Editorial 1: Emergency and its lessons
Context
The Emergency was imposed exactly 50 years ago on June 25, 1975.
Historical & social context
- Indira Gandhi came to power with a landslide victory in 1971, but her government soon faced multiple crises.
- The 1971 India-Pak war, droughts, and the 1973 oil shock severely impacted the economy, leading to widespread hardship.
- Corruption and misgovernance further fueled public anger. In February 1974, the Navnirman students’ movement in Gujarat forced Congress CM Chimanbhai Patel to resign over corruption.
- Inspired by this, a similar students’ movement emerged in Bihar, supported by socialists and right-wing groups under the Chhatra Sangharsh Samiti.
- Jayaprakash Narayan (JP), a Gandhian and Quit India Movement veteran, became its leader.
- On June 5, 1974, he called for a “sampoorna kranti” (total revolution) at Patna’s Gandhi Maidan, sparking a massive anti-government movement.
- JP travelled across India, rallying against Indira’s rule. The movement gained momentum when, on June 12, 1975, the Allahabad High Court found Indira guilty of electoral malpractice, nullifying her 1971 Lok Sabha win.
- Amid rising demands for her resignation, Emergency was declared on June 25.
- Media was censored, and the nation learned of the Emergency via Indira’s radio broadcast on June 26.
Indira’s rule by decree
- The Emergency, imposed on June 25, 1975, and lasting until March 21, 1977, marked one of the darkest periods in Indian democracy.
- Using special constitutional provisions, Indira Gandhi’s government centralized power, effectively turning India’s federal structure into a unitary one.
- While state governments remained in place, they were brought under total control of the Centre.
- Parliament legislated on state subjects, and financial arrangements between the Union and states were altered with presidential approval.
- Most opposition leaders, including Jayaprakash Narayan, were jailed. Around 1.12 lakh people were detained under harsh laws like MISA, COFEPOSA, and the Defence of India Act.
- With dissent crushed, Parliament passed sweeping constitutional changes, including the 42nd Amendment of 1976. This amendment severely curtailed judicial powers, expanded Parliament’s authority over the Constitution, and shielded laws implementing directive principles from judicial review.
- Fundamental rights, especially the freedom of speech under Article 19(1)(a), were suspended. Newspapers faced pre-censorship.
- Meanwhile, Sanjay Gandhi led a controversial “five-point programme,” which included forced sterilizations and slum demolitions.
- To cling to power, the Lok Sabha’s term was extended by a year in 1976, delaying elections that were originally due.
Emergency lifted, Indira routed
- For no apparent reason, Indira Gandhi decided to lift the Emergency early in 1977. As it happened, she and her party were routed in the election of 1977.
- The Janata Party — the product of the merger of the Jana Sangh, Congress (O), the socialists and Bharatiya Lok Dal — came to power, and Morarji Desai became India’s first non-Congress PM.
- Many Constitutional changes effected during the Emergency were reversed. Judicial review of a Proclamation of Emergency was made possible again, and it was made mandatory for such a Proclamation to be passed in both Houses of Parliament by a special majority — a majority of the total strength of the House and not less than two-thirds of members present and voting — within a month.
- The 44th Amendment replaced the words “internal disturbance” as a ground for the imposition of Emergency with “armed rebellion”.
Emergency’s enduring legacy
- The post-Emergency Parliament saw the coming together of the social forces behind the Jana Sangh and the socialists — the Hindutva upper castes, and the Lohiaite agrarian and artisanal castes.
- The Janata government appointed the Mandal Commission to look into OBC quotas, which eventually propelled the rise of the OBCs in North India.
- The Emergency also gave India a crop of young leaders who would dominate politics for several decades — Lalu Prasad Yadav, George Fernandes, Arun Jaitley, Ram Vilas Paswan, and many others.
Conclusion
Fifty years later, the Emergency reminds us how easily power can be misused. It changed Indian politics, gave rise to new leaders, and showed the strength of democracy when people chose to fight back.