Emergency a defining chapter in Modi's youth: Amit Shah

Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Wednesday unveiled a book titled 'The Emergency Diaries: Year That Forged Our Leaders', which chronicles a pivotal chapter from Prime Minister Narendra Modi's youth.

According to Shah, the book highlights Modi's underground role during the 1975 Emergency-when, as a 24-year-old activist, he evaded arrest by disguising himself as a sadhu, a Sardar, a hippie, and a newspaper vendor. He also reportedly distributed banned literature, supported jailed MISA detainees, and coordinated medical assistance for them.

Shah described it as a story of "resistance, courage, and leadership forged in India's darkest hours."


"He also played a role in the secret distribution of underground newspapers, spreading them in markets, public squares, among students and women. In Gujarat, Narendra Modi, then a young man of just 24-25 years, took a leading role in this struggle," Shah said.

"PM Modi used to work underground, disguising himself as a sadhu, Sardarji, hippie, or even an incense stick or newspaper vendor. Look at how divine justice works - a 25-year-old boy opposed Indira Gandhi's dictatorship by going door to door, village to village. Today, that same person, in 2014, uprooted the very reason the Emergency was imposed: dynasty politics," he added.