The Emergency chapter in Indian history holds a significant value as it is considered one of the darkest chapters which was dangerous in a democratic country like India. From press to public gatherings, everything was restricted and if anyone dared to criticize the Congress government led by Prime Minister Indira Gandhi, they were thrown into jail. One such daring act during the Emergency was made by Durga Bhagwat.
However, let us first get to know who is Durga Bhagwat-
Durga Bhagwat, popularly known as Durgabai, was born on February 10, 1910, in Indore, Madhya Pradesh. She was a native of Pandharpur, and was born in Baroda, then a princely state of India. She was from an educated family—her father was a scientist and her sister Kamala Sohoni was the first Indian woman to receive a PhD in a scientific discipline.
Education
Bhagwat completed her matriculation in 1927 and pursued higher education at Saint Xavier’s College, Mumbai. In 1929, she postponed her BA studies to actively participate in the freedom movement led by Mahatma Gandhi. She eventually completed her BA in 1932 in English and Sanskrit. In 1935, she completed her MA, for which she wrote a research essay titled ‘Early Buddhist Jurisprudence in Indian Cultural History’. She later enrolled for a PhD. Her research topic was ‘Synthesis of Hind and Tribal Culture of Central Provision of India’, and while the research was not presented, selected parts of her dissertation were published in international magazines.
Bhagwat was deeply inspired by Mahatma Gandhi, Leo Tolstoy, Henry David Thoreau, Robert Browning, Rajaram Shastri Bhagwat, and Dr S.V. Ketkar.
Stand against Emergency 1975
There is one saying about the Emergency – “If Indira Gandhi was the architect of the Emergency, one of its fiercest and the most fearless opponent was another lady- Durga Bhagwat”
Karad as the venue for the Marathi Sahitya Sammelan has an inseparable association with the late Durga Bhagwat. It was a historic time in 1975 when the former prime minister of India, Indira Gandhi imposed an Emergency and Durga Bhagwat had been elected as chairperson of the Marathi Sahitya Sammelan. She had turned the literary meeting into a protest gathering against the emergency imposed by Gandhi.
In the presence of powerful union cabinet minister Yashwantrao Chavan, Durga Bhagwat took a strong and clear stand against the Emergency of 1975 launching a scathing attack on the government from the dais of 51st Marathi Sahitya Sammelan at Karad in December 1975.
She stated that the basic constitutional right of freedom of expression of the citizens was being curtailed due to the imposition of an Emergency by Indira Gandhi. She was one of the first prominent writers who opposed The Emergency as well as the arrest of Jayaprakash Narayan at that time.
Later, she was arrested for this public opposition. After the emergency was lifted, she campaigned against the ruling Congress Party in the 1977 general election and remained opposed to it for the rest of her life.
In 1977, she opposed the Marathi Sahitya Sammelan’s decision to invite Goa chief minister Shashikala Kakodar (because the Goa government had made a contribution to the sammelan), arguing that literature should not be mixed with politics. She also refused to accept the Padma Shri and the Jnanpith Award, one of the most prestigious awards in the field of literature in India, owing to her disagreement with the Indian government at the time.
Apart from being devoted to literature until her last breath, she was a staunch proponent of freedom of expression.
