“When Freedom Faded: A Citizen’s Memory of 1975”
The Night the Lights Went Out I still remember that night — June 25, 1975. Delhi was wrapped in its usual summer heaviness, the kind that sticks to your skin and makes the air feel thick. I had just finished dinner and was sitting by the radio, trying to catch the evening news. My neighbour’s son burst into our courtyard, breathless. “They’ve arrested JP!” he blurted out. “And Vajpayee… Advani… all of them!” At first, I didn’t believe him. Arrested? All of them? But when I tuned in again, there was no mention of protests, no mention of the court verdict against Indira Gandhi — just calm, scripted announcements. It was eerie, like the news itself had been scrubbed clean. I didn’t know it yet, but the government had clamped down on the press. Overnight, the country had changed. The weeks before that had been tense. I’d gone to hear Jayaprakash Narayan speak at Ramlila Maidan — a peaceful sea of students, workers, women in colourful saris, all demanding “Total Revolution.” I’d never ...