“Sanjay Gandhi, the son of Indira Gandhi, led forced sterilisation campaigns which became a notorious example of this. In poor rural areas, violence and coercion were used to meet arbitrary targets. In cities like New Delhi, slums were mercilessly demolished and cleared. Thousands of people were rendered homeless. Their welfare was not taken into consideration,” the Thiruvananthapuram MP wrote.

He said democracy is not something to be taken lightly; it is a precious legacy that must be constantly nurtured and preserved.

“Let it serve as a lasting reminder to people everywhere,” Tharoor said. According to him, today’s India is not the India of 1975.

“We are a more self-confident, more developed, and in many ways a stronger democracy. Yet, the lessons of the Emergency remain relevant in troubling ways,” he said.

Tharoor warned that the temptation to centralise power, silence dissent, and bypass constitutional safeguards may reappear in various forms.

“Often, such tendencies may be justified in the name of national interest or stability. In this sense, the Emergency stands as a strong warning. The guardians of democracy must always remain vigilant,” he added. PTI TGB TGB ADB