Chanakya National Law University: A Final Draft For Fulfilment of Project of Sociology of Law On

SOCIO ECONOMIC EFFECTS OF 1975 EMERGENCY
CHANAKYA NATIONAL LAW UNIVERSITY

A final draft for fulfilment of project of Sociology of law
On
“SOCIO ECONOMIC EFFECTS OF 1975 EMERGENCY”
Submitted to:-Mr. Sangeet Kumar
By: Keshav sharma
Assistant Professor of Sociology of law
Roll No: 2022
1st Year BB.A. L.L.B. (Hons.)
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DECLARATION BY THE CANDIDATE
I, hereby, declare that the work reported in the BBA .L.L.B(Hons) Project Report titled
“Socio economic effects of 1975 emergency” submitted at CHANAKYA NATIONAL LAW
UNIVERSITY, PATNA is an authentic record of my work carried under the supervision of Mr.
Sangget kumar. I have not submitted this work elsewhere for any other degree or diploma. I am
fully responsible for the contents of my Project Report.
(Signature of the Candidate)
KESHAV SHARMA
BBA. L.L.B (Hons) 1st YEAR
SEMESTER-2nd
CNLU, PATNA
Dated:
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ACKNOWLEDGEMENT
I would like to show my gratitude towards my guide Mr. Sangeet kumar, Assistant professor of
Sociology of law, under whose guidance, I structured my project.
I owe the present accomplishment of my project to our CNLU librarians, who helped me
immensely with the materials throughout the project and without whom I couldn’t have completed
it in the present way.
I would also like to extend my gratitude to my friends and all those unseen hands that helped me
out at every stage of my project.
THANK YOU,
KESHAV SHARMA
SEMESTER 2nd
CNLU,Patna
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CONTENTS
1. INTRODUCTION ....................................................................................................................................................... 5 -7
2. DESCRIBING THE REASONS THAT LED TO EMERGENCY .................................................................................. 10-14
3. ECONOMIC IMPACT ................................................................. 15-23
4. SOCIAL IMPACT.............................................................................................................. 24-28
5. FORCED ARRESTS ..................................................................................................................... 29-34
6. FORCED STERILISATION .................................................................................................................... 35-39
7. LAW AND HUMAN RIGHTS .................................................................................................................................................................. 40
8. RESISTANCE MOVEMENT .................................................................................................................................................................................41-42
9. LEGACY..................................................................................................................................................................................................... 43-44
10. CONCLUSION ......................................................................................................................................................................................................... 47
11. BIBLIOGRAPHY ....................................................................................................................... 48
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INTRODUCTION
A state of emergency in India refers to a period of governance under an

altered constitutional setup that can be proclaimed by the President of India, when he/she perceives
grave threats to the nation from internal and external sources or from financial situations of crisis.
Under the advice of the cabinet of ministers and using the powers vested in him/her largely by Part
XVIII of the Constitution of India, the President can overrule many provisions of the constitution,
which guarantee fundamental rights to the citizens of India and acts governing devolution of powers
to the states which form the federation. In the history of independent India, a state of emergency has
been declared thrice.
The first instance was between 26 October 1962 to 10 January 1968 during the India-China war,
when "the security of India" was declared as being "threatened by external aggression" The second
instance was between 3 December 1971 to 21 March 1977, which was originally proclaimed during
the Indo-Pakistan war. It was later extended along with the third proclamation between 25 June 1975
to 21 March 1977 under controversial circumstances of political instability under Indir Gandhi's prime
ministership, when "the security of India" was declared as being "threatened by external
aggression". The phrase Emergency period used loosely, when referring to the political history of
India, often refers to the third and the most controversial of the three occasions.
The President can declare three types of emergencies — national, state and financial emergency.1
National emergency under Article 352

National emergency can be declared on the basis of external aggression or armed rebellion in the
whole of India or a part of its territory under Article 352. Such an emergency was declared in India in
1962 (China war), 1971 (Pakistan war), and 1975 (declared by Indira Gandhi). The President can
declare such an emergency only on the basis of a written request by the Cabinet headed by
the Prime Minister. Such a proclamation must be laid before both houses of Parliament, and the
state of emergency expires after one month unless approved within that time by both houses sitting
and voting separately. However, if the Lok Sabha (the lower house) has been dissolved or
dissolution takes place in the state of emergency, and the Rajya Sabha approves of the state of
emergency, the deadline for the Lok Sabha is extended until thirty days after that house
reconstituted. According to Article 352(6) approval by either house requires a special majority: those
in favour of the motion must be two thirds of those present and voting, and amount to a majority of
the entire membership of that house. A Parliamentary resolution extends the state of emergency for
up to six months, and it can be extended indefinitely by further resolutions in six-monthly increments.
During a national emergency, many Fundamental Rights of Indian citizens can be suspended. The
six freedoms under Right to Freedom are automatically suspended. By contrast, the Right to Life
and Personal Liberty cannot be suspended according to the original Constitution. In January 1977,
1
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during the emergency declared controversially by Indira Gandhi, the government decided to suspend
even the Right to Life and Personal Liberty by dispensing with Habeas corpus. Justice Hans Ra
Khanna defended the Right to Life and asked: "Life is also mentioned in Article 21 and would
Government argument extend to it also?" The Attorney General observed: "Even if life was taken
away illegally, courts are helpless"
A national emergency modifies the federal system of government to a unitary one by granting
Parliament the power to make laws on the 66 subjects of the State List (which contains subjects on
which the state governments can make laws). Also, all state money bills are referred to the
Parliament for its approval.
During an emergency, the term of the Lok Sabha can be successively extended by intervals of up to
one year, but not beyond six months after the state of emergency has been revoked.2
State emergency under Article 356

A state of emergency can be declared in any state of India (except Jammu and Kashmir) under
article 356 on the recommendation of the governor of the state. Every state in India except two
states, Chhattisgarh and Telangana has been under a state of emergency at some point of time or
the other. The state of emergency is commonly known as 'President's Rule.
If the President is satisfied, based on the report of the Governor of the concerned state or from other
sources, that the governance in a state cannot be carried out according to the provisions in the
Constitution, he may declare an emergency in the state. Such an emergency must be approved by
the Parliament within a period of two months.
It is imposed for an initial period of six months and can last for a maximum period of three years with
repeated parliamentary approval every six months. The 42nd amendment act of 1976 extended the
initial time duration of state emergency from 6 months to 1 year. Subsequently, 44th CAA 1978
restored the 1-year period back to 6 months. Originally, the maximum period of operation of state
emergency was 3 years. This 3-year period was divided into 1 year of ordinary period and 2 years of
extra ordinary period for which certain conditions are to be fulfilled. Therefore, from now on after
every 1 year Parliament needs to approve the same. If the emergency has to be extended for more
than three years, it can only be done by a constitutional amendment, as has happened
in Punjab and Jammu and Kashmir.
During such an emergency, the President can take over the entire work of the executive, and the
Governor administers the state in the name of the President. The Legislative Assembly can be
dissolved or may remain in suspended animation. The Parliament makes laws on the 66 subjects of
the state list (see National emergency for explanation). All money bills have to be referred to the
Parliament for approval. In this occasion ministers of state legislature do not perform actions in
state3.
2
www.legalservicesindia.com/.../Three-types-of-emergencies-under-the-Indian-Constit . [ 07:55 pm, 20/03/19]
3
https://factly.in/state-presidents-rule-number-times/[ 08:00 pm, 20/03/19]
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Financial emergency under Article 360

If the President is satisfied that there is an economic situation in which the financial stability or credit
of India is threatened, he or she can declare financial emergency. Such an emergency must be
approved by the Parliament within two months. It has never been declared. Such a situation had
arisen but was avoided by putting the gold assets of India as collateral for foreign credit.
In case of a financial emergency, the President can reduce the salaries of all government officials,
including judges of the Supreme Court and High Courts. All money bills passed by the State
legislatures are submitted to the President for his approval. He can direct the state to observe
certain principles (economy measures) relating to financial matters; but fundamental rights cannot be
suspended.4
4
www.advocatekhoj.com/.../constitutionofindia/360.php?...Constitution%20of%20Indi[ 0830 pm 20/03/19]
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RESEARCH METHODOLOGY
Method of Research
The researcher has adopted both a doctrinal and non- doctrinal method of research. The
researcher has made extensive use of the library at the Chanakya National Law University and
also the internet sources.
Sources of Data:
The researcher will be relying on both primary and secondary sources to complete the project.
1. Primary Sources: Reports by reputed organisations.
2. Secondary Sources: Newspapers, journals, books, cases and websites.
Method of Writing
The method of writing followed in the course of this research paper is primarily analytical.
Hypothesis
The researcher tends to hypothesize that emergency of 1975 is a major thing to know and have
brought many changes in the Indian political system and indian democracy and the socio
economic changes that were thrusted upon the natives of India.
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Aims and Objectives
1) The researcher tends to understand the concept of emergency.
2) To understand the changes brought by emergency.
3) To contemplate whether the emergency was justified or not
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DESCRIBING THE CONDITIONS THAT LED TO EMERGENCY
Never in the history of independent India have we faced such a constitutional crisis as during the
21 month period in 1975-1977, when a state of emergency was declared across the country. It was
officially issued by President Fakhruddin Ali Ahmed on the recommendation of Prime Minister
Indira Gandhi. It was done under Article 352 of the Indian Constitution because of ‘internal
disturbance’. The Emergency, as the period is commonly known in India, lasted from 25 June 1975
until its withdrawal on 21 March 1977.
Years preceding the emergency
The social and economic condition of the country was in bad shape during 1972-1975. Although
the win over Pakistan in the war brought much praise for Indira Gandhi from the common man,
the war and the eight million refugees from Bangladesh had put a heavy strain on our economy.
After the war the U.S government stopped all aid to India and the oil prices also increased
manifold in the international market. This led to a general increase in prices of commodities
(23% in 1973 and 30% in 1974). Such a persistently high level of inflation was causing great
distress to the people. Moreover, industrial growth was low and unemployment was high. The
government’s move to freeze the salaries of its employees to reduce its spending further led to
resentment amongst the government employees. Monsoons failed in 1972-1973, resulting in the
food grain output declining by 8%. There was a general atmosphere of dissatisfaction with the
prevailing economic situation all over the country.5
Protests in Northern India
The protests in Gujarat and Bihar, led by students, played a pivotal role in galvanising a
nationwide opinion against Congress and the Prime Minister. In January 1974 students in Gujarat
started protesting against rising prices of food grains and other essential commodities and
corruption in the state government. The protests became widespread with major opposition
parties (including Moraji Desai, a prominent political leader and a rival of Indira Gandhi when
he was in the Congress) joining it, leading to the imposition of President’s rule in the state.
Demands for fresh elections became intense. Subsequently, elections were held in Gujarat in
5
https://indianexpress.com › Research [0900 pm 20/03/19[
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June 1975, which the Congress lost.
Students in Bihar came together in march 1974 to protest against rising prices, food scarcity,
unemployment and corruption. As the movement gained strength, they invited Jayaprakash
Narayan (JP), who had given up active politics and was involved in social work, to lead it. He
accepted it and took the movement to the national level.
Jayaprakash Narayan demanded the dismissal of the Congress government in Bihar and gave a call
for total revolution in the social, economic and political spheres of the society. The movement
gained momentum with a series of strikes and protests. The government, however, refused to
resign.
Jayaprakash led a massive political rally in Delhi’s Ramlila grounds on 25 June 1975, where he
announced a nationwide Satyagraha for Indira Gandhi’s resignation and asked the army, police
and government employees not to obey ‘illegal and immoral orders’. The government perceived
this as an incitement and felt that it would bring all government machinery to a standstill.
Alongside the agitation led by Jayaprakash Narayan, the employees of the Railways gave a call
for a nationwide strike, led by George Fernandez.6
Disqualification of Indira Gandhi as an MP

