The Emergency detainees on Friday decided to take to the path of agitation progressively if the State government failed to recognise them as political prisoners and grant them pension accordingly.
At a meeting here under the Unified Council of Emergency Prisoners to discuss the outcome of their meeting with Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan, himself a prisoner during the Emergency, the members hoped that the government would consider their petition favourably, failing which they would be compelled to go on agitation.
'Up to the State now'
“While several other States, including West Bengal, have recognised Emergency detainees as political prisoners and treated them at par with freedom fighters, the onus on the Left government in the State is to do this at least now, 40 years after the dark days descended on the country,” P.C. Unnicheckan, CPI(ML) Red Flag State secretary and Emergency prisoner, said.
He said the demands raised in the petition submitted to Mr. Vijayan also included incorporating a comprehensive history of the Emergency in the school curriculum and conversion of the Emergency detention camp at Sasthamangalam as a historical monument.
“Other camps have all been demolished, so we need to preserve Sasthamangalam. At a time when the happenings in the country bring to mind memories of the dark period, it’s important that those who fought the Emergency should be recognised and their struggles documented for posterity,” he said.
