SHE THE “BUTCHER OF DEMOCRACY”. Crash course of EMERGENCY 1975 for who were born after 1990

SHE THE “BUTCHER OF DEMOCRACY”.
Crash course of EMERGENCY 1975 for those who were born after 1990

Today, as we discuss the chain of events and actions of the tragic event that was also known as #DEATHofDEMOCRACY some 46 years ago, that led to a landmark judgment pronounced by the Allahabad High Court on June 12, 1975, and its aftermath. This judgment, was about, deciding an election petition filed by one Shri Raj Narain (Independent candidate), which found Indira Gandhi to have indulged in corrupt electoral practices, and it accordingly disqualified her from holding any public office for 6 years, from the date of the order.

The ball was set rolling, things started to take shape and, in an ex parte application, the High Court stayed the enforcement of this order for 20 days, and thus, the Congress Party was given 20 days to find a replacement for Indira Gandhi as Prime Minister.

Interestingly, this judgment is mysteriously not available on most online platforms and has not been reported in leading law reports. One starts to wonder why!

Indira Gandhi, had then approached the Supreme Court against this judgment. As vacations were running, the appeal was presented before a vacation judge, Justice Krishna Iyer, who pronounced a judgment on the matter on June 24, 1975. Nani Palkhivala had represented Indira Gandhi. Shanti Bhushan (who was later to become law minister in the janta party government ), for Raj Narain (Independent candidate), had argued that Indira Gandhi approached the Court with ‘unclean hands, as her lawyer had misrepresented the Allahabad High Court to grant the unconditional 20 days stay order to approach the Supreme Court. This was rejected, and a conditional stay was granted. But, she managed to get it clarified that there was no legal embargo on her (Indira Gandhi) in continuing as Prime Minister of INDIA.

When it started…

In the wee hours of June 26 1975, after managing that there was no legal embargo on her (Indira Gandhi) as Prime Minister of INDIA, these words of her were blaring from the All India Radio-

“The President has proclaimed Emergency. There is nothing to panic about.”

 

The nation, which would be on the receiving end of this piece of news, was unsuspecting of it as were her Cabinet ministers who had been informed, some hours before the PM proceeded to the AIR studio. Soon after this, newspaper presses across Delhi sank into pitch darkness as all electrical supplies were cut to ensure that nothing could be printed for the next two days. On the other hand, in a swift move, hundreds of political leaders, activists, and trade unionists who opposed the Indira loyalist section of the Congress Party were imprisoned.

Legal framework Used...
On the night of June 25, 1975, at 9:30 pm, the Proclamation of Emergency was sent to the, then ,President Fakhruddin Ali Ahmed. At midnight on the 26^th June 1975, Indira Gandhi invoked Article 352 of the Constitution of India for ‘internal disturbance’, and imposed a National Emergency.

First Phase of Execution.

Opposition leaders from the Bhartiya Jan Sangh were taken into illegal preventive custody, censorship was imposed on the press, cinema, other forms of art, and fundamental rights were fully suspended. Physical, mental economical and phycological torture became the new normal, and to shield herself from grassroots revolution, a ban was announced on various organizations, including the Rashtriya Swayamsewak Sangh (RSS).

It is a well-known fact that her Cabinet was not consulted and none of the, then, senior leaders of her party were informed. The, then Union Cabinet of ministers were only informed, about the midnight imposition of Emergency, in a special meeting at 6:00 am on June 26 after all the things were put in place, plans in motion, and DEMOCRACY FUNCTIONAL. At 8:00 am, Indira Gandhi made an unscheduled radio broadcast telling the nation about the Emergency being imposed. Many newspapers in Delhi had their power supply cut off the previous night, and had not reached readers. They reported the news on 27^th of June 1975.

The entire Congress Parliamentary Party (followers of Indira), barring five who stood for saving democracy, supported the Emergency. All five were suspended from the party. The Communist Party of India also wholeheartedly supported Murder of Democracy through this Emergency.

The goal of the 21-month-long Emergency in the country was said to be the control of “internal disturbance”, To attain this, all-constitutional rights were suspended, freedom of expression and press freedom withdrawn. The EMERGENCY PM Indira Gandhi justified these drastic measures in terms of

National Interest, primarily based on three grounds.

The first ground, she said was that India’s security and democracy were in danger owing to the movement launched by Jayaprakash Narayan.

