Odisha's public universities, colleges asked to observe ‘Samvidhan Hatya Diwas' to mark 50th year of Emergency
The Odisha government has asked all public universities and colleges in the state to observe 'Samvidhan Hatya Diwas' on June 25 to mark the 50th year of the imposition of Emergency.
The higher education department, in a letter to the universities and colleges, asked for the organisation of an awareness march involving students and faculty members with placards and slogans promoting constitutional values. They were also asked to conduct debates, workshops and lectures on the imposition of Emergency, and the importance of constitutional rights and duties.
The department's letter said the imposition of the Emergency from June 25, 1975, stands as a stark reminder of the darkest period in India's democratic history. This day has been notified as 'Samvidhan Hatya Diwas' by a Union Ministry of Home Affairs notification dated July 11, 2024, the letter pointed out.
'Emergency witnessed a sweeping suspension of civil liberties, erosion of constitutional safeguards and unprecedented centralisation of executive power. Fundamental rights were breached, the press silenced under strict censorship, (and) thousands of political leaders, journalists and civil society members were imprisoned,' the letter read.
It said observing the 50th year of the Emergency was required for 'deep reflection and renewed commitment to democratic values and constitutional morality'.
Universities and colleges have also been asked to organise seminars on the Preamble of the Constitution, hold panel discussions, organise various competitions, documentary screenings and street plays.
The institutions have been further told to record attendance at these events and to submit records.
The BJP government in Odisha has also made elaborate arrangements to observe 'Samvidhan Hatya Diwas' at a state-level event. Earlier, the BJP government in the state announced a monthly pension of Rs 20,000 for those imprisoned during the Emergency imposed by then Prime Minister Indira Gandhi.
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