In the 1971 Parliamentary elections, Indira Gandhi defeated Raj Narain from the Rae Bareli
constituency. Subsequently, Raj Narain filed a petition In the Allahabad High Court accusing
Indira Gandhi of electoral malpractices, bribing voters and misuse of government machinery.
Indira Gandhi was also cross-examined in the High Court which was the first such instance for
an Indian Prime Minister. On 12 June 1975, Justice Jagmohanlal Sinha found the prime minister
6
https://www.livemint.com/Politics/.../70-years-in-Indian-politics-and-policy.html[ 0900 pm 20/03/19]
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guilty of misuse of government machinery during her election campaign and declared her
election null and void and also barred her from contesting any election for the next six years. The
court, however, gave the Congress twenty days to make arrangements to replace Indira as the
PM. A leading newspaper described it as ‘firing the Prime Minister for a traffic ticket’.
Indira Gandhi challenged this verdict in the Supreme Court. On June 24, the Supreme Court
granted her a partial stay on the High Court order – till her appeal was decided, she could remain
an MP but could not take part in the proceedings of the Lok Sabha.7
Proclamation of Emergency
The government responded to the massive strike on June 25, 1975 by declaring a state of
emergency that night itself, saying that there was a threat of internal disturbances and that a
grave crisis had arisen which made the proclamation necessary. PM Indira Gandhi recommended
to the President to proclaim a state of emergency, and he did so immediately. After midnight, the
electricity to all the major newspaper offices was disconnected, and was restored only two to
three days later after the censorship apparatus had been set up. Early morning, on 26, a large
number of opposition leaders and workers were arrested. The Union Cabinet was only informed
about it at a special meeting at 6 a.m, after all this was over.8
Political and civic unrest

During 1973–75, political unrest against the Indira Gandhi government increased across the country. This
led some Congress party leaders to demand a move towards a presidential system emergency declaration
with a more powerful directly elected executive. The most significant of the initial such movement was the
Nav Nirman movement in Gujarat, between December 1973 and March 1974. Student unrest against the
state's education minister ultimately forced the central government to dissolve the state legislature, leading
to the resignation of the chief minister, Chimanbhai Patel, and the imposition of President's rule. After the
re-elections in June 1977, Gandhi's party was defeated by the Janata alliance, formed by parties opposed to
the ruling Congress party. Meanwhile there were assassination attempts on public leaders as well as the
assassination of
7
https://www.hindustantimes.com/...indira-gandhi...emergency/story-uaDsy0j3B0vSdiP. [0925 pm 20/03/19]
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www.advocatekhoj.com/library/.../352.php?...Proclamation%20of%20Emergency [09:37 pm 20/03/19}
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the railway minister L. N.Mishra by a bomb. All of these indicated a growing law and order problem in the
entire country, which Mrs. Gandhi's advisors warned her of for months.
In March–April 1974, a student agitation by the Bihar Chatra Sangharsh Samiti received the support
of Gandhian socialist Jayaprakash Narayan, referred to as JP, against the Bihar government. In April 1974,
in Patna, JP called for "total revolution," asking students, peasants, and labour unions to non-violently
transform Indian society. He also demanded the dissolution of the state government, but this was not
accepted by Centre. A month later, the railway-employees union, the largest union in the country, went on
a nationwide railways strike. This strike was brutally suppressed by the Indira Gandhi government, which
arrested thousands of employees and drove their families out of their quarters
Raj Narain verdict

Raj Narain, who had been defeated in the 1971 parliamentary election by Indira Gandhi, lodged
cases of election fraud and use of state machinery for election purposes against her in
the Allahabad High Court. Shanti Bhushan fought the case for Narain. Indira Gandhi was also
cross-examined in the High Court which was the first such instance for an Indian Prime Minister.
On 12 June 1975, Justice Jagmohanlal Sinha of the Allahabad High Court found the prime
minister 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. The
court also banned her from contesting any election for an additional six years. Serious charges
such as bribing voters and election malpractices were dropped and she was held responsible for
misusing government machinery, and found guilty on charges such as using the state police to
build a dais, availing herself of the services of a government officer, Yashpal Kapoor, during the
elections before he had resigned from his position, and use of electricity from the state electricity
department.9
Because the court unseated her on comparatively frivolous charges, while she was acquitted on
more serious charges, The Times described it as "firing the Prime Minister for a traffic ticket".
9 https://lawmintindiragandhivsrajnarain[ 09:45 pm 21/03/19]
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]
Her supporters organized mass pro-Indira demonstrations in the streets of Delhi close to the
Prime Minister's residence.The persistent efforts of Narain were praised worldwide as it took
over four years for Justice Sinha to pass judgement against the prime minister.10
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. JP Narayan and Morarji
Desai called for daily anti-government protests. The next day, JP organised a large rally in Delhi,
where he said that a police officer must reject the orders of government if the order is immoral
and unethical as this was Mahatma Gandhi's motto during the freedom struggle. Such a statement
was taken as a sign of inciting rebellion in the country. Later that day, Indira Gandhi requested a
compliant President Fakhruddin Ali Ahmed to issue a proclamation of a state of emergency.
Within three hours, the electricity to all major newspapers was cut and the political opposition
arrested. The proposal was sent without discussion with the Union Cabinet, who only learnt of it
and ratified it the next morning.11
10
https://advocatekhojrajnarain[ 09:50 pm 20/03/19]
11
https://lawtimesjournal.in › Case Summary[ 09:50pm 20/03/19]
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ECONOMIC CONDITIONS DURING 1975 EMERGENCY

