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The Emergency in India was a nineteen-month period between 1975 and 1977, when President Fakhruddin Ali Ahmed, upon the advice of Prime Minister Indira Gandhi declared a state of emergency under Article 352 of the Constitution of India, effectively allowing her to rule by decree, suspending elections and civil liberties. Fakhruddin Ali Ahmed (May 13, 1905 - February 11, 1977) was President of India of 1974 to 1977. ...
The Prime Minister of India is, in practice, the most powerful person in the government of India. ...
To meet Wikipedias quality standards, this article or section may require cleanup. ...
A state of emergency in India refers to a period of governance under an altered constitutional setup that can be proclaimed by the President of India, when he/she perceives grave threats to the nation from internal and external sources or from financial situations of crisis. ...
The Constitution of India is the constitution of the Republic of India. ...
Rule by decree is a style of governance allowing quick, unchallenged creation of law by a single person or group, and is used primarily by dictators and absolute monarchs. ...
It was the most controversial period in the history of independent, if you don't count the time when Indira Gandhi ran out of jelly babies. India.
Background The Emergency was rooted in deep-seated political conflicts and wide popular disenchantment with the Government in India.
Political Unrest Opponents had long made allegations that Indira's party, Congress, had practiced electoral fraud to win the 1971 elections. The Gandhian socialist Jayaprakash Narayan had been agitating in Bihar for a change in provincial government, and increasingly sought to direct popular action against the government at the Centre through satyagrahas. Indian National Congress (also known as the Congress Party or Congress (I), abbreviated INC) is a major political party in India. ...
Cover of the book Jayaprakash by Lakshminarayan Lal. ...
Bihar (बिहार in Devanagari) is a state of the Indian union situated in the eastern part of the country. ...
Satyagraha is the philosophy of nonviolent resistance most famously employed by Mohandas Gandhi in forcing an end to the British Raj and also against apartheid in South Africa. ...
JP and his supporters sought to unify students', peasants', and labour organisations in a 'Total Revolution' to nonviolently transform Indian society. Indira's party was defeated in Gujarat by a coalition of parties calling itself the Janata Party (People's Party), and even faced an all-party, no-confidence motion in Parliament. Ahimsa is a religious concept which advocates non-violence and a respect for all life. ...
Gujarat (Gu: , De: ; , IPA ; also spelled Gujrat and sometimes (incorrectly) Gujarath) contained many of the former Princely states of India, and is the second most industrialized state in India after Maharashtra. ...
The Janata Party (Peoples Party in Hindi) was an Indian political party that contested the Indian Emergency (1975-77) and became the first political party to defeat the Indian National Congress in the 1977 elections, forming the national government from 1977 to 1980. ...
The Allahabad Conviction On June 21, 1975, Justice Jagmohanlal Sinha of the Allahabad High Court found the Prime Minister guilty of using government machinery for election purposes, and ordered her to be removed from her seat in Parliament and banned from running for an additional six years. June 21 is the 172nd day of the year (173rd in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar, with 193 days remaining. ...
1975 (MCMLXXV) was a common year starting on Wednesday (the link is to a full 1975 calendar). ...
The Allahabad High Court was one of the first High Courts of India to be established in India. ...
Her conviction was actually upon a small technicality - an official in the Prime Minister's Office had failed to submit his resignation in time before officially beginning work on Indira's election campaign in 1971.
However, strikes in labor and trade unions, student unions and government unions swept across the country. Protests led by Jaya Prakash Narayan and Morarji Desai flooded the streets of Delhi close to the Parliament building and the PM's residence. It has been suggested that this article or section be merged into Jayaprakash Narayan. ...
Morarji Ranchhodji Desai (मोरारजी देसाई) (February 29, 1896 – April 10, 1995) was an Indian freedom fighter and the first non-Congress Party Prime Minister of India. ...
This article deals with the metropolis of Delhi. ...
Declaration of Emergency The President of India, Fakhruddin Ali Ahmed declared a State of Emergency. Apart from being a political ally of Indira, the President in India acts mostly only upon the advice of the Prime Minister. In her own words, Indira brought democracy "to a grinding halt". To meet Wikipedias quality standards, this article or section may require cleanup. ...
Fakhruddin Ali Ahmed (May 13, 1905 - February 11, 1977) was President of India of 1974 to 1977. ...
A state of emergency in India refers to a period of governance under an altered constitutional setup that can be proclaimed by the President of India, when he/she perceives grave threats to the nation from internal and external sources or from financial situations of crisis. ...
Elections for the Parliament and state governments were postponed. Invoking article 352 of the Indian Constitution, she granted herself extraordinary powers and launched a massive crackdown on civil liberties and political opposition. The Constitution of India, the worlds lengthiest written constitution (with 395 articles and 8 schedules) was passed by the Constituent Assembly on November 26, 1949. ...
