On June 25, 2025, India marks the 50th anniversary of one of its darkest chapters—the Emergency declared by the Congress government under Indira Gandhi. From June 25, 1975, to March 21, 1977, the nation endured 21 months of unprecedented authoritarian rule, characterized by mass arrests, censorship, and brutal suppression of dissent. Among those who bore the brunt of this oppressive regime was Pinarayi Vijayan, the current Chief Minister of Kerala, then a young MLA from Koothuparamba. Arrested on September 28, 1975, Vijayan was one of the first 10 opposition MLAs jailed following the Emergency’s proclamation. His experience, marked by savage police brutality, remains a chilling testament to the era’s excesses.
Vijayan’s arrest came late at night, when police stormed his home and took him to Koothuparamba police station. There, he was subjected to relentless torture by five policemen, who beat him until his legs were broken and he lost consciousness. The media, stifled by censorship, remained silent on his ordeal, and despite repeated attempts by opposition leader E.M.S. Namboodiripad to raise the issue in the Kerala Legislative Assembly, the truth was suppressed. Vijayan remained in jail until the Emergency was lifted, emerging as a symbol of resistance.
In the subsequent Assembly election, Vijayan was re-elected from Koothuparamba. On March 30, 1977, he stood in the Kerala Legislative Assembly, blood-stained clothes in hand, and delivered a searing speech that laid bare the horrors he endured. This speech, preserved in Assembly records, is not just a personal account but a historical document exposing the Emergency’s assault on Indian democracy.
Pinarayi Vijayan’s Legislative Assembly Speech, March 30, 1977
Sir, I am opposing this Vote on Account for the first time. The expenditure listed here amounts to 101 crore 23 lakh. I have heard it being said that a massive amount is to be spent. Of this, 69 crore 79 lakh is for public debt repayment. The remaining is approximately 31 crore. As far as the matters mentioned in the Vote on Account are concerned, I do not intend to delve into other issues while speaking now.
As someone speaking in this Assembly for the first time since September 28, 1975, I have certain other matters to bring before this House. My name must have come up in this Assembly on several occasions since September 28, 1975. Even yesterday, in the reply given, the Honorable Chief Minister mentioned that it was stated on multiple occasions. I was arrested on the night of September 28, 1975, at my home, mistakenly targeted as a Communist Marxist of this state. My house is within the limits of Dharmadam police station, in the Thalassery police circle area. The person who came to arrest me was Koothuparamba Circle Inspector Balaraman. He knocked on my door and called out. I opened the door.
I asked:
What is it?
“To arrest you.”
Why have you come?
“There are special instructions.”
Instructions from whom?
“From the SP. We have been told to come here and arrest you.”
Along with him was the Koothuparamba Sub-Inspector and a large group of police personnel. I had just woken up from sleep. I got dressed and went to the police station. Until we reached the station, their behavior was quite courteous. Upon arriving at the station, they asked if I had anything in my pockets. I said I had an identity card. They asked if they needed it, I said they did, and I handed it over. They said I had to be locked up. I asked, is it necessary? They said, yes, that’s our rule.
At the point of being locked up, one policeman said I had to remove my shirt. I asked if it was necessary to treat me like a common criminal. The policeman said he couldn’t decide and told me to ask the Inspector. I asked the Inspector: Aren’t we all political workers? Do I need to remove my shirt? He told the policeman there was no need to remove the shirt and that I could stay in the lockup with it on. As I was being taken to the lockup, they gave me a mat. I took it, entered the lockup room, spread the mat, and sat down.
Barely two minutes had passed. The lockup room was closed. The light in front of the room was turned off. There was no light inside the lockup, only dim illumination. Two young men—not from that station, as I later learned, but specially brought from outside for this purpose—opened the lockup door and entered. I was sitting and stood up.
One of them asked: What’s your name?
I said, Vijayan.
Which Vijayan?
Pinarayi Vijayan.
Both stood on either side of me. When I said Pinarayi Vijayan, one of them repeated it.
