He also revealed how the groundwork for a political revolt against then Prime Minister Indira Gandhi was laid inside Tihar Jail.
As India Marks 50 Years of Emergency, Former Tihar Jail Official Recalls Detention of Political Leaders
As India Marks 50 Years of Emergency latest news updates: As the Government of India observes 50 years of the Emergency as ‘Samvidhan Hatya’, H.C. Verma, former Assistant Superintendent of Tihar Jail, now 76, recalled the turbulent period and shared insights into how political leaders reacted to their imprisonment.
Speaking to PTI, Verma said, “We were told some dangerous people were being brought in, but no names or details were given. It was only when Raj Narain, who had won the electoral malpractice case against Indira Gandhi, was brought in with a detention warrant under the Maintenance of Internal Security Act (MISA), that we realised these were political leaders being jailed."
Recalling the early days of the Emergency in 1975, Verma described the initial reaction of the detainees: “Their behaviour was aggressive, and they would only speak to us as if we were the government. They believed we had detained them and that we represented the authorities. There was no one else they could communicate with.”
He also revealed how the groundwork for a political revolt against then Prime Minister Indira Gandhi was laid inside Tihar Jail.
Disguised as yoga, badminton, and football sessions, conversations among jailed leaders like Nanaji Deshmukh, Vijaya Raje Scindia, and Chaudhary Charan Singh laid the foundation for a political revolt against Indira Gandhi, recalls a retired prison officer, he told PTI.
"We sensed that the number of detainees was exceeding what we had initially been told. We arranged the prisoners according to their status. Though they were in custody, we tried to make them feel as comfortable as possible," Verma said.
He mentioned notable leaders who were detained, including Nanaji Deshmukh, Vijaya Raje Scindia, and Chaudhary Charan Singh. “One after the other, leaders like Lala Hansraj Gupta, Nanaji Deshmukh, Parkash Singh Badal, Arun Jaitley, George Fernandes, Chaudhary Charan Singh, Maharani Vijaya Raje Scindia, and Maharani Gayatri Devi were brought in,” he recounted.
To mark the 50th anniversary of the Emergency, a two-minute silence was observed during the Union Cabinet meeting on Wednesday.
“The Union Cabinet, chaired by Hon’ble Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi, resolved to commemorate and honour the sacrifices of countless individuals who valiantly resisted the Emergency and its attempt at subversion of the spirit of the Indian Constitution — a subversion which began in 1974 with a heavy-handed attempt at crushing the Navnirman Andolan and Sampoorna Kranti Abhiyan,” the Cabinet resolution read.
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