The years 1971 and 1972 were high points in the political career of Smt. Indira Gandhi. She challenged
the senior leaders of her own party and a grand alliance of opposition party. She won convincingly the
1971 General Elections. She was the key centre of political power for the next five years. There was no
challenge to her within her own party. The year 1971 also witnessed a civil revolt in East Pakistan where
in a General Election the Awami League led by Sheikh Mujibur Rahman had won a clear majority in the
Pakistan Parliament. Zulfikar Ali Bhutto’s party had lesser number of seats than the Awami League.
How could Pakistan allow its Government to be dominated by East Pakistan? It refused to accept the
mandate leading to revolt in East Pakistan. It snowballed into a major crisis with the Mukti Bahini battling
the Pakistani army. Ultimately a war with India started on 3rd December, 1971. By 16th December the
Indian forces had taken control of East Pakistan and made substantial headway in West Pakistan. The
Pakistani forces in East Pakistan surrendered to India and were taken as Prisoners of War. For India and
Mrs. Indira Gandhi the break-up of Pakistan was a major political development which led to the creation
of a new nation – Bangladesh.12
Mismanagement of the Economy, Slogans vs Policy
The stage was now set for Mrs. Indira Gandhi to rule India, deliver to it the promise of “Garibi Hatao”
and bring substantial economic growth in India. At this point her popularity was very high. During the
decades 60s and 70s, the average growth rate of GDP had only been 3.5%. Most countries in the world
were now trying to get out of a regulated economy which was proving to be counter-productive. Even
Communist nations were either on the brink of break up or rejecting state regulation. By keeping one
party rule intact, China decided to move ahead with the liberalized economy.13 The tragedy of Mrs. Indira
Gandhi politics was she preferred the popular slogans over sound and sustainable policies. The
Government with a huge electoral mandate at the Centre and the States, continued in the same economic
directions which she had experimented in the late 1960’s. She believed that India’s slow growth was on
12
https://www.indianfolk.com/economy-emergency-edited/ [ 09:45 pm 22/03/19]
13 https://countercurrents.org/.../economic-emergency-in-india-and-what-does-that-mean. [ 10:00 pm 22/03/19]
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account of smuggling and economic offences. She enacted a Preventive Detention Law COFEPOSA to
deal with smuggling. She believed that confiscation of smugglers’ assets could bring to India a large
resource and hence SAFEMA was enacted. She believed that large enterprises with economies of scale
had to be stopped and MRTP Act was made more stringent. She believed that land regulations in terms
of size, ownership must also apply to urban areas and hence the Urban Land Ceiling Law was enacted.
This led to residential construction and apartments’ development not taking off as large chunks of urban
land got frozen. Only State development authorities were allowed to develop land. She believed that
outsourcing of business was harmful and the Contract Labour Abolition Act was brought in. She
nationalized insurance and coal mine business.
She botched up the nationalization of wheat trade (subsequently reversed) to tackle the unmanageable
inflation. It led to greater inflation. This led to social and trade union unrest where large number of man-
days were lost. The first oil shock had already had an adverse impact. Due to its tilt towards Pakistan, the
United States suspended a lot of aid to India. Inflation in 1974 touched a staggering 20.2 percent and
reached 25.2 percent in 1975. Labour laws were made more stringent and these led to a near economic
collapse. There was large scale unemployment and the unprecedented price rise. Investment in the
economy had taken a back seat. To make matters worse FERA was enacted. The Foreign Exchange
resources in 1975 and 1976 were a mere 1.3 billion dollars.
On 28th February 1974 Shri Y.B. Chavan, the Finance Minister presented the Budget in which he said
“as the House is aware the Government has been deeply concerned about the acute inflationary pressure
that has prevailed in the economy during the last two years, it is a matter of deep regret that despite these
measures, prices continue to rise, the steep fall of 9.5% in agricultural output in 1972-73 was bound to
upset the balance in demand and supply, the available indications suggest that there was hardly any
increase in the rate of growth of industrial production in 1972”.14
In the Budget Speech of 1975-76, Finance Minister C. Subramaniam echoed similar words “inflation
has been spreading and its devastating impact across national boundaries continue to impose on
developing countries such as India burdens and hardships which we have been ill-equipped to
withstand. The impact on the living standard of our people and on the pattern of real incomes within the
country has been serious enough”.
The Loss of Political Goodwill
14
https://www.indianfolk.com/economy-emergency-edited/ [10:15 pm 22/03/19]
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Emergency refers to a period from 25 June 1975 to 21 march 1977 when the then PM Indira
Gandhi had a state of emergency declared across the country. The order gave the Prime Minister
the right to rule by decree, the elections were suspended and various human rights were violated.
It is often referred to as the darkest period in the history of independent India. The most
important event that happened in the run-up to the emergency was the Indo- Pakistan war of
1971. This war buckled the already weak Indian economy because of the huge number of
causalities and expenditure involved. During this war, the economy was under immense pressure
as the lesser resources it had to provide for not only the Indians but also for the large number of
refugees from Bangladesh and Pakistan who were taking shelter in India to escape violence in
their native lands.15
While the country’s economic state was recovering from the aftermaths of the war, the
international oil crisis which happened due to the Arab-Israel war of 1973 further weakened it.
India’s heavy dependence on oil made the balance of payment account cripple due to the oil
shock and it resulted in a high rate of inflation of about 35 percent in 1974. This high rate of
inflation gave rise to the JP movement which was one of the most important causes behind the
imposition of the emergency. Apart from these international events, there were certain radical
economic policy decisions taken by the then Prime Minister Indira Gandhi which also affected
the Indian economy. 16
These policies included the nationalization of banks and insurance companies and the
introduction of the Monopolies and Restrictive Trade Practices Act to keep a close eye on the
working of the businesses. Such laws along with the numerous labor strikes throughout the
country which wasted valuable production time meant that the domestic production went down
and this further scaled up the inflation in the economy so much so that the country had to seek
IMF’s financial aid to stabilize the current account deficit.17
15 https://www.indianfolk.com/economy-emergency-edited/ [ 10:30 pm 22/03/19]

