The Silent Suffering: Voices from India's Emergency Era

In July 1975, KP Singh, then a 24-year-old law student, was arrested during the Emergency in India, amid his examinations at Lucknow University. Singh, alongside 4,373 others from Uttar Pradesh, was detained for protesting under JP Narayan's socialist movement against the autocratic regime.

Singh was apprehended at his exam center, losing a year of his studies, and was held in Lucknow district jail where fear deterred visitors, as they risked arrest themselves. Despite offers of freedom through joining the Congress party, he opted to remain imprisoned.

The Emergency, which marks 50 years since its imposition from June 25, 1975, to March 21, 1977, is recalled by other detainees like Ganesh Rai. Many, including Jagdish Rastogi and supporters like KC Tyagi, advocate for the acknowledgment of their struggle, urging the government to honor them akin to freedom fighters.

(With inputs from agencies.)