India in Grip of Undeclared Emergency, Says Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan

Thiruvananthapuram: Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan on Wednesday warned that India is currently experiencing an "undeclared Emergency," drawing a sharp parallel between the present political climate and the dark days of the 1975 Emergency declared by then Prime Minister Indira Gandhi.
In a Facebook post marking the 50th anniversary of the Emergency, Vijayan accused the BJP- led central government, which he referred to as the "Sangh Parivar government,' of attempting to dismantle the Constitution and suppress democratic values. He claimed that while Indira Gandhi "abused' the Constitution in 1975, today's ruling dispensation is actively seeking to do away with it.
"The country is going through an undeclared Emergency,' Vijayan asserted. "If Indira Gandhi misused the Constitution, the current regime is trying to erase it altogether."
Reflecting on the Emergency imposed on June 25, 1975, Vijayan described it as the "darkest chapter in the history of Indian democracy' and said it was not a sudden development but the culmination of "years of authoritarian tendencies and erosion of civil liberties.'
Chief Minister emphasised that the 50th anniversary is not just a historical milestone but a stark reminder of contemporary political threats. "The horrors of the Emergency are not confined to the past. They continue to resonate today in the form of rising state repression and institutional decay," he said.
Vijayan, who was imprisoned for 18 months during the Emergency for leading underground political resistance in Kerala, also recalled enduring custodial torture during that period. He underscored the importance of preserving the memory of that era as a lesson and a source of inspiration for future democratic struggles.
"Emergency is not merely a chapter in history; it is a burning memory of state terror that must be passed on to the next generation," he said.
His post also included a link to a detailed article on the Emergency published in Deshabhimani, the CPI M’s official publication.