| Seminar on "Remembering Emergency, People's Reaction" observed | | | Early Times Report
JAMMU, June 26: The Department of Public Policy and Public Administration, Central University of Jammu, organized a thought provoking online seminar on the theme "Remembering Emergency and People's Reaction" on the solemn occasion of Samvidhaan Hatya Diwas. The seminar was convened to reflect on the dark chapter of the Emergency imposed in 1975 and to engage in critical academic dialogue about its implications for Indian democracy.
The keynote address was delivered by Prof. Padam Nath Gautam, retired Professor, Department of Public Administration, Himachal Pradesh University. In his address, Prof. Gautam painted a vivid picture of the Emergency era, highlighting that it was a time of widespread fear and silence, with people across the country not just in urban areas, but also from rural India rising in protest against authoritarianism. He emphasized that the people's resistance was truly pan-Indian and democratic in spirit.
Prof. Gautam noted that public servants remained largely neutral, a stance perhaps shaped by the prevailing committed bureaucracy. More concerning, he said, was the fact that even the judiciary, expected to be the guardian of constitutional values, failed to remain impartial. He underlined that the period |
|
