State of Emergency: Declared and Undeclared

Fifty years ago today, the first internal emergency was declared in the history of Independent India. When Prime Minister Indira Gandhi, feeling threat to her position and government, directed President Fakhruddin Ahmed to clamp a state of internal emergency on the country on June 25, 1975, President caved in. With it came suspension of fundamental rights enshrined in the constitution thus any action taken by the government was deemed legal. The Emergency’s immediate effect was no action by the government could be questioned in the courts. This gave the central government an unconditional permission to indefinitely detain, without trial, not only the leaders and activists of opposition parties, but also legal experts, socio-political and media activists who were critical of the Prime Minister or her cabinet. This extreme action came from unprecedented situation after Justice Jagmohanlal Sinha of the Allahabad High Court had June 12, 1975, declared Prime Minister Indira Gandhi’s victory from Rae Bareli in Uttar Pradesh in the 1971 Lok Sabha elections null and void acting on a case filed by Socialist Party candidate Raj Narain. The court accepted the argument that engaging of Yashpal Kapoor, an official in the Prime Minister's Office, to election duties before he resigned from the post was a violation of the rules. The country was in turmoil as the opposition led by Jayaprakash Narayan demanded Indira Gandhi’s resignation. An imminent ban for six years from contesting polls had the Supreme Court validated the verdict that annulled her victory troubled Indira. India Gandhi is reported to have been persuaded to declare Emergency by her trusted coterie of advisers including her son Sanjay Gandhi. However, with the suspension of fundamental rights, all the opposition leaders were in jails. Only Indira faction of the Congress and the activists of CPI had the free run. All secular parties including CPI became inactive. The RSS, Anand Marg, and the Indian Jamaat-e-Islami were banned. Their leaders and key activists were arrested. A situation came about where the government and the parties supportive of it could do anything. With the passage of the 42nd Amendment, the government's term was extended by seven years. When the Prime Minister expressed willingness for general election in March 1977, the situation was completely in her favour. However, when the Bharatiya JanSangh, Sanghatana Congress, the Socialist Party, and other independent parties emerged to become the Janata Party, the entire North Indian people, who had been struggling under Sanjay Gandhi's vainglorious acts, reacted silently against Indira Gandhi's party. Indira and her son Sanjay were defeated in the election.

The day after the results were announced, the Union Cabinet met and revoked the state of emergency, lifted the ban on organizations, and the Janata Party, led by Morarji Desai, came to power. Indira Gandhi later called the Emergency as a measure required only just once in the lifetime of the nation. Emergency could be a shocking memory for those who lived it fifty years ago. The unjust arrests, the killings in police stations, the corruption that flourished due to the lack of accountability, the atrocities like forced sterilization, and the helplessness of the courts cannot be justified. However, the most horrendous contribution of the Emergency was the exponential growth of the RSS and extremist parties, which stealthily worked underground, paving the way to Hindu nationalists take over the country. Hence, the Narendra Modi government and the opposition are celebrating the 'golden jubilee' of the Emergency with great fanfare. They have got the opportunity to challenge the essence of the Constitution without having to amend it or declaring Emergency. They have no qualms about killing the spirit of federalism, subverting the powers of the states, turning Raj Bhavans into RSS shakhas, recasting universities in the Hindutva mold, and vesting all power in the Center under the slogan of one nation, one language, one election, and one culture. They do not accept religious minorities as citizens with equal rights. In that sense, an undeclared emergency is far more dangerous with far-reaching consequences than a declared emergency.