16 https://m.economictimes.com › News › Politics and Nation 10: 45pm 22/03/19
17 [ 11:00 pm 22/03/19] https://www.businesstoday.in/.../economy.../arun-jaitley...opposition.../324178.html
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Now talking about the economic situation during emergency, keeping aside the fact that the
democratic structure of the country was falling apart, the Indian economy actually improved
during the emergency. The focus of country’s economic policy was pro-business and the increase
in productivity due to higher capital investment led the economy to grow at a rate of 5.5 percent
after 1975. In 1975-76 the country’s agricultural output increased manifold. Industries such as
basic metals, mining, quarrying and electricity saw an immense growth during these two years.
Loss in productive man-days was reduced from 20 million in 1973 to just 4 million in 1975. The
inflation rate fell from double digits and became negative in 1975 and about 2.1 percent in 1976.
Exports of the country increased during the two years and imports decreased. This stabilized the
huge balance of payment deficit that was hampering the growth of the Indian economy. Finally,
the economic transformations during the emergency were the most important events in the run up
to the economic reforms introduced in India in 1991. The only domain where the economy seem
badly hit by the emergency was investment and consumer demand as the private final
consumption expenditure and the gross fixed capital formation both fell sharply during this
period.18
The emergency was the darkest period which actually showed the fragility of India’s democratic
ideals. It showed that India is actually susceptible to slipping into an authoritative state of
governance at the hands of popular leaders with majority votes. The period was marked with good
economic growth and the other indicators which showed the stability of the economy were positive.
But still, the emergency saw the suspension of basic civil liberties of every individual. It was a
period wherein the importance of the judiciary and other democratic institutions was undermined
and the constitution became merely a puppet at the hands of the leaders who could easily modify
it as per their whims and fancies. The fourth pillar of the Indian societal structure i.e. the media
was shaken as the freedom of expression was curbed. It was truly a disastrous period in the Indian
history that must not be repeated, except under inevitable circumstances. 19
18
11:45 pm 22/03 19]https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/topic/Arun-Jaitley
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[ 11:30 pm 22/03/19] https://www.business-standard.com › Current Affairs › New
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While the Emergency of 1975-77 was a great blow to India in political terms, it was a period of significant
economic growth. From agricultural output, industrial production, and inflation to the number of workdays
lost to strikes and labour unrest, all major economic indicators were positive for the Indian economy.
The Economic Surveys of those years show that agricultural production in 1975 and 1976 zoomed on the
back of a bountiful monsoon in 1975 and adequate rainfall in 1976. The country produced 48.7 million
tonnes of rice in 1975 and 42.8 million tonnes in 1976, against an average of 41.5 million tonnes in the
previous five years. Wheat and pulses production grew around 20 per cent and 30 per cent, respectively, in
1975 and 1976. The Index of Industrial Production (IIP) grew 6.1 per cent in 1975 and 10.4 per cent in 1976
over their previous year’s levels, with basic metals, mining and quarrying, and electricity seeing the most
growth over the two years.
Due to various steps taken by the Indira Gandhi government in 1974, when inflation was in the high double-
digits, wholesale price inflation fell precipitously to -1.1 per cent in 1975 and 2.1 per cent in 1976. Food
inflation was well into negative territory—at -4.9 per cent and -5.1 per cent for those two years. It was at a
dizzying 38 per cent in 1974.
Exports rose from a value of Rs. 3,328.8 crore in 1974 to Rs. 4,042.8 crore in 1975 and Rs. 5,143.4 crore in
1976. Imports, on the other hand, stabilised and then even decreased. From 53 per cent in 1974, import
growth slowed to 16.5 per cent in 1975 and 3.6 per cent in 1976. As far as labour unrest is concerned, the
number of workdays lost to strikes fell precipitously, from 40.3 million workdays lost in 1974 to 21.9 million
workdays in 1975 and just 12.8 million in 1976. Overall, the number of riots fell drastically in those two
years, only to rise again in 1977.
Looking at the government’s expenditure during that time, the budget deficit widened during the Emergency.
Gross fixed capital formation grew at 9.7 per cent and 12.6 per cent in 1975 and 1976, respectively,
following years of poor growth.20
20
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Article 352 another proclamation under Article 359 was issued suspending the fundamental rights under
Articles 14, 19, 21 and 22 of the Constitution. Every Indian was now devoid of this fundamental right. It
was a phoney emergency on account of proclaimed policy that Indira Gandhi was indispensable to India
and all contrarian voices had to be crushed. The constitutional provisions were used to turn democracy
into a constitutional dictatorship.21
he opposition and political rivals were sitting on the government’s head as after the India-Pakistan war in 1971
crippled the economy partially.
Along with this, many other issues like loss of man-days was around 20 million due to constant strikes by labor
union.
Our economy was in a terrible situation and with Indira Gandhi’s intention to sustain power out of the blue, the
in-famous Emergency was declared in the country.
Media severely criticized the move with Indian Express and Financial Express taking the lead on the curb of free
press.22
The government instigated fear in the minds of the people, which resulted in
1. 80% attendance at all universities and no reports of closure of classes due to poor attendance
2. Loss in man-days was drastically reduced to 4 million in 1975 from 20 million in 1973 and reduced to
1.9 million in 1976
3. Industrial Production in 1976 grew from 2.2% to 10.1% with industries producing scooters, electricity,
aluminium, etc… took the lead
4. Negative growth rate of production of Consumer goods was increased from -4.5% to 3% in 1976
5. Foreign investments were encouraged upto 74% in some sectors
6. Small-scale industries which sustained experienced a growth rate of 17% in 1976
7. Coal production and shortage was a major issue in 1973, by 1976 things were in control with India being
the first post-Independence nation to address the coal issue. 23
21
https://www.indianfolk.com/economy-emergency-edited/ [ 12: 00 am 23/03/19]
22
https://www.indiatoday.in › India 12:05 am 22/03/19
23
https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/0305750X77900365 [ 12: 10 am 23/03 19]
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1. The Reserve Bank of India had admitted the rise in inventory by 28% and finished goods inventory rose
by 35% leading to profits increase upto 30% in many industries[2]
2. Machines were used at maximum capacity and India was trying to improve its exports as compared to
the previous data
3. Inflation reduced to -6.58% in 1975 and 0% in 1976, the first time in Indian history
4. United States and France were interested and keen in resuming talks for foreign investments seeing the
change in the economy after the Emergency was imposed.
In short, our economy was terrible in the early 70s, was stabilized a bit in the between but messed up in
the late 70s all due to poor governance and policy implementations.
Few Charts which would speak for itself
India’s production rate in various sectors from 1971 till 1976
Historical Inflation of India — keenly observe the time frame between 1973–77
Emergency was a bad exercise, one of the most darkest periods in India as it curbed various freedoms granted by
the constitution to the citizens of India, on an economic front, things just pushed the liberalization till 1991 else
India and China would have liberated their economies together in 1971
The rain god also did not help out Indira Gandhi. Monsoon failed in succession in 1972 and 1973.
Most parts of the country faced droughts. Massive shortage of foodgrains was reported from all
regions pushing the prices up. India was still importing foodgrains for sustenance. The war had eaten
up a large chunk of foreign exchange reserve, which depleted further with rising cost of foodgrain
import.
24
https://www.business-standard.com › News-IANS › Business-Economy [ 12:30 am 23/03/19]
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Failed monsoon and fall in agriculture production also led to drop in power generation and
very low demand for manufactured goods. Industrial production went down. Lay-offs were
too frequent and too many in all industrial centres. This led to sharp spike in
unemployment.
Rising unemployment and low income reflected in poor healthcare and school enrolment.
One estimate suggests that there were more illiterate in India in 1975 than they are in 1947
at the time of Independence.
International developments too damaged India's economy in pre-Emergency days. West
Asia was in turmoil and 1973 oil shock drained foreign exchange reserves of India further
as the crude oil prices jumped four times from USD 3 per barrel to USD 12 per barrel
within days. Though petrol and diesel prices were under the government control, the prices
of petroleum products and fertilisers increased sharply.
Rising prices were bogging Indira Gandhi government down in public eyes. Inflation was
22 per cent in 1972-73, over 20 per cent in 1974 and over 25 percent in 1975. It affected
all. Writing in his blog, Union Finance Minister Arun Jaitley referred to two finance
ministers of Indira Gandhi government showing helplessness about rising prices.25
Presenting Budget on February 28, 1974, YB Chavan said that "prices continue to rise"
while there was "steep fall of 9.5 per cent in agricultural output" and "there was hardly any
increase in the rate of growth of industrial production in 1972".
A year later, the then Finance Minister C Subramaniam said in his Budget speech:
"Inflation has been spreading and its devastating impact on the living standard of our
people and on the pattern of real incomes within the country has been serious enough.
"
25
https://www.indianfolk.com/economy-emergency-edited/ [ 01: 00 am 23/0319]
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Farmers, labourers and daily wage workers were the worst hit by rising prices and loss of
employment on the eve of imposition of Emergency. But the government had responded
with more regulations to control market and industries. The measures practically brought
investment to a halt and further loss of jobs.
Under these circumstances, trade union leader George Fernandes led nationwide 22-day
transport strike. This brought "starvation" to cities as supply of essential commodities
stopped. Pura ration pura kaam, nahin to hoga chakka jam (Ensure full ration and
employment else we will bring the nation to standstill) was the slogan of the protesters.
Food riots were witnessed in many parts of the country
Then there was taint of corruption on the Gandhi family. Sanjay Gandhi was given licence
to manufacture 50,000 Maruti cars a year at a time when the masses battled economic
recession, unemployment acute food scarcity and corruption at every level of government.
This only enforced the campaign launched by JP and Morarji Desai that removal of Indira
Gandhi was the only solution for deliverance of the people from hunger, poverty and
unemployment.
JP and Desai gave a call for "rebellion" against Indira Gandhi government from Ramlila
Maidan in New Delhi on June 25. By the late night Indira Gandhi was at President
Fakhruddin Ali Ahmed's doorstep with an Ordinance for She made the announcement
herself past midnight on All India Radio in a special broadcast.26
26
https://scroll.in › India › Emergency Anniversary
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SOCIAL IMPACT OF 1975 EMERGENCY
: That the 21-month-long Emergency imposed 40 years ago to the day changed the
political landscape of the country is well known. Less known is the impact it had on the
social and economic fabric of the country—both positive and negative.
27
Figure 1
27
https://www.livemint.com/Home.../The-socioeconomic-fallout-of-the-Emergency.html [ 01:35 am 23/03/19]
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28
Figure 2
28
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Figure 3
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29
Figure 4
29
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30
Figure 5
30
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FORCED ARRESTS
June 26—Dozens of opposition political leaders, including the widely respected Jaya Prakash
Narayan and former Deputy Prime Minister Morarji R. Desai, were reported arrested early today
in a severe crackdown against critics of Prime Minister Indira Gandhi. The police would only
confirm that at least 10 had been arrested.
The President of India declared a state of emergency shortly after dawn in what the Government‐
controlled All‐India Radio called “the threat of internal disturbances.” Mrs. Gandhi said in an 8
A.M. broadcast that firm action was demanded to protect India's integrity.
The President, Fakhruddin Ali Ahmed, said his action was necessary because of “internal
circumstances.” The President, who has nominal political powers, customarily acts only on the
recommendation of the Prime Minister.31
Mounting Opposition
Mrs. Gandhi has been facing mounting opposition criticism —and the prospect of mass protest—
from her opponents because of her entanglement with the Indian court system after a local court
found her guilty of electoral corruption earlier this month.
[Reuters reported that the Indian Government had anflounced total press censorship. An
Information Ministry spokesman said all news items would have to be submitted to the
Government before publication. He did not elaborate but said rules were being framed and that the
press would be informed on them shortly.]
A spokesman at police headquarters here said those being held had been arrested under the
Maintenance of Internal Security Act, which gives the Government sweeping powers of arrest and
detention.
31
https://www.scoopwhoop.com/news/faces-of-emergency-1975 [ 02: am 23/03/19]
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Socialist Reported Held
Unconfirmed reports indicated that as many as 100 persons might have been arrested in the
roundup before dawn.
The Press Trust of India reported that those picked up also included Piloo Mody leader of the right‐
wing Swatantra party, Chandra Shekhar. member of the governing Congress party and Rani Dhan,
also a member of Mrs. Ghandi's party.32
Earlier, the Press Trust, an independent news agency, said the police had arrested K. R. Malkani,
editor of Motherland, paper published by the conservative Jan Sangh party.
The Press Trust, quoting an official source in Chandigarh, the capital of the northern state of
Punjab, reported that more than 35 opposition leaders, mostly members of the Jan Sangh and the
Socialist party, had been arrested by the Punjab state police under the provisions of the security
act. The report was the first indicating extensive arrests in the provinces as well as in the capital.
Mr. Desai is a leader of the old Congress party, which broke away from Mrs. Gandhi's party.
The agency also reported that an official of the opposition Socialist party, Samar Ghua, had also
been arrested.
It said that warrants for the arrest of many other opposition leaders had been issued.
The 72‐year‐old Mr. Narayan was arrested after having made a speech last night in which he called
for widespread civil disobedience against the Gandhi Government. He was awakened in the middle
of the night at the headquarters here of the Gandhi Peace Foundation, an organization named for
the late Mohandas K. Gandhi, who was not related to the Prime Minister.
Reports of other arrests, in a move unprecedented in India's 28‐year history, as an independent

