MISA Bandi Day: ‘It Was A Dark Period; No One Knew When We Would Be Freed’
· Free Press Journal
Bhopal (Madhya Pradesh): It was a dark period. Fear was in the air. No one knew when the Emergency would end. The entire country was converted into a big prison. The press was gagged and civil liberties were suspended.
This is how MISA (Maintenance of Internal Security Act) detainees from the city described the 21-month-long period of Emergency.
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They say that today, no one can become a dictator in the country and that people are now free. On the eve of MISA Bandi Day, The Free Press spoke to some MISA detainees who shared their experiences.
Excerpts:
I was just 14
When the emergency was imposed, I was just fourteen and a student of Class 9. One day, when we were demonstrating against the Emergency at Bhopal’s Chowk Bazar, we were taken into custody.
One by one, policemen began whacking us 150 times each. Being a child, I got away with just 15 whacks. All the others were handcuffed, but I was spared as they could not find a handcuff that would fit my wrist. I was sent to jail under MISA.
After some days, I got bail, but no school was ready to admit me. I began looking for a job after the completion of my education, but due to my stint in jail, I was declared ineligible. Ultimately, I did get a job, but I was posted in a remote area.
-Santosh Sharma, retired govt employee
Didn’t know when we would be freed
I was in jail for 22 months during the Emergency. During the entire period, I got parole for just one day due to the death of a family member. Those were very frightening days.
We didn’t know when, if ever, we would be released. The courts were also helpless — no PIL, no habeas corpus. A High Court lawyer, Shivkant Shukla, who was also jailed, approached the High Court.
But the court ruled that even if a police constable shoots a person dead, no action can be taken against him. The press was gagged and state governments were dismissed like municipalities.
The Constitution did have a provision for imposing an emergency, but there was a process prescribed for it. That was not followed. Today, there is genuine democracy in the country.
-Kailash Soni, President, Loktantra Senani Sangh
Dark period of history
When the Emergency was imposed, I was a sub-editor with Yugdharma — a Hindi daily published from Jabalpur. I was 22. I came from an RSS background and so I joined protests against the Emergency.
I was arrested along with fourteen others, including an Adivasi MLA, and jailed. Then, I was released but was arrested again. I spent almost three months in jail.
At the time, the entire country was converted into a big jail. No one knew when the emergency would be lifted, as it was imposed for an indefinite period. It was a dark period in the history of free India.
During the Emergency, police enjoyed enormous powers. Civil liberties were suspended. Today, we can breathe freely. I only pray to God that we should never see those days again.
-Surendra Dwivedi, ex-additional director, Public Relations
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