The Emergency Diaries It chronicles my journey during the years: Modi

 

 

AHEAD of the release of a book on Emergency, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said on Wednesday that the period was a learning experience for him and reaffirmed the vitality of preserving the democratic framework. ‘The Emergency Diaries - Years that Forged a Leader’, which highlights Modi’s fight for the “the ideals of democracy”, is published by BlueKraft. In a post on X, the Prime Minister said “The Emergency Diaries” chronicles his journey during the Emergency years. It brought back many memories from that time, he said. He said on X, “I call upon all those who remember those dark days of the Emergency or those whose families suffered during that time to share their experiences on social media.

 

It will create awareness among the youth of the shameful time from 1975 to 1977.” The Prime Minister recalled that he was a young RSS pracharak during the period. He said, “The anti-Emergency movement was a learning experience for me. It reaffirmed the vitality of preserving our democratic framework. At the same time, I got to learn so much from people across the political spectrum.” He added, “I am glad that BlueKraft Digital Foundation has compiled some of those experiences in the form of a book, whose foreword has been penned by Shri HD Deve Gowda Ji, himself a stalwart of the anti-Emergency movement.”

 

The publisher in a post said the book delves into the compelling role Modi played in the fight against the Emergency. Based on first person anecdotes from associates who worked with Modi in his youth, and using other archival material, the book is a first of its kind that creates new scholarship on the formative years of a young man who would give it his all in the fight against tyranny, it said. It added, “Emergency Diaries - paints a vivid picture of Narendra Modi fighting for the ideals of democracy and how he has worked all his life to preserve and promote it.” This book is a tribute to the grit and resolve of those who refused to be silenced, BlueKraft said, and it offers a rare glimpse into the early trials that forged one of the most transformative leaders of our time. It has a foreword from former Prime Minister Gowda. 

 

 

EVADING detection as a member of the banned RSS during the Emergency, Prime Minister Narendra Modi travelled in different disguises but it did not stop him from visiting a jail, of all the places with high risk for him, as a “swamiji” to speak to the incarcerated activists for nearly an hour, according to a book. Then a young RSS pracharak, Modi travelled in different disguises, held meetings with people, including fellow workers from the Hindutva outfit, organised help for families of the imprisoned and ensured regular publication and distribution of anti-Emergency literature during the 21-month-long authoritarian regime of then Prime Minister Indira Gandhi. BlueKraft has published “The Emergency Diaries - Years that Forged a Leader” to chronicle Modi’s role in the underground campaign during that period, after speaking to a number of people associated with him at that time. Modi joined the RSS at a young age and made a mark with his organisational ability.

 

He was shifted to the BJP where he worked at the State and national level before returning to Gujarat as the chief minister in 2001. Excerpts from the book quote a RSS volunteer, Hasmukh Patel from Nadiad, Gujarat, about Modi’s keen mind for innovative outreaches even then, noting that he suggested placing anti-Emergency literature in barbar shops where people from different walks of life gathered, and with religious leaders as followers came to listen to them.

 

The book says, “He not only ensured the regular publication of anti-Emergency literature but also took on the perilous responsibility of distributing it throughout Gujarat. In those dark times, literature and publications played a vital role in keeping the democratic flame burning in the hearts of the citizens.” Modi frequently adopted the disguise of a Sikh to continue his activities, it says. “His Sardarji disguise was so convincing that even his close acquaintances failed to recognise him,” it adds. Vishnu Pandya, a journalist from Junagadh, notes that Modi as a member of the national-level ‘Sangharsh Samiti’ contributed to the broader nationwide movement against the “draconian rule”, and decided to meet the arrested activists, including him, in a Bhavnagar jail.