“Oh… Pinarayi Vijayan,” he said, repeating it again, and then the blows began.
The two of them started the first round of beating. Apparently, they felt that two people weren’t enough. A large group of policemen was standing outside the lockup. Including the CI, three more came in later, making it five. Do I need to describe the kind of beating? Those who know Kerala can imagine it. Five men were beating me in every possible way. Over several rounds, I fell multiple times and got up again. In between the blows, they kept saying, “You speak against officers, against ministers, don’t you?” The beating continued. I fell several times. I got up several times. Whenever I could, I stood up. Eventually, I reached a state where I couldn’t stand anymore. I collapsed completely. Once I couldn’t get up, they took turns kicking me outside. They kicked as much as they could. Only those five beat me. They beat me until they were exhausted, for about 15 to 20 minutes. Then they left.
I lay there like that until the next day. In the meantime, my shirt was gone, my vest was gone, my mundu was gone, and only my underwear remained. That’s what happened to me in that lockup. The next morning, they replaced the entire police party that had beaten me. The Koothuparamba police station’s own policemen came in. I knew them. They were very polite. Some of them even expressed regret for what had happened to me. They asked, “Do you want tea?” That was the kind of courtesy shown afterward.
From there, at 10 a.m., I was taken to Kannur. When I reached the Kannur police station, there was another well-known Sub-Inspector, Pulikkodan Narayanan. Anyone who saw me that day would have understood the truth. I couldn’t walk. I was carried onto the police jeep. Even when getting off, I had to be supported; I couldn’t walk. Sub-Inspector Pulikkodan Narayanan said, “Vijayan’s face has changed, hasn’t it?” I expected a second round of beating then. For some reason, it didn’t happen.
From there, around midnight, I was taken to Kannur Central Jail. Upon arrival, the Deputy Jailer was responsible for my admission. I told him, “There are marks of the beating on my body; you can see them. Please record it.” He said they could only record wounds or injuries. I lifted my shirt to show him. Anyone could see it. But he said there were no wounds. He refused to record the marks of the police beating. The sole of my left foot was broken, or at least it felt like it was fractured. But the Deputy Jailer said it wasn’t a wound and didn’t record it. I understood it was based on some agreement. From there, my comrades who were with me carried me to Block 8. Chandrasekharan and Shankaran Kutty were there. They took me to their block.
The next morning, a doctor came and had me admitted to the hospital. They put a plaster cast on my leg. The cast remained for six weeks. For months, I couldn’t do anything without assistance, not even drink water without someone’s help. I wrote to the Chief Minister about this. There was no Speaker then, so I wrote to the Deputy Speaker. I received no reply from anyone. They didn’t even acknowledge that such an incident had occurred. I filed a writ petition.
When the case came up in the High Court, it was dismissed based on the Deputy Jailer’s affidavit. There was no need for it, but the affidavit came. In it, he said I wasn’t beaten at the police station. I don’t know how he could say that. He claimed I had no injuries when brought to the jail. The High Court made a finding on this. They asked, if that’s the case, how did the injuries happen? How could the Deputy Jailer say I wasn’t beaten at the police station? The High Court said: The Deputy Jailer gave such an affidavit under pressure. The writ was disposed of. On this matter, the High Court said it was very serious and that the government should take necessary action. They expressed hope that the government would take action, but at that time—a special time—they said nothing could be done. They said, “We hope the government will take necessary action on this matter.”