 
The Second Ground, it is said that she believed that there was a need for rapid economic development and upliftment of the underprivileged (Garibi hatao slogan of the Nehru Gandhi family then launched and is still on in 2021).

The Third Ground, she warned against the intervention of foreign powers which could destabilize and weaken India (her position as the ruler). The stories of important people in power, working in the interest of KGB and other identities also were doing rounds.

It is a well-known fact that the socio-economic condition of India was in bad shape between 1972-1975. Especially after the two wars and the influx of over nine million refugees from newly formed Bangladesh, which had strained India's economy. There was sharp inflation in oil prices and prices of commodities. This high level of inflation had caused great distress, and most importantly, industrial growth was low and unemployment was the most common problem for almost all households across the sections.

Important parallel developments

A few important parallel developments that had also started to impact at the same time included, the Nav Nirman movement led by the Akhil Bhartiya Vidyarthi Parishad (ABVP) in Gujarat, the Sampoorna Kranti (total revolution) agitation led by Jayaprakash Narayan (JP), and the national strike by the Railway workers union.

The slogan ‘Indira Hatao’ (Remove Indira) gained mass momentum and voices seeking the removal of Indira Gandhi on moral grounds were at its peak. As a response to this, the Indira loyalist coined ‘India is Indira and Indira is India’. This did not go well with citizens.

On the contrary, what attracted people more was a different poem. On the evening of the judgment by Justice Krishna Iyer, JP recited Ramdhari Singh Dinkar’s “सिंहासन खाली करो कि जनता आती है” (Deboard your throne as the public is coming) at the Ramlila grounds of Delhi.

A wave of mass repugnance against the government ran across. JP also announced a week-long Satyagraha to press for Indira Gandhi’s acquiescence while appealing to the armed forces, the police, and government employees not to obey the ‘illegal and immoral orders’ of the government.

This was when the free press was made to suffer and its every word was screened by the establishment. It is well-known fact that The Indian Express held a silent protest against this and carried a blank page instead of a normal editorial another, carried Rabindranath Tagore’s poem, “Where the mind is without fear, and the head is held high”. Not to forget the Bombay edition of The Times of India had famously carried an obituary that read: “DEM O’Cracy, beloved husband of T Ruth, loving father of LI Bertie, the brother of Faith, Hope, and Justice, expired on June 26.”

Independent India for the first time saw brutal censorship on art was at its peak. I remember reading that lyricist Gulzar’s movie titled Aandhi (1975) was barred because the film was supposedly based on Indira Gandhi. Another was Amrit Nahata's film Kissa Kursi Ka (1977) a bold takeoff on Indira's Emergency, where Shabana Azmi (now pseudo-liberal) played 'Janata' (the public), a mute, dumb character, it was banned, and apparently, all its prints were burned by Indira Gandhi’s son Sanjay Gandhi and his acquaintances at his Maruti factory in Gurgaon. Similarly, the movie named Nasbandi starring Amitabh Bachchan and Rajesh Khanna (both fought elections under Indira's son Rajiv Gandhi) was also banned after its release due to Emergency-related subject matter.

The extent of retaliation was such that during this time, then popular singer Kishore Kumar was asked to sing for a Congress party at a rally in Bombay to which he refused, an unofficial ban was enforced on playing his songs on state broadcasters from May 1976 till the end of Emergency.

When it comes to Emergency 1975 another term MISA is generally used, this Maintenance of Internal Security Act 1971 was widely used to take custody of all rebels and lodge them in confinement. It also allowed law enforcement agencies very comprehensive powers including unspecified preventive detention, powers of search and seizure without warrants, surveillance, and tapping.

Another important factor that we should never forget that The Constitution of India and its preamble was modified in an autocratic manner through 5 INEQUITABLE constitutional amendments starting from the 38^th amendment till the 42^nd amendment, which is also referred to as the mini Indira Constitution. Excluding a few, many modifications were later nullified by the next government and by the Supreme Court.

I need to mention, that to grant herself all dictatorial powers and to kill opposition to her and her family, through the 39^th Amendment, she placed MISA in the Ninth Schedule of the constitution, making it immune from judicial review even on the grounds of breaching any fundamental rights. It was later revoked in 1977 by the successive government, through the 44^th Constitutional amendment.

At this time in history, its important point that the Naxal movement, which started from Naxalbari in West Bengal, gained pace during this passé. A routine mode of manoeuvres, by Naxalites in Kerala, was to attack police stations in rural areas. The police acted with vengeance upon common citizens.