nation, spread through New Delhi as India's political and legal crisis went into its third week.
32
https://www.mtholyoke.edu/~ghosh20p/ [ 02:10 am 23/03/19]
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Technically, a state of emergency, declared in 1971, still is in force in India, but that declaration
of emergency concerned India's security from external aggression.
The presidential declaration today came under the provision of India's legislation relating to
internal disturbances. Mrs. Gandhi went on All‐India Radio, the Government network, at 8 A.M.
speaking first in Hindi, and then in English. She said that India's integrity demanded firm action.
On Tuesday, India's Supreme Court issued an order that stripped Mrs. Gandhi of her right to vote
in Parliament but allowed her to stay on as Prime Minister for the present.
The court order, written by Justice V.R. Krishna Iyer, is valid until the court finishes reviewing
Mrs. Gandhi's appeal of her conviction by a local court earlier this month on charges of electoral
corruption.
Mrs. Gandhi had been convicted by a High Court judge in her home city of Allahabad on the basis
of action brought against her by Raj Narain, who ran against her in 1971. Mr. Narain has also been
arrested, according to the United News pf India.
After Mr. Narain's 1971 defeat, he initiated the legal action, which centered primarily on the charge
that she had illegally used the services of a Government official in her election campaign. To many
Indians, the charge was relatively trivial.33
Cleared of 12 Counts
The Allahabad judge found the Prime Minister guilty on this charge plus the improper use of
Government‐built rostrums. She was found not guilty on 12 other counts.
In his 23‐page order on the Prime Minister's appeal, Judge lyer observed that it “substantially
preserves the position of the petitioner and does not adversely affect her legal status as Prime
Minister.” But he decreed that in addition to losing her vote in Parliament, “she will neither
participate in the proceedings nor draw remuneration in her capacity” as a member of it.
33
https://caravanmagazine.in/.../how-ramnath-goenka-refused-compromise-indian-expre... [ 02;50
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They said in a communiqué Tuesday that Justice Iyer's or der “vindicates the legal posilion that
there is no impediment in the way of Indira Gandhi functioning as Prime Minister.”
Supreme Court review of Mrs. Gandhi's appeal “may well” take two or three months, Judge Iyer
said. The court's 12 other judges are on vacation, but will return July 14. The Chief Justice, A. N.
Ray, is expected to name a panel of five justices to review the original Allahabad decision.
Amid the judicial action, the opposition has been clamoring for the 57‐year‐old Mrs. Gandhi to
resign at once. Leaders of her governing Congress party. however, have insisted that she remain
in office.
In her broadcast. Mrs. Gandhi said that the President's declaration was “nothing to panic about.”
She said she was sure her listeners were conscious of what she called “deep and !widespread
conspiracy” in lindia since she had undertaken la program of measures designed. Ito reduce
disparities in a program of measures for the economic welfare of the nation. She said allegations
against her Government had “surcharged the atmosphere, leading to violent incidents.”34
She said the state of emergency had been proclaimed after the Government learned of the “designs”
of opposition parties, and because there was a threat to internal security.
“It is our paramount duty” she said, “to safeguard the unity and stability of the coun try and the
nation's integrity demands firm action.”
Mrs. Gandhi spoke of what she called attempts to incite the military and the police not to obey
their superiors.
She charged that “certain persons” were inciting them to rebel. “The forces of disintegration are
in full play and communal passions are being aroused,” she said, threatening our unity.”
“Ours is a strong military,” she said, “and it is aware of the national responsibility.”
34
https://www.scoopwhoop.com/Photos-Darkest-Phase-Indian-History-Emergency/ [ 03;00 am 23/03/19]
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There has been no comment from Indian police and army leaders on Mrs. Gandhi's statements, or
on a speech last night by Mr. Narayan in which, according to an unofficial translation of his
remarks in Hindi, he suggested that the police and military should not obey unjust orders.
She said she hoped internal conditions would enable her to dispense with the emergency measure
as soon as possible.
She promised her listeners that the proclamation of the state of emergency would not affect the
lives of law‐abiding Indians.
She also announced that new economic measures would be announced soon.
In the first opposition com ment, Mohan Dharia, a prominent Congress party Member of
Parliament and critic of Mrs. Gandhi, declared today that the democracy that had been constructed
by Mrs. Gandhi's father was being “destroyed” by her through what he called “this monstrous
Operation Arrest.”35
On the other hand, the chief minister of the state of Punjab, Zail Singh, a member of the Congress
party, welcomed the Government's action. “The step will go a long way in strengthening the
solidarity and unity of the country and in enabling the Government to take timely and radical
measures for the economic and social welfare of the masses,” he said.
One of the principal leaders arrested, Mr. Narayan never reached the stature of Mohandas K.
Gandhi or Jawaharlal Nehru, the fathers of Indian independence, but he has been one of his
country's most respected political figures. He has almost always been in opposition to the political
establishment.
A fervent Gandhi disciple, Mr. Narayan is a frail, brooding and enigmatic figure. A generation
ago, when he was being mentioned as a potential prime minister, he veered from politics and
became entranced with Vinoba Bhave, an ascetic who moved around India asking landlords to
give acreage to landless peasants.
35
https://www.thehindu.com › Specials › In-Depth [ 03:35 am 23/03/19]
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Less than two years ago, in response to students who opposed the Government in his home state
of Bihar, Mr. Narayan returned to active politics. He has since become an increasingly vocal critic
of Mrs. Gandhi.
Mr. Narayan was born on Oct. 31, 1902, the son of a peasant. He was determined to educate
himself, however. In 1922 he went to the United States. To support himself while attending
American uni versities, mostly in Iowa and Wisconsin, he worked as a waiter, apple picker and
stockyard laborer.
He returned to India in 1929 to immerse himself in the independence struggle as a close ally of
Mr. Nehru. He moved in and out of British jails.
Initially Mr. Narayan was stanch Marxist, but he broke with the Communists in the nineteen–
forties. After independence he split with Mr. Nehru and formed a Socialist party, which he led
until withdrawing from politics.36
36
https://indianexpress.com › Explained [ 03: 50 am 23/03/9]
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FORCED STERILISATION
The death of 15 women at two state-run sterilisation camps in Chhattisgarh has put a
spotlight on India's dark history of botched sterilisations.
The drive to sterilise began in the 1970s when, encouraged by loans amounting to tens of millions
of dollars from the World Bank, the Swedish International Development Authority and the UN
Population Fund, India embarked on an ambitious population control programme.
During the 1975 Emergency - when civil liberties were suspended - Sanjay Gandhi, son of the
former Prime Minister Indira Gandhi, began what was described by many as a "gruesome
campaign" to sterilise poor men. There were reports of police cordoning off villages and virtually
dragging the men to surgery.
The campaign also made an appearance in Salman Rushdie's novel, Midnight's Children.
An astonishing 6.2 million Indian men were sterilised in just a year, which was "15 times the
number of people sterilised by the Nazis", according to science journalist Mara Hvistendahl. Two
thousand men died from botched operations.37
"India has a dark history of state-sponsored population control, often with eugenic aims - targeting
the poor and underprivileged," Ms Hvistendahl told me. "The women's tragic deaths [in
Chhattisgarh] show that it still happens today."
Since family planning efforts began in the 1970s, India has focused its population control efforts
on women, even though, as scientists say, sterilisations are easier to perform in men. "This may be
because women are deemed less likely to protest," says Ms Hvistendahl.
India carried out nearly 4 million sterilisations during 2013-2014, according to official figures.
Less than 100,000 of these surgeries were done on men. More than 700 deaths were reported due
37
https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-india-30040790 [ 04 ; 00 am 23/03/19]
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to botched surgeries between 2009 and 2012. There were 356 reported cases of complications
arising out of the surgeries.
Though the government has adopted a raft of measures and standards for conducting safe
sterilisations, an unseemly haste to meet high state-mandated quotas has often led to botched
operations and deaths.38
Women have died from forced sterilisations in China where population control was
institutionalised since the 1980s. "But the conditions in Indian sterilisation camps sound worse,"
says Ms Hvistendahl. There have been reports of the appalling quality of tubectomies for many
years now, and authorities still don't seem to realise that it is an important reproductive health
concern. And the shoddy surgeries continue, risking the lives of poor women.
It was no longer a question of whether it would happen. The question now was when it would
happen and how bad it would be. So, like every other night that month in Haryana’s Uttawar
village, on the night of 24 November 1976 too, sleepless villagers huddled in their compounds,
smoking hookahs.
Recalling the events of that fateful night, Mohammad Yaqoob says he was part of a huddle of eight
villagers. All they could do was wait and watch. For over three months preceding that night, senior
administration officials and police officers had taken turns trying to convince villagers to go for
nasbandi (sterilization). Posters extolling family planning were pasted all over the village. They
had slogans that said: “Ek, do, teen bachhe, ghar mein rehte hain achhe; thode ho to achha khaye,
ghanain ho to bhuke chillayein (with 1, 2 or 3 kids, you will have a happy house. Fewer kids means
more food for each. Greater the number, more the hunger).
At 3am, the loudspeakers began blaring, asking every man over the age of 15 to assemble at a
government high school on the main road, a kilometre away from Yaqoob’s house. Their fears
mounted as 73-year-old Yaqoob, then all of 34, and other villagers heard the sound of hooves
approaching. It was the ghoda police (policemen on horses) warning them of the consequences of
not obeying orders.
“They were carrying guns and swords. We had never seen anything like that before," recalls 90-
year-old Fajri, a resident.
38
https://melmagazine.com/.../in-1976-more-than-6-million-men-in-india-were-coerced-.. [ 04 :55 am 23/03/19]
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Close to 12,000 policemen had ringed the village, Yaqoob claims. Though the announcements said
nothing about the intent, villagers were in no doubt—they just didn’t anticipate being lathicharged
and physically abused. And above all, coerced. There were targets to fulfil, they were told.
Sterilization was no longer a choice for the villagers to make. It was mandatory.
According to a story in The Indian Express newspaper on 8 March 1977, “The whole village
(Uttawar) was surrounded by the police. With the menfolk on the road, the police went into the
village to see if anyone was hiding... the men on the road were sorted into eligible cases... and they
were taken from there to clinics to be sterilized".39
Uttawar, bordering Mewat and Palwal districts of Haryana, is a Muslim-majority village. Even
though people of other religions resisted sterilization as well, the opposition was intense among
Muslims who believe god is the razak—the one who provides subsistence—and that birth control
is proscribed. So, the drive was mostly targeted at Muslims. “No matter how many children I have,
it’s my concern how I feed them, not the government’s," says Yaqoob. And while the birth of a
child meant an extra mouth to feed, for people like Yaqoob, it also meant an extra pair of hands to
help the family.
The opposition to sterilization also stemmed from myths associated with the operation—mostly to
do with diminished virility.
Realizing it was no longer a matter of choice, Yaqoob reached the high school. On the way, he saw
police positioned at Eidgah (an open ground for offering Eid prayers), the old bus stand and a shrine
on the hill. In fact, the shrine had a machine gun set up, he recalls. Police entered houses, mixed
rice with wheat and ghee and broke charpoys and pots. “Some even entered the mosque with
shoes," Yaqoob claims.
By around 8.30am, close to 800 people had gathered at the school. They were all herded into buses
like cattle. The buses were taken to Hathin tehsil police station. “Some were arrested on false
charges of possessing arms. Almost 250, including me, were taken to a government hospital and
sterilized," says Yaqoob. “Everyone had a number. We were taken in a line—one after the other...
number-wise."
39
https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-india-30040790 [ 04 ; 00 am 23/03/19]
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Yaqoob had four children at that point—two boys and two girls. “Some who were sterilized had
no children or had only daughters," he says. The villagers claim around 20 people died after being
sterilized.
There are no official numbers on how many were forced into sterilization, and how many were
convinced, but as per Marika Vicziany’s book Coercion In A Soft State: The Family Planning
Program of India, “between 25 June 1975, and March 1977, about 11 million men and women
were sterilized and 1 million women had intra-uterine devices (IUDs) inserted".
India became the first country in the world to launch a family planning programme to check
population growth in 1951. By the early 1960s, it used a more “target-oriented" approach, with a
massive effort to promote the use of IUDs and condoms. But it was only in 1975 that the Congress
government, helmed by Indira Gandhi, and under the stewardship of her son Sanjay Gandhi, moved
to the more forceful “camp approach" to promote sterilization.
According to Vinod Mehta’s book The Sanjay Story, “Even before 25 June 1975, Mrs Gandhi was
under pressure from major western industrial democracies, speaking through the International
Monetary Fund and the World Bank and the Aid India Consortium, to impart a sense of urgency
and realism to the family planning programme in India". The book says the West had been
advocating a crash sterilization-based family planning programme—“crash because, according to
them, valuable time had been squandered since 1947".
Between 1972 and 1980, the World Bank doled out $66 million in loans to the country for the
express purpose of population control, according to Mara Hvistendahl in her book Unnatural
Selection: Choosing Boys Over Girls And The Consequences Of A World Full Of Men.
The job of execution was handed over to Sanjay Gandhi. After the Emergency was imposed, the
West began hardselling the sterilization programme—and Indira Gandhi was persuaded to
incorporate sterilization into her Emergency package.40
Before launching it nationwide, the plan was first piloted in Delhi. The responsibility was given to
Delhi’s lieutenant governor Krishan Chand, Navin Chawla (Chand’s secretary), Vidyaben Shah
(president of the New Delhi Municipal Council) and Rukhsana Sultana, a boutique owner.
From the steps of the Jama Masjid, Rukhsana with Vidyaben propagated the benefits of
vasectomies and tubectomies. Sterilization camps were set up. People were handed over ₹ 75, a
40
https://www.livemint.com/Politics/.../When-sterlization-wasnt-a-matter-of-choice.htm [ 04 :20 am 23/03/19]
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week off from work, a tin of ghee and, in some cases, cycles. “Sweepers, rickshaw pullers,
labourers—mostly immigrants—were rounded off and forced to get sterilized," recalls 73-year-
old Abdus Sattar, an old Delhi resident.
Chand, in April 1976, sent a circular to all government offices, schools, colleges, departmental
heads of the Delhi administration, civic bodies and public sector undertakings. All those having
more than two children would have to get sterilized. “Teachers and government employees were
given targets—if you get a certain number of people sterilized, you will get ₹ 50-100," says 75-
year-old Saleem Hussain Siddiqui, another old Delhi resident.
Processes as basic as renewal of driving licences were stalled if a person did not produce a
sterilization certificate. The same was the case with free medical treatment in hospitals.
Such was the fear of consequences of not being sterilized that some people even took hilarious
measures to prove that they had undergone the procedure or would not produce any more children.
“Some people even faked a talaaqnama (divorce certificate) to say that they aren’t eligible for
nasbandi," says Sattar.41
The sterilization tactics differed from state to state. In Rajasthan, people with more than three
children were banned from holding any government job until they had been sterilized. “In Madhya
Pradesh, irrigation water was withheld from village fields until sterilization quotas were met. In
Uttar Pradesh, teachers were told that they must submit to sterilization or lose a month’s salary.
Health department officials in Uttar Pradesh had their pay withheld until they met their quotas for
sterilization. In Bihar, food rations were denied to families with more than two children. The local
government refused to put in a much-needed village well until 100% of eligible couples underwent
sterilization," according to an article published by Population Research Institute, a US-based non-
profit research group, on 24 June 2014.
41
www.jstor.org/stable/44125646 [ 05; 00 am 23/03/19]
42 https://www.livemint.com/Politics/.../When-sterlization-wasnt-a-matter-of-choice.htm[05: 45 am
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Laws, human rights and election
Elections for the Parliament and state governments were postponed. Gandhi and her parliamentary
majorities could rewrite the nation's laws, since her Congress party had the required mandate to do
so – a two-thirds majority in the Parliament. And when she felt the existing laws were 'too slow',
she got the President to issue 'Ordinances' – a law-making power in times of urgency, invoked
sparingly – completely bypassing the Parliament, allowing her to rule by decree. 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. In the conclusion of his Making
of India's Constitution, Justice Khanna writes:
If the Indian constitution is our heritage bequeathed to us by our founding fathers, no less are we,
the people of India, the trustees and custodians of the values which pulsate within its provisions!
A constitution is not a parchment of paper, it is a way of life and has to be lived up to. Eternal
vigilance is the price of liberty and in the final analysis, its only keepers are the people. Imbecility
of men, history teaches us, always invites the impudence of power
A fallout of the Emergency era was the Supreme Court laid down that, although the Constitution
is amenable to amendments (as abused by Indira Gandhi), changes that tinker with its basic
structure cannot be made by the Parliament. (see Kesavananda Bharati v. State of Kerala)
In the Rajan case, P. Rajan of the Regional Engineering College, Calicut, was arrested by the
police in Kerala on 1 March 1976, tortured in custody until he died and then his body was disposed
of and was never recovered. The facts of this incident came out owing to a habeas corpus suit filed
in the Kerala High Court.42
42
https://www.mtholyoke.edu/~ghosh20p/[10:45 am 24/03/19]
40
SOCIOLOGY OF LAW
Resistance movements
The role of RSS
Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh, which was seen close to opposition leaders, and with its large
organisational base was seen as having the potential of organising protests against the Government,
was also banned. Police clamped down on the organisation and thousands of its workers were
imprisoned. The RSS defied the ban and thousands participated in Satyagraha (peaceful protests)
against the ban and against the curtailment of fundamental rights. Later, when there was no letup,
the volunteers of the RSS formed underground movements for the restoration of democracy.
Literature that was censored in the media was clandestinely published and distributed on a large
scale and funds were collected for the movement. Networks were established between leaders of
different political parties in the jail and outside for the co-ordination of the movement.
The Economist described the movement as "the only non-left revolutionary force in the world". It
said that the movement was "dominated by tens of thousands of RSS cadres, though more and
more young recruits are coming". Talking about its objectives it said "its platform at the moment
has only one plank: to bring democracy back to India".
The claims of RSS leaders have been contested by political scientist Professor DL Sheth saying
that these organisations have never borne the brunt Indira's oppressive regime. The RSS projects
itself as the champion of anti-Emergency struggle but it was in fact, it's only lifeline. In a 2000
Hindu daily article, Dr. Subramanian Swamy had alleged that several Sangh leaders were
hobnobbing with Indira. He added that the Sangh, at the instance of Vajpayee, even went further
to sign a peace accord with Indira Gandhi.43
Sikh opposition
Shortly after the declaration of the Emergency, the Sikh leadership convened meetings in
Amritsar where they resolved to oppose the "fascist tendency of the Congress The first mass
43 https://www.google.com/search?q=rss+movement+during+1975+emergency&rlz=1C1CHBD_enIN836IN836&oq=r
ss+movement+during+1975+emergency&aqs=chrome..69i57.14218j0j7&sourceid=chrome&ie=UTF-8#
[ 11:00 am 24/03/19 ]
41
SOCIOLOGY OF LAW
protest in the country, known as the "Campaign to Save Democracy" was organised by the Akali
Dal and launched in Amritsar, 9 July. A statement to the press recalled the historic Sikh struggle
for freedom under the Mughals, then under the British, and voiced concern that what had been
fought for and achieved was being lost. The police were out in force for the demonstration and
arrested the protestors, including the Shiromani Akali Dal and Shiromani Gurdwara Prabandhak
Committee (SGPC) leaders.
The question before us is not whether Indira Gandhi should continue to be prime minister or not.
The point is whether democracy in this country is to survive or not.
According to Amnesty International, 140,000 people had been arrested without trial during the
twenty months of Gandhi's Emergency. Jasjit Singh Grewal estimates that 40,000 of them came
from India's two percent Sikh minority.44
Elections of 1977[
On 18 January 1977, Gandhi called fresh elections for March and released all political prisoners
though the Emergency officially ended on 23 March 1977. The opposition Janata movement's
campaign warned Indians that the elections might be their last chance to choose between
"democracy and dictatorship."
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. Many
Congress Party loyalists deserted Mrs. Gandhi. 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.
Voters in the electorally largest state of Uttar Pradesh, historically a Congress stronghold, turned
against Gandhi and her party failed to win a single seat in the state. Dhanagare says the structural
44 dailysikhupdates.com/70000-sikhs-became-arrested-save-india-1975-emergency/[ 11:15 am 24/03/19 ]
42
SOCIOLOGY OF LAW
reasons behind the discontent against the Government included the emergence of a strong and
united opposition, disunity and weariness inside Congress, an effective underground opposition,
and the ineffectiveness of Gandhi's control of the mass media, which had lost much credibility.
The structural factors allowed voters to express their grievances, notably their resentment of the
emergency and its authoritarian and repressive policies. One grievance often mentioned as the
'nasbandi' (vasectomy) campaign in rural areas. The middle classes also emphasised the curbing
of freedom throughout the state and India.]Meanwhile, Congress hit an all-time low in West Bengal
because of the poor discipline and factionalism among Congress activists as well as the numerous
defections that weakened the party.] Opponents emphasised the issues of corruption in Congress
and appealed to a deep desire by the voters for fresh leadership.
The efforts of the Janata administration to get government officials and Congress politicians tried
for Emergency-era abuses and crimes were largely unsuccessful due to a disorganised, over-
complex and politically motivated process of litigation. The Thirty-eighth Amendment of the
Constitution of India, put in place shortly after the outset of the Emergency and which among other
things prohibited judicial reviewsof states of emergencies and actions taken during them, also
likely played a role in this lack of success. Although special tribunals were organised and scores
of senior Congress Party and government officials arrested and charged, including Mrs. Gandhi
and Sanjay Gandhi, police were unable to submit sufficient evidence for most cases, and only a
few low-level officials were convicted of any abuses.
The people lost interest in the hearings owing to their continuous fumbling and complex nature,
and the economic and social needs of the country grew more important to them.[ 45
Legacy
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.
45
www.elections.in/parliamentary-constituencies/1977-election-results.html
[11:15 am 24/03/19]
43
SOCIOLOGY OF LAW
A few days later censorship was imposed on newspapers. The Delhi edition of the Indian Express
on 28 June, carried a blank editorial, while the Financial Express reproduced in large type
Rabindranath Tagore's poem "Where the mind is without fear".
However, the Emergency also received support from several sections. It was endorsed by social
reformer Vinoba Bhave (who called it Anushasan parva, a time for discipline), industrialist J. R.
D. Tata, writer Khushwant Singh, and Indira Gandhi's close friend and Orissa Chief Minister
Nandini Satpathy. However, Tata and Satpathy later regretted that they spoke in favour of the
Emergency. Others have argued that Gandhi's Twenty Point Programme increased agricultural
production, manufacturing activity, exports and foreign reserves.[ Communal Hindu– Muslim
riots, which had resurfaced in the 1960s and 1970s, also reduced in intensity.
In the book JP Movement and the Emergency, historian Bipan Chandra wrote, "Sanjay Gandhi and
his cronies like Bansi Lal, Minister of Defence at the time, were keen on postponing elections and
prolonging the emergency by several years ... In October–November 1976, an effort was made to
change the basic civil libertarian structure of the Indian Constitution through the 42nd amendment
to it The most important changes were designed to strengthen the executive at the
cost of the judiciary, and thus disturb the carefully crafted system of Constitutional checks and
balance between the three organs of the government." 46
46
https://www.mtholyoke.edu/~ghosh20p/[24/03/19 11:30 am]
44
SOCIOLOGY OF LAW
IMPACT ON INDIAN CONSTITUTION
When a national emergency is declared on the ground of ‘war’ or ‘external aggression’, it is known as
‘External Emergency’. On the other hand, when it is declared on the ground of ‘armed rebellion’ it is
known as ‘Internal Emergency’.
A proclamation of national emergency may be applicable to the entire country or only a part of it. The
42nd Amendment Act of 1976 enabled the president to limit the operation of a National Emergency to a
specified part of India.
Originally, the Constitution mentioned ‘internal disturbance’ as the third ground for the proclamation of a
National Emergency, but the expression was too vague and had a wider connotation. Hence, the 44th
Amendment Act of 1978 substituted the words ‘armed rebellion’ for ‘internal disturbance’. Thus, it is no
longer possible to declare a National Emergency on the ground of ‘internal disturbance’ as was done in
1975 by the Congress government headed by Indira Gandhi.
The President, however, can proclaim a national emergency only after receiving a written recommendation
from the cabinet3. This means that the emergency can be declared only on the concurrence of the cabinet
and not merely on the advice of the prime minister. In 1975, the then Prime Minister, Indira Gandhi
advised the president to proclaim emergency without consulting her cabinet. The cabinet was informed
of the proclamation after it was made, as a fait accompli. The 44th Amendment Act of 1978
introduced this safeguard to eliminate any possibility of the prime minister alone taking a decision in this
regard.
The 38th Amendment Act of 1975 made the declaration of a National Emergency immune from the judicial
review. But, this provision was subsequently deleted by the 44th Amendment Act of 1978. Further, in the
Minerva Mills case
, (1980), the Supreme Court held that the proclamation of a national emergency
can be challenged in a court on the ground of malafide or that the declaration was based on wholly
extraneous and irrelevant facts or is absurd or perverse.45
SOCIOLOGY OF LAW
The proclamation of Emergency must be approved by both the Houses of Parliament within one month from
the date of its issue. Originally, the period allowed for approval by the Parliament was two months, but was
reduced by the 44th Amendment Act of 1978.
If approved by both the Houses of Parliament, the emergency continues for six months, and can be extended
to an indefinite period with an approval of the Parliament for every six months. This provision for
periodical parliamentary approval was also added by the 44th Amendment Act of 1978. Before that, the
emergency, once approved by the Parliament, could remain in operation as long as the Executive (cabinet)
desired. However, if the dissolution of the Lok Sabha takes place during the period of six months without
approving the further continuance of Emergency, then the proclamation survives until 30 days from the first
sitting of the Lok Sabha after its reconstitution, provided the Rajya Sabha has in the mean-time
approved its continuation.
Every resolution approving the proclamation of emergency or its continuance must be passed by either
House of Parliament by a special majority, that is, (a) a majority of the total membership of that house, and
(b) a majority of not less than two-thirds of the members of that house present and voting. This special
majority provision was introduced by the 44th Amendment Act of 1978. Previously, such resolution could be
passed by a simple majority of the Parliament.
Revocation of Proclamation
A proclamation of emergency may be revoked by the President at any time by a subsequent proclamation
. Such a proclamation does not require the parliamentary approval.
Further, the President must revoke a proclamation if the Lok Sabha passes a resolution disapproving its
continuation. Again, this safeguard was introduced by the 44th Amendment Act of 1978. Before the
amendment, a proclamation could be revoked by the president on his own and the Lok Sabha had no
control in this regard.
The 44th Amendment Act of 1978 also provided that, where one-tenth of the total number of members of
the Lok Sabha give a written notice to the Speaker (or to the president if the House is not in session), a
special sitting of the House should be held within 14 days for the purpose of considering a resolution
disapproving the continuation of the proclamation. 46

