They wrote mercy petitions, not history: The RSS's 51-year emergency lie

By Shamsul Islam 

As India marks the 51st anniversary of the Emergency (1975-77), a disturbing pattern of historical revisionism has emerged. RSS-BJP leaders are attempting to rewrite history, portraying themselves as valiant fighters against Indira Gandhi's dictatorial rule. Newspaper advertisements proclaiming 'Samvidhan Hatya Divas' show Prime Minister Modi bowing to the Constitution—a theatrical gesture that masks a more troubling reality.

The RSS, described by critics as a Hindutva gurukul specializing in fabricating history, now claims heroic resistance during the Emergency. The RSS English organ Organiser (June 24, 2025) presented PM Modi as "a singular symbol of fight against Emergency," claiming, "The lesson had been burned into public memory... For Narendra Modi, it was not just a past event. It was part of his personal journey."

But the historical record tells a markedly different story.

The Ideological Foundation

The RSS's commitment to liberal democratic values has always been questionable. MS Golwalkar, the organization's most prominent ideologue and "Guru of Hate" who groomed PM Modi, declared in 1940: "RSS inspired by one flag, one leader and one ideology is lighting the flame of Hindutva in each and every corner of this great land." By 1961, Golwalkar was explicitly opposing India's federal structure: "Today's federal form of government not only gives birth but also nourishes the feelings of separatism... It must be completely uprooted, constitution purified, and unitary form of government be established."

The Emergency Betrayal

The RSS's claim of fighting the Emergency collapses under scrutiny. Veteran journalist Prabhash Joshi, writing for TEHELKA on the 25th Emergency anniversary, revealed: "Balasaheb Deoras, then RSS chief, wrote a letter to Indira Gandhi pledging to help implement the notorious 20-point programme of Sanjay Gandhi... Many among the RSS and Jana Sangh who came out of the jails, gave mafinamas. They were the first to apologize."

TV Rajeswar, former Intelligence Bureau chief who served as deputy chief during the Emergency, corroborated this in his book India: The Crucial Years and interviews with Karan Thapar. He disclosed that Deoras "quietly established a link with the PM's house and expressed strong support for several steps taken to enforce order and discipline in the country." According to Rajeswar, "Sanjay Gandhi's concerted drive to enforce family planning, particularly among Muslims, had earned Deoras's approbation."

Primary Evidence

Contemporary RSS documents confirm these accounts. Deoras's first letter to Indira Gandhi, dated August 22, 1975, began with praise: "I heard your address to the nation which you delivered on August 15, 1975, from Red Fort on radio in jail [Yervada jail] with attention. Your address was timely and balanced so I decided to write to you."

When Gandhi failed to respond, Deoras wrote again on November 10, 1975, congratulating her on being cleared by the Supreme Court—a judgment the opposition considered "managed." He also sought Vinoba Bhave's intervention, writing desperately in January 1976: "I beg you to try to remove the wrong assumptions of PM about RSS so that ban on RSS is lifted and RSS members are released from jails. We are looking forward for the times when RSS and its members are able to contribute to the plans of progress."

Even Balraj Madhok, a prominent Hindutva ideologue who founded the Bharatiya Jana Sangh on RSS command, confessed: "These letters were leaked by the government... This naturally had an adverse effect on the morale of the Sangh volunteers and the Satyagraha movement became almost dead."

The Irony of Today

Renowned journalist Coomi Kapoor, evaluating the RSS-BJP's 12-year rule, observed: "Many of the practices of the Emergency are actually being emulated today. Even the unnecessary sycophancy of rulers in advertisements, bill boards and at public events seems ominously reminiscent of that black period and recalls Congress President D K Barooah's fawning slogan, 'Indira is India and India is Indira.'"

She noted concerning parallels: "The crux of a true democracy is securing a majority in Parliament through an ethical recourse to the ballot box, not by winning over opposition legislators by whatever means, fair or foul, post elections. In the ongoing ruthless mission to secure a two-thirds majority, one recalls uneasily just how Indira Gandhi utilised her brute two-thirds majority to subvert our Constitution and push through Emergency rule."

The Unanswered Questions

It remains shameful that thousands of RSS cadres receive monthly pensions for Emergency persecution, despite submitting mercy petitions. BJP-ruled states awarded Rs 20,000 monthly pensions to those jailed for less than two months—a rule that conveniently rewarded those who served only token sentences. Interestingly, not a single RSS cadre has claimed freedom fighter pension for anti-British struggle.

The writing on the wall is clear. India had a declared Emergency using Articles 352-360 of the Constitution, and it was rescinded. Today, we face a perpetual "undeclared" Emergency under Modi rule—one that does not need to be withdrawn as it was never declared.

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Shamsul Islam is a scholar and political commentator. His writings can be found at http://du-in.academia.edu/ShamsulIslam