50 years after Emergency, scars remain

Memories of the Emergency still send a shiver down his spine. Prem Phutela was just 20 when he was arrested by the Fazilka police while protesting against then Indira Gandhi government for imposing the Emergency.

His cousin Subhash Phutela and friends Raj Kumar Jain, Janak Raj Jhamb and Mahesh Gupta were among those held on November 14, 1975.

What followed was a tale of atrocities, remembers Prem Phutela.

Now 70, Phutela says all were aged 18 to 21 at the time of their arrest.

They were carrying out a procession against the government for the draconian measure. Preceding their arrest, they worked in secrecy to distribute pamphlets against the Emergency. He says they decided to come out in the open when “atrocities didn’t stop”.

“When we reach the Pratap Bagh near railway station, we raised slogans against the government, resulting in immediate arrest,” he remembers.

Prem Phutela alleges that they were kept for five days in the Fazilka police station, where they were allegedly tortured three times a day.

Later, they were shifted to an interrogation centre in Amritsar, where hardcore criminals used to be questioned.

Phutela and Jain allege that the police forced them to lie on ice slabs and gave them “electric shocks”. Both say they were later kept in the Ferozepur Central jail for six months after being falsely accused of the bid to “make bombs”.

“The police used to take us from the central jail to Fazilka MR College for exams. We appeared for exams in handcuffs,” says Jain. Phutela says they also observed a hunger strike in the jail, due to which they were “thrown into a dungeon”.

“Even after 50 years, I cannot sit and walk properly due to the torture. My right shoulder was also broken,” says Jain.

Janak Raj Jhamb was blessed with a son when he was in jail. The newly born was named “Kranti” (revolution) to inspire others. Jhamb and Gupta passed away a few years ago.

Both Phutela and Jain demanded from the state government a pension of Rs 20,000 per month on pattern of Rajasthan, Haryana and Madhya Pradesh, where “krantikaris” are honoured suitably.