SOCIOLOGY OF LAW
Suspension of Fundamental Rights under Article 19 According to Article 358, when a proclamation of national
emergency is made, the six Fundamental Rights under Article 19 are automatically suspended. No separate order
for their suspension is required.
While a proclamation of national emergency is in operation, the state is freed from the restrictions imposed by
Article 19. In other words, the state can make any law or can take any executive action abridging or taking away
the six Fundamental Rights guaranteed by Article 19. Any such law or executive action cannot be challenged on
the ground that they are inconsistent with the six Fundamental Rights guaranteed by Article 19. When the National
Emergency ceases to operate, Article 19 automatically revives and comes into force. Any law made during
Emergency, to the extent of inconsistency with Article 19, ceases to have effect. However, no remedy lies for
anything done during the Emergency even after the Emergency expires. This means that the legislative and executive
actions taken during the emergency cannot be challenged even after the Emergency ceases to operate.
The 44th Amendment Act of 1978 restricted the scope of Article 358 in two ways. Firstly, the six Fundamental
Rights under Article 19 can be suspended only when the National Emergency is declared on the ground of war or
external aggression and not on the ground of armed rebellion. Secondly, only those laws which are related with
the Emergency are protected from being challenged and not other laws. Also, the executive action taken only under
such a law is protected.
Suspension of other Fundamental Rights Article 359 authorises the presi-dent to suspend the right to move any
court for the enforcement of Fundamental Rights during a National Emergency. This means that under Article 359,
the Fundamental Rights as such are not suspended, but only their enforcement. The said rights are theoretically alive
but the right to seek remedy is suspended. The suspension of enforcement relates to only those Fundamental Rights
that are specified in the Presidential Order. Further, the suspension could be for the period during the operation of
emergency or for a shorter period as mentioned in the order, and the suspension order may extend to the whole or
any part of the country. It should be laid before each House of Parliament for approval.
While a Presidential Order is in force, the State can make any law or can take any executive action abridging or
taking away the specified Fundamental Rights. Any such law or executive action cannot be challenged on the ground
that they are inconsistent with the specified Fundamental Rights. When the Order ceases to operate, any law so
made, to the extent of inconsistency with the specified Fundamental Rights, ceases to have effect. But no remedy
lies for anything done during the operation of the order even after the order ceases to operate. This means that the
legislative and executive actions taken during the operation of the Order cannot be challenged even after the Order
expires.
The 44th Amendment Act of 1978 restricted the scope of Article 359 in two ways. Firstly, the President cannot
suspend the right to move the Court for the enforcement47
of fundamental rights guaranteed by Articles 20 to 21. In
SOCIOLOGY OF LAW
other words, the right to protection in respect of conviction for offences (Article 20) and the right to life and
personal liberty (Article 21) remain enforceable even during emergency. Secondly, only those laws which are
related with the emergency are protected from being challenged and not other laws and the executive action taken
only under such a law, is protected.1
48
1
M LAXMIKANT
SOCIOLOGY OF LAW
49
SOCIOLOGY OF LAW
CONCLUSION
On June 12, 1975, Justice Jagmohanlal Sinha of the Allahabad high court
barred Mrs Gandhi as an MP for election malpractices. Sinha had scrapped the PM’s election citing
that UP government officials had helped make the arrangements for her election meetings,
including constructing podiums, arranging loudspeakers and electricity connections—a practice
(as mentioned by Kapoor herself) which was not uncommon, and to which the authorities generally
turned a blind eye.
Sinha also found fault with PM’s OSD handling the election campaign in Rae Bareilly before he
was officially taken off from the prime minister’s secretariat.
Now, imagine a high court judge unseating PM Modi as a member of Parliament

