Will include Emergency in curriculum: Javadekar

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Union Minister of Human Resource Development Prakash Javadekar said the Emergency period will be included in the curriculum at educational institutions.

"We will include the whole story of Emergency in the curriculum. Children should know the reality of that time. That is why the Emergency period is considered to be the second freedom struggle," he said while addressing a press conference here on Tuesday.

Earlier, Vice President Venkaiah Naidu also urged that the 1975 Emergency, 'the darkest period of Indian democracy' should be studied at all educational institutions.

June 25 marks the day when Indira Gandhi had declared a state of Emergency in the country for a 21-month period from 1975 to 1977.

Officially issued by President Fakhruddin Ali Ahmed under Article 352 of the Constitution due of the prevailing "internal disturbance", the Emergency was in effect from June 25, 1975, until its withdrawal on March 21, 1977.

The order vested upon the Prime Minister the authority to rule by decree, allowing elections to be suspended and civil liberties to be curbed.

The final decision to impose an emergency was proposed by Indira Gandhi, agreed upon by the president of India, and thereafter ratified by the cabinet and the parliament (from July to August 1975) based on the rationale that there were imminent internal and external threats to the Indian state.

The Emergency is considered to be one of the most controversial periods of independent India's history.

On a related note, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) is observing the 43rd anniversary of the 1975 emergency as a 'Black Day.