Later, I heard there was an inquiry into this. No one has asked me anything about it till now. While I was in the hospital, the Kozhikode DIG visited one day. I asked him, “Have you come to inquire?” He said, “No, I just heard you were here and thought I’d visit.” No one has inquired with me till this date. I heard they appointed a Revenue Board member to investigate. I heard that investigation is over too. Not a single person has asked me anything till this date. This is my experience. I am telling this to all the members of this Assembly. We are all politicians, divided into camps, arguing in different ways. But leading a brutal beating of someone in a police lockup after taking them to a station—is that politics? Is this politics? Should I believe that a Circle Inspector alone, or Kannur DSP Thomas alone, had the courage to do this? Never. If that were the case, they could do many things. That’s not it. If it were, some action would have been taken against them. There’s been no action. Today, that Balaraman is the Thalassery Circle Inspector. When he searched my house, he wasn’t the Circle Inspector of that area. After beating me, they said, “Go become Thalassery Circle Inspector,” and made him Thalassery Circle Inspector. Is this decency? So, I want to tell the members of this Assembly: We are all politicians, arguing in camps. But don’t try to oppose politically in this way. This is no one’s honor. I don’t expect any of you to approve of this.
To Mr. Karunakaran, I have only one thing to say. We have spoken strongly on many issues, and we will continue to do so. I mentioned this in the letter I wrote to Shri Achutha Menon. No one can suppress this. Isn’t this politics? What all have people in the Communist Party had to endure? Haven’t some died in police lockups? Haven’t some died from bullets during protests? Haven’t some died from stabbings and bullets by goons? We stand in this party knowing all this. We stand in this party expecting that such things might happen at some point. If they think they can put us in a police lockup, assign four policemen and a Circle Inspector, beat us into submission, and silence us, it might work temporarily. But we will come back with even more strength. That’s all I have to say to Karunakaran.
This is not an honor. This is not politics. This is not dignified. Today, you are the Chief Minister. Are you trying to repeat this? Are you trying to continue in this manner? Are you planning to let policemen loose like this again? This Circle Inspector led a lathi charge in Thalassery on the day of election counting. How many times? Six or seven times. The votes of our four constituencies—Thalassery, Perungalam, Koothuparamba, and Peravoor—are counted in Thalassery. Thousands of people had gathered there. This Circle Inspector led six or seven lathi charges against those thousands. Why the lathi charge? A few days earlier, this great hero of a Circle Inspector had three opposition party workers stripped naked in the police lockup. For being witnesses in a case, they were taken, had ropes tied around their necks, pulled up through a pulley, and created a horrific scene at Koothuparamba police station.
Such a Circle Inspector had the support and protection of a Home Minister back then. That Home Minister is now the Chief Minister. You must not continue that tradition. You must not implement it in the same way. You governed here believing everything the police said. They said I was arrested at the Shivapuram party office. When? At 5:15 a.m. I hadn’t been to Shivapuram in the days before that. When the police say it, it becomes Shivapuram party office. When Mr. Karunakaran says it, it becomes Shivapuram party office. In government records, it becomes arrested at Shivapuram party office. This is not decency. If ordinary opposition party workers in this state cannot engage in political activity with dignity, that’s a terrible state of affairs. You must remember what it was like to rule like a dictator here. You must learn from that experience and be ready to act accordingly. Those people are now in a state where they have no one. Not only that, even those who stood with them are now ready to oppose them. Could we have imagined Vayalar Ravi and Unnikrishnan saying Sanjay Gandhi should be expelled? Didn’t they say it today? Didn’t 50 MPs sign a petition saying he should be expelled?
Our country has reached such a state. You must read the writing on the wall and act accordingly. What has happened to our own ministry now? Didn’t decisions used to be made in Delhi? Whether the Kerala Congress should join or not was decided in Delhi. Who the chairman of the Kerala Congress was, was decided in Delhi. Now? Now it’s a mono-act by Karunakaran and C.H. Mohammed Koya, taking the roles of all ministers and their parties. That’s the state we’re in now. You must carefully see how long those standing with you will stay. There’s no one in Delhi to make decisions now. You must govern with this understanding. That’s all I have to say to Shri Karunakaran.
This is politics. We will say things strongly. If you think you can fix it by sending the police to beat us, it won’t work. It never will. The people’s movement in this country has faced this throughout history. Shri Karunakaran must remember that experience. He must remember what happened to such police ministers and those who attacked using the police in this state, in Kerala. He must govern accordingly. That’s all I have to say. I strongly oppose this Vote on Account.