from Varanasi for posing for a selfie with the lotus symbol! But unfortunately
such were the times in the 70s in India (not that it has changed now), justice can be blind. If Mrs
Gandhi was the villain of the Emergency, the trumped up hero was Jayaprakash Narayan. JP was
a convenient tool for anyone who wanted to strike at Mrs Gandhi. Twenty years ago, Abu
Abraham, the man who drew the most celebrated cartoon lampooning the Emergency showing
President Fakhruddin Ali Ahmed signing ordinances lying in his bath tub,
told me that JP’s opinion was the opinion of the last man he met. It was
such woolly thinking that made JP exhort the police and the armed forces
not to obey ‘illegal and unconstitutional orders’ of the government, hastening Mrs
Gandhi’s hand in enforcing the Emergency.
There are, already, many books on the Emergency. Yet Kapoor’s account despite her right-wing
leanings (her husband Virendra Kapoor, a journalist and RSS sympathiser, was imprisoned during
the emergency) offers the reader more to revise and analyse his views. Then there are the subtle
changes and feigns that people and institutions adopted to live another day. Kapoor notes that The
50
SOCIOLOGY OF LAW
National Herald, founded by Jawaharlal Nehru, supported the Emergency throughout, and
cautiously removed the quote ‘Freedom is in peril, defend it with all your might’ from its masthead.
She also notes how Prabhu Chawla (now a senior journalist) an ABVP member and lecturer in a
Delhi University college got his name struck off the wanted list by swearing allegiance to Indira
Gandhi’s and Sanjay’s programmes.
Now it would be difficult to imagine life during the Emergency. Kapoor writes: “The fear of arrest
dangling over so many heads besieged the country. It made people suspect their own neighbours,
their colleagues at work, and often, their own shadows.” But what was the one factor that turned
people against the Emergency regime? “More than mass arrests, denial of civil liberties and
censorship, it was probably Sanjay Gandhi’s brash and ruthless campaigns
(especially the sterilization drive) under his five-point programme that aroused
the hostility of the general populace in north India, and brought about the eventual downfall
of his mother.” Among other
questions that one may ask is how harsh the Emergency was, especially for the political class. JP
was released on parole in November 1975. By March 1976, opposition leaders [Charan Singh, for
example] were out and decided to form a single new party. Biju Patnaik, Charan Singh and Asoka
Mehta, president of the Congress (O) started negotiations with the government at the end of 1976.
Unlike the socialists and three rightist parties, the Jana Sangh, the Swatantra Party and the Congress
(O), the CPI(M) was let off lightly.
CPI was the ally of the government. Despite her political leanings and personal history of the
Emergency, the journalist in Kapoor does let Mrs Gandhi’s views emerge. She quotes from Pupul
Jayakar’s Indira Gandhi: A Biography “To the philosopher Jiddu Krishnamurthy she confessed in
1976, ‘I’m riding the back of a tiger. I do not know how to get off its back.”
Then on to the most crucial question—what made Mrs Gandhi lift the Emergency? Was it the
pressure exerted by the opposition? Kapoor writes: “Holding elections was Mrs Gandhi’s way of
demonstrating to the world and herself that India was indeed still a democracy.” One factor that
probably weighed strongly with Mrs Gandhi was that she was advised by intelligence agencies that
she would get 300 seats in a Parliamentary election. And significantly, Mrs Gandhi, who was said
to be in mortal fear of her son Sanjay, did not take him into confidence in deciding for election.
51
SOCIOLOGY OF LAW
Kapoor writes: “For once, she went by her own instincts and not those of her son’s.” Why
did Mrs Gandhi lose? It was a split verdict. South India voted for Mrs Gandhi’s Emergency (trains
ran on time, petty corruption was down). In north India Sanjay’s sterilization drive (which
was not
happening in south) had given the entire Congress party a bad name.
While judging the Emergency it is important to keep in mind what
followed. The Janata experiment was a joke, leaving people to bring back
Mrs Gandhi to power.
|How it would not be. And I cannot figure out on what basis journalists of a certain persuasion go
on to describe Jagjivan Ram, popularly known as ‘babuji’ “was the single most powerful Congress
leader after Indira Gandhi.” He was the dalit leader who had “forgotten” to file his income tax
returns for 10 years while serving in the Mrs Gandhi’s cabinet. So much for honesty. Turncoats
like him, who nursed life-long ambition to be the prime minister, could not have added credence to
the completely hazy ‘total revolution’ called by JP.
52
SOCIOLOGY OF LAW
BIBLIOGRAPHY
1. Guha, p. 467
2. Jump up to:a b Guha, p. 439
3. Malhotra, p. 141
4. Hellmann-Rajanayagam, Dagmar (2013). "The Pioneers: Durga Amma, The Only Man
In The Cabinet". In Derichs, Claudia; Thompson, Mark R. Dynasties and Female
Political Leaders in Asia: Gender, Power and Pedigree. Retrieved 20 October 2015.
5. Puri, Balraj (1993). "Indian Muslims since Partition,". Economic and Political
Weekly. 28 (40): 2141–2149. JSTOR 4400229.
6. Doshi, Vidhi (9 March 2017). "Indira Jaising: "In India, you can't even dream of equal
justice. Not at all"". The Guardian. The Guardian. Retrieved 7 May 2017.
7. "Justice Sinha, who set aside Indira Gandhi's election, dies at 87". The Indian Express.
22 March 2008. Archived from the original on 9 March 2012. Retrieved 5 July 2009.
8. Kuldip Singh (1995-04-11). "OBITUARY: Morarji Desai". The Independent.
Retrieved 2009-06-27.
9. Katherine Frank (2001). Indira: The Life of Indira Nehru Gandhi. HarperCollins.
pp. 372–373. .
10. "Indian Emergency of 1975-77". Mount Holyoke College. Retrieved 2009-07-05.
11. "The Rise of Indira Gandhi". Library of Congress Country Studies. Retrieved 2009-06-
27.
12. NAYAR, KULDIP (25 June 2000). Yes, Prime MinisterArchived 11 February 2010 at
the Wayback Machine. The Indian Express.
13. Jaitely, Arun (5 November 2007) – "A tale of three Emergencies: real reason always
different", The Indian Express
14. Tarlo, Emma (2001). Unsettling memories : narratives of the emergency in Delhi.
University of California Press. pp. 27–28.. Retrieved 28 June 2016.
15. Today, India. "Arun Jaitley: From Prison to Parliament".
16. Malgonkar, Manohar (1987). The Last Maharani of Gwalior: An Autobiography By
Manohar Malgonkar. pp. 233, 242–244.
17. Austin, Granville (1999). Working a Democratic Constitution - A History of the Indian
Experience. New Delhi: Oxford University Press. p. 32
18. Narasimha Rao, the Best Prime Minister? by Janak Raj Jai - 1996 - Page 101
19. Pratap Bhanu Mehta, "The Rise of Judicial Sovereignty," Journal of Democracy (2007)
pp. 70–83
20. The habeas corpus judgment was overturned by the 44th amendment to the Constitution
21. NCERT Text Book For Political Science on Emergency (p.112)
53
SOCIOLOGY OF LAW
QUESTIONNAIRE
IMPACT OF 1975 EMERGENCY
 Powerful Opposition emerged after the emergency and the Congress was no longer sole
national party of India.
 It gave rise to the Mandal Politics in India under the local parties of Bihar and Uttar
Pradesh.

