Mahatma Gandhi’s grandson Gopalkrishna Gandhi reflects on how Emergency should be remembered MysuruL As the 50th anniversary of the Emergency imposed by Prime Minister Indira Gandhi — from June 25, 1975 to March 21, 1977 — became a rallying point for the ruling BJP to sharpen its attacks against its arch-rival Congress, former IAS Officer and Mahatma Gandhi’s grandson, Gopalkrishna Gandhi, reflected on how the Emergency should be remembered. Gopalkrishna Gandhi, who had also served as the Governor of West Bengal from 2004-2009, was sharing his views during a panel discussion on the topic ‘A Name Inherited, a Voice Earned: Walking the Delicate Path Between Legacy and Self,’ on the opening day of the two-day ninth edition of Mysuru Literature Festival-2025 at Hotel Southern Star yesterday. The panel discussion was moderated by publisher Chirag Thakkar. To a question on Emergency, Gopalkrishna Gandhi said, “It was a nasty affair, who can deny it, nobody can deny it. In the Parliament, Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi had also expressed his disagreement with the way the Emergency was imposed.” “Instead of running down Indira Gandhi, one should prefer to remember Emergency through the prism of those who fought the situation with guts, resisted by the people across the country and those jailed without knowing about what was in store for them,” he highlighted. He chose to recall the incident involving his older brothers Rajmohan and Ramachandra. Addressing Ramachandra as Ramu, he said, “My brothers had gathered at Raj Ghat (the Memorial of Mahatma Gandhi in New Delhi) on Oct. 2, 1975. When Acharya Kripalani rose to address the gathering, assuring to deliver a discourse on Gandhi, the Police interrupted and herded those who had gathered into the van. Among those was a merchant from Chandini Chowk, who had just stopped by. Upon reaching the station, he pleaded with the Police, saying, ‘I am not a Politician.’ My brothers were let off the same day, mostly to avoid the ramifications the Government had to face, due to the surnames (Gandhi) my brothers had,” said Gopalkrishna Gandhi, meaning how everybody, including his family members, was not spared from feeling the effects of the Emergency. When asked about his vision of the country in another 5 to 10 years, Gopalkrishna Gandhi, who refused to express his personal view, chose to send the message across, with reference to two incidents. “When the Indian athlete Neeraj Chopra (Gold Medal winner in the 2020 Tokyo Olympics, Japan) successfully hurled the Javelin and Pakistan’s Arshad Nadeem stumbled in his attempt, Neeraj Chopra’s mother, publicly acknowledging her son’s feat, didn’t mince any words when hailing the efforts of Nadeem. She said ‘Woh Bi Mera Beta Jaisa Hain’ (He is also like my son). This shows India has hope,” he said. Another incident involved Indian Chess Grand Master Gukesh, where he described his Chinese opponent in the following words: “He is the true hero. He is a great player.” “This means the world has hope,” said Gopalkrishna Gandhi, to the huge applause of the gathering.