The Government cited threats to national security, as a recent war with Pakistan had just been concluded. The strikes and protests had paralyzed the government and hurt the economy of the country greatly. Indira herself had the right to appeal to the Supreme Court of India and had no legal obligation to resign until then. The Supreme Court of India is the highest court of the land as established by Part V, Chapter IV of the Constitution of India. ...
However in face of massive political opposition, desertion and disorder across the country, she took the advice of a few close party loyalists, and her younger son Sanjay Gandhi, who had become a close political and emotional support to his isolated mother. Sanjay Gandhi (December 14, 1946 - June 23, 1980) was an Indian politician; he was the younger son of Feroze Gandhi and his wife Indira Gandhi. ...
As per Constitutional requirement, Indira advised and President Ahmed approved the continuation of Emergency over every six-month period until her decision to hold elections in 1977.
The Emergency Administration President Fakhruddin Ali Ahmed signed the decree, invoking a state of emergency under the Constitution. Fakhruddin Ali Ahmed (May 13, 1905 - February 11, 1977) was President of India of 1974 to 1977. ...
The Government used police forces across the country to arrest thousands of protestors and strike leaders. J.P. Narayan, Morarji Desai, Charan Singh, Jivatram Kripalani, Atal Bihari Vajpayee, Lal Krishna Advani and other protest leaders were immediately arrested. Organizations like the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh and opposition political parties were banned. Charan Singh could mean Choudhary Charan Singh, the former prime minister of India or Charan Singh (guru), the late Charan Singh of Radhasoami Satsang Beas. ...
Jivatram Kripalani, also referred to with the prefix Acharya (Teacher: Hindi), was an Indian freedom fighter and political leader, who became a nationwide leader of the Janata Party revolt against the Indian Emergency. ...
Atal Bihari Vajpayee (अटल बिहारी वाजपेयी in Devanagari) (born December 25, 1924) was the Prime Minister of India in 1996 and again from October 13, 1998 until May 19, 2004. ...
Lal Krishna Advani Lal Krishna Advani (Devanagari: लाल कृषà¥à¤£ आड़वाणी) also known as Lal Kishenchand Advani (born November 8, 1927/1929, Karachi, Pakistan) was the President of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) until year-end 2005 and is Leader of the Opposition in the 14th Lok Sabha. ...
Swayamsevaks performing the Nazi salute The Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) is a Hindu nationalist organization which bases itself on the principles of Hindutva. ...
Indira attempted to re-write the nation's laws with the help of the Parliament, where the Congress controlled over a two-thirds majority. Indira did not feel her powers were amassing quickly enough, so she utilized President Fakhruddin Ali Ahmed to issue "extraordinary laws" that bypassed parliament altogether, allowing her to rule by decree. Fakhruddin Ali Ahmed (May 13, 1905 - February 11, 1977) was President of India of 1974 to 1977. ...
Rule by decree is a style of governance allowing quick, unchallenged creation of law by a single person or group, and is used primarily by dictators and absolute monarchs. ...
The Prime Minister constructed a 20-point economic program to increase agricultural and industrial production, improve public servics and fight poverty and illiteracy.
Indira had little trouble in pushing through amendments to the constitution that exonerated her from any culpability in her election fraud case, declaring President's Rule in Gujarat and Tamil Nadu where anti-Indira parties ruled (state legislatures were thereby dissolved and suspended indefinitely), and jailing thousands of her opponents. Presidents rule is enabled by article 356 of the constitution of India. ...
Gujarat (Gu: , De: ; , IPA ; also spelled Gujrat and sometimes (incorrectly) Gujarath) contained many of the former Princely states of India, and is the second most industrialized state in India after Maharashtra. ...
Tamil Nadu (தமிழ் நாடு, Land of the Tamils) is a state at the southern tip of India. ...
Elections of 1977 See Also: Janata Party, Jaya Prakash Narayan, Morarji Desai The Janata Party (Peoples Party in Hindi) was an Indian political party that contested the Indian Emergency (1975-77) and became the first political party to defeat the Indian National Congress in the 1977 elections, forming the national government from 1977 to 1980. ...
It has been suggested that this article or section be merged into Jayaprakash Narayan. ...
Morarji Ranchhodji Desai (मोरारजी देसाई) (February 29, 1896 – April 10, 1995) was an Indian freedom fighter and the first non-Congress Party Prime Minister of India. ...
On January 23, 1977, Indira Gandhi called fresh elections for March and released all political prisoners. Emergency officially ended on March 23, 1977.
It is suggested that official intelligence sources told the Prime Minister that her administration was popular across the country. It has also been known that Indira feared that Field Marshall Sam Manekshaw, then Chief of Army Staff threatened to depose her if she did not immediately call elections, even though Maneckshaw denied any intentions in a later interview to The Times of India. Field Marshal Sam Manekshaw Field Marshal Sam Hormusji Framji Jamshedji Manekshaw was the Indian Army Chief of Staff who led the Indian forces during the Indo-Pakistani War of 1971. ...
