They Called me Dictator even before Emergency I Indira Gandhi Defending Emergency I #Emergency -3
Emergency-3 : Full Speech from Archive . Mrs Indira Gandhi defending Emergency in an Election rally at Tiruchirapalli on 7 march1977.
Khataakk Politrivia Series.
The Emergency
"The Emergency" refers to a 21-month period from 1975 to 1977 when Prime Minister Indira Gandhi had a state of emergency declared across the country.
इमरजेंसी स्वतंत्र भारत का काला अध्याय है. प्रधानमंत्री इंदिरा गाँधी का चुनाव 12 जून को इलाहबाद हाईकोर्ट ने अवैध करार दिया था और 24 जून को सुप्रीम कोर्ट के जस्टिस कृष्णा अय्यर ने उस फैसले को बहाल रखा। 25 जून 1975 को राष्ट्रपति के आदेश से आंतरिक और बाह्य खतरों का आधार बताते हुए इमरजेंसी घोषित कर दी गई. विपक्षी नेता जेल में डाल दिए गए , अख़बारों पर सेंसरशिप लागू हो गई ,नागरिक अधिकार निलंबित हो गए और चुनाव स्थगित। प्रधानमंत्री इंदिरा गाँधी ने अपने हाथ में असीमित अधिकार ले लिए। उनके बेटे संजय गाँधी समानांतर सत्ता कहे जाते थे। 21 मार्च 1977 को इमर्जेन्सी समाप्त हुई। नसबंदी और अन्य सख़्तियों के खिलाफ गुस्सा इतना तीव्र था कि प्रमुख विपक्षी दलों को मिलकर बनी जनता पार्टी ने सरकार बनाई , इंदिरा-संजय की परंपरागत सीट तक चुनाव में छिन गई। 1980 में जनता पार्टी जब अपने अंतर्विरोधों से टूटी , तब इंदिरा गाँधी फिर से सत्ता में लौटीं।
The Darkest Era
The darkest era of Indian democracy - Emergency was in effect from 25 June 1975 until its withdrawal on 21 March 1977. To impose an emergency was proposed by Prime minister Indira Gandhi, agreed upon by the president of India (Fakhruddin Ali Ahmed), and thereafter ratified by the cabinet and the parliament (from July to August 1975), based on the rationale that there were imminent internal and external threats to India.
The order bestowed upon the Prime Minister the authority to rule by decree. Invoking article 352 of the Indian Constitution, Indira Gandhi granted herself extraordinary powers and launched a massive crackdown on civil liberties and political opposition. Political opponents were imprisoned, elections postponed and the press was censored.
Also, she had little trouble amending the Constitution that exonerated her from any culpability in her election-fraud case, imposing 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 opponents.
The 42nd Amendment, which brought about extensive changes to the letter and spirit of the Constitution, is one of the lasting legacies of the Emergency.
The Emergency lasted 21 months, and its legacy remains intensely controversial. A few days after the Emergency was imposed, the Bombay edition of The Times of India carried an obituary that read - Democracy, beloved husband of Truth, loving father of Liberty, brother of Faith, Hope and Justice, expired on June 26.
Background
On 12 June 1975, Justice Jagmohanlal Sinha of the Allahabad High Court found Prime minister Indira Gandhi guilty on the charge of misuse of government machinery for her election campaign.The court declared her election null and void and unseated her from her seat in the Lok Sabha.Indira Gandhi challenged the High Court's decision in the Supreme Court. Justice V. R. Krishna Iyer, on 24 June 1975, upheld the High Court judgement and ordered all privileges Gandhi received as an MP be stopped, and that she be debarred from voting. However, she was allowed to continue as Prime Minister pending the resolution of her appeal. Jaiprakash Narayan whose movement was on since 1974, organized a huge rally in Delhi, opposition demanded action. Within hours, on 25 June 1975 Emergency was declared based on the rationale that there were imminent internal and external threats to India.
Using extraordinary powers Mrs Gandhi ran the system in her own way. Her son Sanjay gandhi became very powerful. 20-Sootriya Karykram and 5-Sootriya Karykram launched. The most controversial Sterilization move initiated by him.
On 18 January 1977, Mrs Gandhi called fresh elections for March and released all political prisoners, though the Emergency officially ended on 23 March 1977.
A Coalition of different opposition parties formed the Janata Party and in the Lok Sabha elections, held in March, Mrs Gandhi and Sanjay both lost their Lok Sabha seats, as did all the Congress candidates in northern states such as Bihar and Uttar Pradesh. Morarji Desai became Prime minister. Later the Janata government couldn't survive because of internal differences and Mrs Gandhi returned in power with the changed Party symbol "panja'' of Congress(I) in January 1980.
Video: Public Archive. Doordarshan.Prasar Bharati
Reference Source : Indian Express, Wikipedia, Times of India, The Hindu, New York Times, Satyavani etc
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