Why in News ?
On the 49th anniversary of the Emergency, Prime Minister Narendra Modi criticised the Congress party, accusing it of ignoring democratic values and effectively imprisoning the nation.
He questioned the party’s right to claim respect for the Constitution, after Rahul Gandhi and his team brandished the Constitution in Parliament.
Today’s News :
In a tweet, PM Modi honoured those who opposed the Emergency, calling the period “dark days” that demonstrated how the Congress undermined basic freedoms and violated the Constitution.
Responding to Modi, Congress leader Mallikarjun Kharge accused the Prime Minister of using historical events to distract from current failures.
Kharge claimed that India had been experiencing an “undeclared Emergency” under Modi’s leadership for the past decade, citing actions like the manipulation of political parties, the misuse of investigative agencies against opposition leaders, and the undermining of fair electoral practices.
Reflecting on the 50th anniversary of the Emergency, PM Modi vowed to ensure that such oppressive measures would never recur, underscoring the importance of protecting democracy from any form of tyranny.
Events leading up to the 1975 Emergency declaration
In the mid-1970s, India stood at a critical juncture marked by significant political and economic turmoil. The nation, only three decades removed from its hard-won independence, was grappling with widespread poverty, unemployment, and rampant inflation.
Protests and strikes, such as the railway workers’ strike led by George Fernandes in 1974, were met with a heavy-handed government crackdown.
The situation was further exacerbated by political instability, with Prime Minister Indira Gandhi facing mounting opposition. The crisis came to a head in 1971, when Indira Gandhi’s election victory was challenged in court by socialist leader Raj Narain, who alleged electoral malpractices.
The period leading up to the Emergency was marked by intense political unrest. Opposition parties, spearheaded by figures such as Jayaprakash Narayan (JP), launched a vigorous campaign against Gandhi, calling for her resignation and widespread governmental reforms.
Prior to the declaration, the government laid the groundwork by enacting stringent laws. Leveraging its overwhelming majority in the Parliament, the government passed the Maintenance of Internal Security Act (MISA), which would later be used to suppress political dissent.
On June 12, 1975, the Allahabad High Court found Indira Gandhi guilty of electoral malpractices, effectively invalidating her 1971 election victory and barring her from holding office for six years. This ruling started a series of events leading to the declaration of the Emergency.
On June 25, 1975, President Fakhruddin Ali Ahmed, upon Gandhi’s advice, declared a state of Emergency under Article 352 of the Indian Constitution, citing internal disturbances as the reason.