There Is Always An Emergency

This article was published in the Outlook magazine issue 'Emergency: The Legacy/The Lunacy' dated October 1, 2024. To read more article from the issue, click here.

“The legacy of a fractured society has been the basis of my quest to understand the colour of prejudice in India as an artist post-1992. That is one of the primary reasons why in this particular work made in 2103, Stoned Goddesses, re-using the famous lithostones, I have attempted to capture my understanding of the nation’s violent history through painful events that marked it and also shaped my identity.”

—Riyas Komu

My mother always tells a story from those days during the Emergency.

She was a young girl when the Emergency had been imposed on June 25, 1975 by the then Prime Minister Indira Gandhi, and there was a lot of fear, a lot of storytelling and a lot many rumours.

Aklu was a domestic help at their place in Arrah, Bihar, and he would often bring them news about arrests and other things that happened. One particular story she remembers Aklu recounting is that Indira Gandhi’s aunt was so upset with her that the prime minister, scared of being scolded, hid in an airplane.

This year, India entered the 50th anniversary of the proclamation of the Emergency.

The leaders from the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and Union ministers said it was a dark chapter in India’s history. The Government of India has designated June 25 as “Constitution Murder Day”, saying there was a lot of suspension of civil liberties and there was a lot of censorship back then and The Indian Express printed blank editorials as resistance.

The Emergency lasted for a 21-month period from 1975 to 1977.

Recently, actress Kangana Ranaut who is a newly elected BJP MP from Mandi released the trailer of her film, Emergency. The film, directed by the national award-winning actor, is still awaiting clearance from the censor board after it was embroiled in a controversy regarding misrepresentation of facts and manipulating history for propaganda.

Sikh organisations, including the Shiromani Akali Dal, accused it of misrepresenting the community.

The Emergency has been invoked many times and there are a lot of stories from those days. This issue of Outlook recounts those and looks at the continuing political rhetoric surrounding the Emergency.

My mother says those days were similar to now.

“Back then, you couldn’t talk freely. Now also, you have to be careful. Back then, there was propaganda and media censorship. Now also, you have that,” she says. “There is always an Emergency.”