 The Gandhi Family no longer remained the political powerhouse of India.
POSITIVE CHANGES BROUGHT BY EMERGENCY
None, it was just the PM’s way of trying to right her wrongs but at the end there was nothing
fruitful brought by emergency
WAS IT JUSTIFIED
No,it could not be justified in any shape or form and this is the only reason it is considered
Be the darkest days of Indian democracy.
My maternal grand father

54
SOCIOLOGY OF LAW
QUESTIONNAIRE
IMPACT OF 1975 EMERGENCY

Sterilization:
The most controversial aspects of the Gandhi regime during this period is the forcibly carried out
sterilization programs conducted by Sanjay Gandhi
Countless Indians (read as "COMMON MAN") were forced to undergo family planning operations,
regardless of their wishes.
Justice:
Changes in 42nd Amendment limited the COMMON MAN's access to the Supreme Court
Elections:
State and parliamentary elections were postponed. A "COMMON MAN" cannot elect his ruler. If the say
RG is your leader, we (COMMON MAN) have to nod our head and say Zindabad.
POSITIVE CHANGES BROUGHT BY EMERGENCY

None.
WAS IT JUSTIFIED
No .the hardships that were faced by the people ranging from social life and other things do not add upto the
55
SOCIOLOGY OF LAW

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SOCIO ECONOMIC EFFECTS OF 1975 EMERGENCY

CHANAKYA NATIONAL LAW UNIVERSITY

Submitted to:-Mr. Sangeet Kumar

By: Keshav sharma

Assistant Professor of Sociology of law

Roll No: 2022

1st Year BB.A. L.L.B. (Hons.)

DECLARATION BY THE CANDIDATE

“Socio economic effects of 1975 emergency” submitted at CHANAKYA NATIONAL LAW

fully responsible for the contents of my Project Report.

(Signature of the Candidate)

BBA. L.L.B (Hons) 1st YEAR

Sociology of law, under whose guidance, I structured my project.

it in the present way.

out at every stage of my project.

2. DESCRIBING THE REASONS THAT LED TO EMERGENCY .................................................................................. 10-14

3. ECONOMIC IMPACT ................................................................. 15-23

4. SOCIAL IMPACT.............................................................................................................. 24-28

5. FORCED ARRESTS ..................................................................................................................... 29-34

6. FORCED STERILISATION .................................................................................................................... 35-39

7. LAW AND HUMAN RIGHTS .................................................................................................................................................................. 40

8. RESISTANCE MOVEMENT .................................................................................................................................................................................41-42

10. CONCLUSION ......................................................................................................................................................................................................... 47

11. BIBLIOGRAPHY ....................................................................................................................... 48

A state of emergency in India refers to a period of governance under an

National emergency under Article 352

State emergency under Article 356

Financial emergency under Article 360

also the internet sources.

1. Primary Sources: Reports by reputed organisations.

2. Secondary Sources: Newspapers, journals, books, cases and websites.

economic changes that were thrusted upon the natives of India.

Aims and Objectives

1) The researcher tends to understand the concept of emergency.

2) To understand the changes brought by emergency.

3) To contemplate whether the emergency was justified or not

DESCRIBING THE CONDITIONS THAT LED TO EMERGENCY

June 1975, which the Congress lost.

Disqualification of Indira Gandhi as an MP

Political and civic unrest

Raj Narain verdict

9 https://lawmintindiragandhivsrajnarain[ 09:45 pm 21/03/19]

ECONOMIC CONDITIONS DURING 1975 EMERGENCY

13 https://countercurrents.org/.../economic-emergency-in-india-and-what-does-that-mean. [ 10:00 pm 22/03/19]

15 https://www.indianfolk.com/economy-emergency-edited/ [ 10:30 pm 22/03/19]

Few Charts which would speak for itself

India’s production rate in various sectors from 1971 till 1976

SOCIAL IMPACT OF 1975 EMERGENCY

Socialist Reported Held

Reports of other arrests, in a move unprecedented in India's 28‐year history, as an independent

Laws, human rights and election

44 dailysikhupdates.com/70000-sikhs-became-arrested-save-india-1975-emergency/[ 11:15 am 24/03/19 ]

IMPACT ON INDIAN CONSTITUTION

known as ‘Internal Emergency’.

specified part of India.

1975 by the Congress government headed by Indira Gandhi.

approved its continuation.