RSS workers tortured in jails during Emergency, at least 100 died: Sunil Ambekar

New Delhi, Jun 24 (PTI) Thousands of RSS volunteers, including some prominent office bearers, were put in jail and subjected to various kinds of tortures in custody during the period of Emergency imposed by the then prime minister Indira Gandhi on June 25, 1975, senior RSS functionary Sunil Ambekar said.

"At least 100 such Sangh 'karyakartas' died during this period. Some of them died in jail while others (happened) outside. Our Pandurang Kshirsagar ji (then head of Sangh's all India Management committee) was one of those who died in jail due to extreme torture," the RSS's national publicity and media department head told PTI.

Ambekar termed the imposition of Emergency by the erstwhile Congress government a "black spot" on India's democratic traditions and said those 21 months of "dictatorship" in the country can never be forgotten.

The RSS workers were arrested, beaten and many of them were subjected to even third-degree torture in custody to force them to come in support of the government and imposition of Emergency, he said.

"They also wanted them to reveal the names of the Sangh leaders participating in the nationwide movement (against the imposition of Emergency)," Ambekar said.

"But the dictatorship eventually came to an end and democracy was restored in the country due to unrelenting mass movement in the country," he added.

All 'swayamsevaks' actively participated in the nationwide movement to save democracy, he said.

On June 25, 1975, Indira Gandhi announced the imposition of the Emergency in a broadcast on All India Radio, shortly after the Supreme Court granted a conditional stay to an Allahabad High Court verdict declaring her election to the Lok Sabha as null and void. It was lifted on March 21, 1977.

The 21 months of Emergency is known for a massive crackdown on political opponents of the erstwhile Congress government, forced mass sterilisations, censorship of the press, suspension of constitutional rights and centralisation of power.

Soon after the declaration of the state of Emergency in the country, the then RSS chief Balasaheb Deoras was arrested in Nagpur and the organisation was banned by the Indira Gandhi government.

"Many Sangh workers including prominent ones were also arrested at different places. Some were picked up on June 25 night itself while others later. There were about 1,300 Sangh 'pracharaks' then. Of them, about 189 'pracharaks' were arrested," Ambekar said.

Thousands of RSS 'swayamsevaks' and 'karyakartas' were arrested during the Emergency, he added.

Ambekar said the RSS, which was then running about 50,000 'shakhas' across the country, deployed its "entire strength" in the movement against the Emergency, joining hands with others who had the common goal of restoring democracy.

He categorically rejected the claim as "misleading" that Deoras, the then RSS chief, had written to prime minister Indira Gandhi from jail pleading for lifting the ban on his organisation and the release of Sangh 'karyakartas' from jail.

"The purpose of the letters that Deoras ji wrote was to save people from the pain of the struggle that they were to face in the time to come. It happened in Mahabharata also. He wrote his letters with politeness. But he was clear that if correspondence does not work and the dictator considers this as a weakness, the next weapon is satyagraha (protest)," Ambekar said when asked for comment on the issue.

And satyagraha was held in which 80,000 to one lakh people participated, he said.

"Many people were put in jail. This satyagraha, in which people of the Sangh worked so hard and suffered too, was decisive. Because of this, the Emergency had to be lifted and elections were announced," Ambekar said.

"I think it is very important to understand the story completely. In the whole story, part 1 is sending letters, part 2 is 'mahasangharsh' (great struggle), part 3 is ending of the Emergency, and then elections were held again. So it is very important to see it in a holistic way," he added.

Last year, Union Home Minister Amit Shah announced the government's decision to observe June 25, the day on which the Emergency was declared in 1975, as 'Samvidhaan Hatya Diwas' to commemorate the "massive contributions" of those who endured "inhuman pains" of the period. PTI PK SKY SKY