An attempt was made to crush the democracy of India, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said

On the 90th episode of his monthly radio broadcast Mann Ki Baat, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Sunday spoke about the emergency era, which was one of the worst periods of independent India.

"Today, when the country is celebrating 75 years of its independence, celebrating Amrit Mahotsav, we should never forget that dreadful period of emergency," he said.

Prime Minister Modi recalled how all the rights were taken away from the citizens of the country. One amongst those rights was the 'Right to Life and Personal Liberty' provided to all Indians under Article 21 of the Constitution, he pointed out.

"At that time an attempt was made to crush the democracy of India," PM Modi said.

He added that the country's courts, every constitutional institution, the press were put under control and the censorship regime mandated that nothing be published without permission. The Prime Minister also recounted how famous singer Kishore Kumar was barred from the radio for refusing to applaud the government.

He emphasized that even after several attempts, thousands of arrests, and atrocities committed against lakhs of people, the faith of the Indian people in democracy did not shake.

Prime Minister Modi remarked that as India is currently commemorating Amrit Mahotsav—75 years of independence—that terrible time of emergency should never be forgotten since Amrit Mahotsav includes both the victorious narrative of liberation from hundreds of years of slavery and the journey of 75 years after independence.

After talking about the Emergency, PM Modi highlighted the country’s sporting accomplishments by mentioning Neeraj Chopra and Mithali Raj and also lauded the Khelo India Youth Games. Later on, he also talked about the increased number of start-ups in the country and waste recycling.