Incident of September 1976, where Indira’s son Sanjay Gandhi started an extensive compulsory sterilization drive- This was not only hard authoritarianism but was also implemented vehemently and viciously. Many instances of forceful sterilizations were reported. Not to forget his key conspirator was Bansi-Lal who later became CM of Haryana.

RSS, which had a huge organizational cadre base, was seen by her and her gangs as a potential hazard as it could organize dissents against her government. It was illegitimately banned and thousands of its workers were restrained, beaten up, mutilated, and killed following the actions of general Niazi “butcher of Bengal”. However, thousands participated in its peaceful protests and underground movements. It turned out to be the most pertinent organisation in fighting the inhuman regime of a tyrant lady and her greed for power.

A nationwide strike of the Railway employees union faced brutal crackdown by her government and thousands of employees and their families were forcefully driven out of their residential accommodations.

For understanding the kind of heavy hand used to suppress opposition, I remember this one incident where Criminal cases that came to be launched against opposition leader George Fernandes, and few others. The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) had charged George and others of smuggling dynamite to blow up government establishments and railway tracks in protest. They were also charged with waging war against the State to overthrow the government. Not to forget he was represented by the late Sushma Swaraj and Swaraj Kaushal. Photos of him, in a prison cage in chains, became a revolution statement in it self, to an extent that he contested election from jail and his supporters won the election by campaigning through that photograph. The Janta Party withdrew the case after coming to power in 1977 and all accused were released.

Martyrs of Emergency.

It is well known that a film actress, Snehlata Reddy was co-accused with George Fernandes. She was arrested in the same case and was frequently tortured and curbed to live in inhuman conditions. Owing to deteriorating health, she was released on parole, but she died of injuries within days. She became one of the first martyrs of the Emergency. P Rajan, an engineering student in Kerala, died due to police torture. Many deaths remained unreported.

I would stretch out to give you some circumstantial evidence of management and procedures in that time. Almost all High Courts, held that even during an Emergency, a citizen could approach them under Article 226 of the Constitution for suitable remedy through writ jurisdiction. This was overturned by the Supreme Court in ADM Jabalpur’s case by a majority judgment of 4:1. The majority judgment relied on the wartime decision of the majority of the House of Lords in Liversidge vs. Anderson, disregarding the ringing dissent of Lord Atkins. For him being the lone dissenter in ADM Jabaplur, Justice HR Khanna, was deprived of the post of Chief Justice of India due to his decision. 

What happened to prominent lawyers After the imposition of the Emergency, is worth reading. Nani Palkhivala refused to appear for Indira Gandhi anymore. Fali Nariman ji, who was the Additional Solicitor General, resigned from his post. Late Ram Jethmalani was the then Chairman of the Bar Council of India. He had to face the anger of Mrs.Gandhi, an arrest warrant was issued against him under MISA. Mr.Palkhivala and Soli Sorabjee were among the other 300 lawyers who appeared for him in court, and the warrant was stayed by the Bombay High Court. The Supreme Court Bar Association (SCBA) also joined the movement against this dictatorial Emergency imposed by Indira Gandhi and vigorously campaigned for the restoration of democracy, obliteration of MISA, and holding free and fair elections. Many lawyers declined to appear for the government in cases affecting civil liberty.

The Indian military true to its nature and standards chose to remain apolitical during the Emergency of 1975. The Indian Army refused to help with the water requirements of Indira’s Congress party for a massive rally it organized at India Gate and made its stance very clear that it will do nothing in favour of people who uphold the Emergency.

Indira Gandhi called fresh elections on 18 January 1977. Releasing all political prisoners. The emergency officially ended on March 23, 1977.

Lok Sabha elections which were held in March 1977, Indira Gandhi and Sanjay Gandhi both lost their seats. The Congress was reduced to just 153 seats, 92 of which were from four of the southern states. The Janata Party's 298 seats and its allies' 47 seats (of a total 542) gave it a massive majority. Morarji Desai became the first non-Congress Prime Minister of India.

1975 Emergency was the gloomiest period in the history of democratic India. I remember the famous words of Indira “I am the issue. I am Indira Gandhi”.

 

I hope we never see those days again.  I am writing this for the generation who were born after 1990. For, they need to know and also have the understanding that the nation has two INDEPENDENCE DAY’s the first was 15 august 1947 when we became free of foreign rule. The second being the 23^rd march 1977 when we got our democracy free from the “BUTCHER OF DEMOCRACY”.