Why lampooning Indira Gandhi and Emergency is not enough to uphold democracy
It sends chills down the spine every time one recalls the situation that prevailed 43 years ago following the imposition of Emergency in India. Within no time the then central government had almost hijacked the Constitution. All constitutional rights, including the fundamental rights of citizens, were forcibly taken away. Opposition leaders and civil society cannot forget the dark day of June 25, 1975 when Indira Gandhi had announced that the President has declared Emergency in the country.
The Congress party may have had various reasons to declare an Emergency, but it was neither necessary nor were there any valid reasons for it. Mere apprehensions that the Opposition will create unrest in the country cannot be the basis for imposing Emergency. Of course, there were widespread protests over the failure of the government during that period, but then dissent and protests are necessary ingredients of a healthy democracy. That could not be the basis for imposing Emergency.
Political observers believe that had the Allahabad High Court not cancelled Indira Gandhi’s election from Rae Bareli, the country would not have witnessed the Emergency.
On June 12, 1975, the Allahabad High Court convicted the then prime minister Indira Gandhi for electoral malpractices and debarred her from holding any elected post in that category. The verdict delivered by justice Jagmohanlal Sinha, it is widely believed, led to the imposition of Emergency in India on June 25, 1975.
Indira Gandhi had won the 1971 Lok Sabha election from Rae Bareli in Uttar Pradesh by convincingly defeating socialist leader Raj Narain, who later challenged her election alleging electoral malpractices and violation of the Representation of the People Act, 1951.
It was alleged that her election agent Yashpal Kapoor was a government servant and that she used government officials for personal election-related work. While convicting Indira Gandhi of electoral malpractices, justice Sinha disqualified her from Parliament and imposed a six-year ban on her from holding any elected post.
Indira was adamant on clinging on to the PM chair despite the court verdict. Opposition leaders were left with no option but to come out on the streets and protest against the intransigent attitude of the Indira Gandhi-led government. To come out of this quagmire, Indira Gandhi could have taken recourse to legal means and fought it out politically. Instead, what the people of the country got was Emergency — something that is completely antithetical to democracy.
Interestingly, the day after the imposition of Emergency, all fundamental rights were suspended. While Opposition leaders were put in jails, severe censorship was imposed on media. No news could be published without the approval of some of her trusted government officials. Right to freedom of speech and expression were taken away by force. There was no functioning Parliament and Opposition in the nation at the time.
Coming back to the present, can we accept similar dictatorial rules?
While remembering the dark days of Emergency, it is not enough to just criticise it as a "nightmare". We must take a resolve that we won't let India witness a similar dark period ever again. We must be aware of our vonstitutional rights so that nobody can impose Emergency-like restrictions on us.
Not today, not tomorrow, not ever.
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