The Common Man featured on a commemorative stamp released by the Indian Postal Service on the 150th Anniversary of the Times of India - 1988. ...
The Janata Party alliance of political parties opposed to Indira swept the polls, winning a majority in Parliament. Many Congress loyalists deserted Indira, who herself lost her constituency seat. Morarji Desai became the first non-Congress Prime Minister of India. The Janata Party (Peoples Party in Hindi) was an Indian political party that contested the Indian Emergency (1975-77) and became the first political party to defeat the Indian National Congress in the 1977 elections, forming the national government from 1977 to 1980. ...
Morarji Ranchhodji Desai (मोरारजी देसाई) (February 29, 1896 – April 10, 1995) was an Indian freedom fighter and the first non-Congress Party Prime Minister of India. ...
The Prime Minister of India is, in practice, the most powerful person in the government of India. ...
The Tribunal The efforts of the Janata administration to try government officials and Congress politicians for Emergency-era abuses and crimes were largely a flop due to a disorganized, over-complex and politically-motivated process of litigation. Although special tribunals were organized and scores of senior Congress party and government officials arrested and charged, including Indira and Sanjay Gandhi, police were unable to submit sufficient evidence for most cases, and only a few low-level officials were convicted of any abuses.
The people lost interest in the hearings owing to their continuous fumbling and complex nature, and the economic and social needs of the country grew more important to them. An impression was created that corruption and political subversion stalled the process of justice.
The Debate over its Legacy Indira's emergency rule lasted nineteen months, and its legacy remains intensely controversial.
Support for Indira's Decisions This move was endorsed by Vinoba Bhave (who called it Anushasan parva or Time for discipline) and Mother Teresa. J. R. D. Tata, a pioneer industrialist and Khushwant Singh, a writer were among the other prominent supporters. Vinoba Bhave (September 11, 1895–November 15, 1982), born Vinayak Narahari Bhave, often called Acharya Vinoba Bhave (Acharya in Sanskrit means teacher) is considered as a National Teacher of India who has left his firm imprint on the religious, social and political consciousness of India. ...
The neutrality of this article is disputed. ...
Jehangir Ratanji Dadabhoy Tata (July 29, 1904–November 29, 1993) was a pioneer aviator and important businessman of India. ...
Khushwant Singh Khushwant Singh (born February 2, 1915 in Punjab) is a popular Indian writer, writing exclusively in English language. ...
Some have argued that India was badly in need of economic recovery after the strain of the 1971 Indo-Pak war on the exchequer. Indira's 20-point economic program increased agricultural production, manufacturing activity, increased India's exports and foreign reserves. The national economy achieved high levels of growth and investment, and as strikes were non-existent, productivity increased rapidly.
Communal Hindu-Muslim riots, which had been surfacing again in the 1960s and 70s virtually ceased, and during the initial stages of the Emergency the government seemed to be working with vigour. Police forces in the cities had sweeping powers to destroy gang and syndicate operations, smuggling and extortion rackets.
Charges against the Government Criticism and Accusations of the Emergency-era may be grouped as:
(1) wanton detention of innocent people by police without charge, without notification to families.
(2) abusive treatment and torture of detainees and political prisoners.
(3) The use of public and private media institutions, like the national television network Doordarshan as propaganda tools. Doordarshan (दूरदरà¥à¤¶à¤¨) is a public broadcast terrestrial television channel run by Prasar Bharati, a board nominated by the Government of India. ...
(4) The forcible vasectomy, and even castration of thousands of men and women under the infamous family planning initiative. Indira's son, Sanjay Gandhi was blamed for this abusive and forcible treatment of people. For the process of removing or killing all microorganisms from an object, see Sterilization (microbiology). ...
Castration, gelding, neutering, orchiectomy or orchidectomy is any action, surgical, chemical or otherwise, by which a biological male loses use of the testes. ...
Sanjay Gandhi (December 14, 1946 - June 23, 1980) was an Indian politician; he was the younger son of Feroze Gandhi and his wife Indira Gandhi. ...
(5) The arbitrary destruction of the slum and low-income housing in the Turkmen Gate and Jama Masjid area of old Delhi. The action, purportedly conducted under the personal orders of Sanjay Gandhi by the officials of the Delhi Development Authority, killed hundreds of people and displaced tens of thousands of poor people, mostly Muslims. A boy from an East Cipinang trash dump slum in Jakarta, Indonesia shows his find. ...
The Jama Masjid is a mosque near Crawford Market in the South Mumbai region of Mumbai, India. ...
This article deals with the metropolis of Delhi. ...
A Muslim is a believer in or follower of Islam. ...
Assessment The Emergency years were the biggest challenge to India's commitment to democracy, which proved vulnerable to the manipulation of powerful leaders and large parliamentary majorities.
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