the prohibitions were not followed.' Socialist leader Jayaprakash Narayan gave the call for Sampooran Kranti in 1974.
The demand for resignation of the then Ghafoor ministry in Bihar ultimately turned into a larger demand for the dismissal of the Indira Gandhi government. PTI DR DIV DV DV
This report is auto-generated from PTI news service. ThePrint holds no responsibility for its content.
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