Reading the Emergency: 50 years on
Fifty years ago, on June 25, 1975, India was plunged into its darkest democratic crisis, the Emergency. Declared by then-Prime Minister Indira Gandhi, it suspended civil liberties, censored the press, and saw mass arrests of opposition leaders. The 21-month period remains a defining chapter in India's political history, raising urgent questions about power, authoritarianism, and resistance.
To mark its 50th anniversary, we recommend seven books that capture the Emergency's complexities: from firsthand accounts and political analyses to literary retellings. These works illuminate not just the past but also its echoes in contemporary India.
A former IAS officer and close associate of Jayaprakash Narayan (JP), Devasahayam offers a searing critique of the Emergency and draws parallels with India's current political climate. As the custodian of JP during his imprisonment, the author provides rare insights into the resistance movement. The book interrogates who truly safeguards democracy: politicians, institutions, or citizens? Devasahayam's personal narrative, combined with political analysis, makes this a compelling read for those examining the fragility of democratic norms.
A gripping memoir by veteran journalist Coomi Kapoor, this book recounts the terror of the Emergency through her family's ordeal. Her husband was jailed under draconian laws, her brother-in-law (Subramanian Swamy) went underground, and she faced constant surveillance. Kapoor's vivid storytelling exposes the human cost of authoritarianism: forced sterilizations, slum demolitions, and press censorship. A must-read for its raw, personal perspective on the darkest chapter in Indian democracy.
Raghavan's meticulously researched biography examines Indira Gandhi's premiership, with a significant focus on the Emergency. Rather than reducing her to a dictator, he contextualises her decisions within India's turbulent 1970s: economic crises, political instability, and her centralisation of power. The book challenges simplistic narratives, offering a nuanced portrait of one of India's most polarising leaders.
Veteran journalist Kuldip Nayar, a fierce critic of the Emergency, compiles a detailed chronicle of the events leading to its imposition. Drawing from interviews and reportage, he highlights JP's anti-corruption movement, Indira Gandhi's electoral malpractice, and the crackdown on dissent. Nayar's work remains vital for understanding the media's role, and its suppression, during the crisis.
This academic yet accessible study dissects the structural underpinnings of the Emergency. Jaffrelot and Pratinav explore Sanjay Gandhi's unchecked power, the complicity of bureaucrats and business elites, and the surprising regional variations in repression (South India faced fewer excesses). A rigorous analysis of how authoritarianism takes root in democracies.
It is a blow-by-blow account of the 1975 case Indira Gandhi v Raj Narain in which the High Court, for the first time in the history of independent India, set aside the election of a Prime Minister. Using court documents, Bhushan etches a tapestry of the backdoor dealings and abuses of legislative power that allowed Gandhi to impose and maintain a state of Emergency.
Though a novel, Mistry's Booker-shortlisted masterpiece captures the Emergency's human toll like no nonfiction account can. Through the lives of tailors, students, and beggars, he portrays state brutality, forced sterilizations, and the resilience of ordinary people. A haunting, deeply moving work of fiction that makes history visceral.
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Hindustan Times
18 minutes ago
- Hindustan Times
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Union home minister Amit Shah on Tuesday said the Emergency imposed 50 years ago shook the very foundations of democracy but India overcame that dark chapter because the nation never bows down to dictatorship. Amit Shah took potshots at the Opposition, particularly the Congress party for accusing the ruling dispensation of disregarding the sanctity of the Constitution. (PTI) Shah took potshots at the Opposition, particularly the Congress party for accusing the ruling dispensation of disregarding the sanctity of the Constitution, and said the party's leaders should answer whether they were rakshaks (protectors) of the Constitution or bhakshaks (destroyers) when Emergency was imposed. 'Remember the morning when Indira Gandhi announced the Emergency on All India Radio. Was Parliament consulted before this? Were the opposition leaders and citizens taken into who talk about protecting democracy today — were you rakshaks (protectors) of the Constitution back then, or its bhakshaks (destroyers),' Shah said. Speaking at an event organised by the Syama Prasad Mookerjee Foundation to mark the 50th anniversary of Emergency that was imposed by the then Congress government led by Indira Gandhi, Shah said it cannot be defined in a single sentence. '...It was the biggest tragedy of independent India.' Slamming the Congress government for imposing Emergency to protect its power, Shah said it was claimed that the decision was taken to protect the nation. 'The night that Emergency was imposed (on June 25, 1975) was the longest night and the shortest too. It was the longest night because morning dawned after 21 months when democracy was restored; and the shortest night because the rights and freedoms that had taken two years, 11 months and 18 days to frame were taken away in a flash,' he said. On June 25, 1975, Emergency was imposed in the country, curtailing civil liberties and leading to the arrests of political opponents, students and ordinary citizens who opposed Gandhi's decision. Curbs were also put on the media, and freedom of the press was restricted. Urging the youth to understand the genesis of Emergency and why it is still being remembered, he said it was imperative to recall an event which shook the very foundations of our democracy and is dangerous for the nation. 'Today is the 50th anniversary of Emergency. Today is the right day for this seminar. Because when 50 years of any national event, good or bad, are completed, its memory becomes blurred in social life and if the memory of an event like the Emergency, which shook the foundations of democracy, becomes blurred then it is a big danger for any democratic country,' he said. While the opposition parties, particularly the Congress accuse the Bharatiya Janata Party-led National Democratic Alliance government of sidestepping constitutional provisions, Shah recalled how members of the Jana Sangh, the RSS, and socialist parties were all jailed for seeking the restoration of democracy. 'The world has witnessed the birth of democracy on this soil. India is the mother of democracy...I am sure that none of the citizens alive at that time would have liked this (Emergency), except the dictator and a small group of people who took advantage of it,' he said. He also recalled how the cabinet had not been taken into confidence about the decision. 'Ministers (in the cabinet) later confided how the agenda for the cabinet meeting was not even shared with them when Emergency was declared,' he said. He also criticised the then government for making amendments to the Constitution, some of which sought to change the basic structure of the document. 'So many drastic changes were made that it came to be known as a mini-Constitution. From the Preamble to the basic structure, everything was changed. The judiciary became submissive, and democratic rights were suspended. The nation can never forget this, and we decided to celebrate this as Samvidan Hatya Divas so that people remember that when democratic governments become dictators, what are the consequences that we have to suffer,' Shah said.
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