An emergency-like emergency anniversary

Modi govt is being serious about marking the 47th anniversary of #emergency imposition today - June 25. After arresting #TeestaSetalvad , they have gone after former IPS officer R.B.Sreekumar for "spreading false information on Gujarat riots". All this, a day after the Supreme Court gave a "clean chit" to Modi, and a few hours after Shah spoke about Modi's pain and pointed his fingers at Teesta and others who valiantly fought for justice for the victims of the manufactured riots.

A never-ending undeclared emergency is any day better for those in power than a short-lived, declared emergency.

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Sharing this old post in solidarity with Teesta Setalvad , who has fought so long for the victims of the Gujarat pogrom and is now paying the price for it.

This excerpt is from Teesta Setalvad 's memoir 'Footsoldier of the constitution'. She writes here about her grandfather M.C.Setalvad, the first Attorney General of India under the Nehru Government, who fiercely guarded his independence and even played a key role in the resignation of the finance minister T.T.Krishnamachari, in the Mundhra scandal, independent India's first major corruption case. Incidentally, it was Nehru's son-in-law Feroze Gandhi who first raised the issue in Parliament and brought it to the limelight.

Teesta's great granfather Chimanlal Setalvad was also an advocate known for his integrity. It was his cross-questioning which helped nail General Dyer after the Jallianwala Bagh massacre.

Teesta continues in the tradition of her ancestors, fighting fearlessly against the powers that be. But, she lives in a different India, compared to the one in which the other Setalvads lived. In this contemporary India, even they would've been branded anti-nationals for their integrity, just like she is now, by mass murderers and cow terrorists.

(Those interested in reading Chimanlal's cross-questioning of General Dyer, do checkout Manoj Mitta 's brilliant book 'The fiction of fact finding', one of the best books written on the Gujarat mass murders, its aftermath and investigation)

June 25–26