Why Centre Declared June 25 As 'Samvidhaan Hatya Diwas'

New Delhi: The Government of India has decided to observe June 25th every year as ‘Samvidhaan Hatya Diwas’. The announcement was made to observe the day the Emergency was imposed on the country. On Friday, Union Home Minister Amit Shah announced that June 25, the day the Emergency was imposed by former Prime Minister Indira Gandhi in 1975, would henceforth be observed as 'Samvidhaan Hatya Diwas'. He said that the day will be marked to commemorate the "massive contributions" of those who endured the inhuman pains of the period. Shah also said the observance of 'Samvidhaan Hatya Diwas' will help keep the eternal flame of individual freedom and the defence of democracy alive in every Indian, thus preventing "dictatorial forces" like the Congress from "repeating those horrors".

A gazette notification issued on Friday by the Union Home Ministry notes that the Emergency was declared on June 25, 1975, following which there was "gross abuse of power by the government of the day and people of India were subjected to excesses and atrocities". The people of India have faith in the Constitution and the power of its resilient democracy, it said.

‘Tribute to All Those Who Suffered During The Period of Emergency’: Amit Shah

"Therefore, the Government of India declares 25th June 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," says the notification.

Union Minister Shah said that on June 25, 1975, then-Prime Minister Indira Gandhi, in a "brazen display of a dictatorial mindset, strangled the soul of India's democracy by imposing the Emergency on the nation".

Lakhs of people were thrown behind bars for no fault of their own, and the voice of the media was silenced, he said.

"The Government of India has decided to observe the 25th of June every year as 'Samvidhaan Hatya Diwas.' This day will commemorate the massive contributions of all those who endured the inhuman pains of the 1975 Emergency," he said in a post on X.

"The decision made by the government led by PM Shri @narendramodi Ji is intended to honour the spirit of millions who struggled to revive democracy despite facing inexplicable persecution at the hands of an oppressive government," he said.

(With inputs from PTI)