DD to air special programmes on Emergency

New Delhi

Doordarshan has planned to air special programmes to mark four decades of declaration of Emergency.

The national broadcaster has decided to air special programmes, including a comprehensive documentary, interviews and audience based shows, between June 23 and June 27 on its newschannel DD News in certain slots.

The programmes would deal with the events and happenings in the 21-month period, between 1975 and 1977, when the then Indira Gandhi-led government had declared Emergency, an official said.

The Emergency came into effect from June 25, 1975 and was withdrawn on March 21, 1977.

“What happened during this period from 1975 to 1977 constituted an eclipse of democracy. It is very important to recall how the Constitution was wrecked from within. Thousands of political leaders were jailed and journalists were harassed.”

“The effort is to show people, the consequences of derailment of democracy and to reinforce our commitment to democratic values,” the official said.

Sources said a special desk has been constituted by Doordarshan for these special programmes.

The programmes which would be shown over the five days include a documentary, some discussion-based programmes and also interviews with the prominent people including political leaders and journalists who had witnessed the Emergency period.

Sources said that apart from these, audience based programmes would also be aired by the broadcaster.

Apart from these, stories related to the happenings during the Emergency period would also be shown during the regular bulletins of DD News.

“One of the objectives of these special programmes is to educate the younger generation about the value of Democracy because they have themselves not undergone such periods of turmoil,” Senior Consulting Editor in DD News K G Suresh told PTI.

PTI