The Emergency (India)

Quick Facts: Who was The Emergency (India)?

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The Emergency (India)

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A period of severe political repression in India from 1975 to 1977.

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Origins & Early Life

The Emergency in India was a 21 month period from 1975 to 1977 when prime minister Indira Gandhi declared a state of emergency across India by citing internal and external threats to the country. Officially issued by president Fakhruddin Ali Ahmed under Article 352 of the Constitution of India because of a prevailing "Internal Disturbance", the Emergency were in effect from 25 June 1975 and ended on 21 March 1977. The order bestowed upon the prime minister the authority to rule by decree, allowing elections to be cancelled and civil liberties to be suspended. For much of the Emergency, most of Gandhi's political opponents were imprisoned and the press was censored. More than 100,000 political opponents, journalists and dissenters were imprisoned.

Pivotal Works & Achievements

During this time, a mass campaign for vasectomy was spearheaded by her son Sanjay Gandhi. The final decision to impose an emergency was proposed by Indira Gandhi, agreed upon by the President of India, and ratified by the Cabinet and the Parliament from July to August 1975. It was based on the rationale that there were imminent internal and external threats to the Indian state. Between 1967 and 1971, Prime Minister Indira Gandhi came to obtain near-absolute control over the government and the Indian National Congress party, as well as a huge majority in Parliament. The first was achieved by concentrating the central government's power within the Prime Minister's Secretariat, rather than the Cabinet, whose elected members she saw as a threat and distrusted.

Enduring Legacy & Impact

For this, she relied on her principal secretary, P. N. Haksar, a central figure in Indira's inner circle of advisors. Further, Haksar promoted the idea of a "committed bureaucracy" that required hitherto-impartial government officials to be "committed" to the ideology of the Congress. Within the Congress, Indira outmaneuvered her rivals, forcing the party to split in 1969—into the Congress (O) (comprising the old-guard known as the "Syndicate") and her Congress (R). A majority of the All-India Congress Committee and Congress MPs sided with the prime minister. Indira's party was of a different breed from the Congress of old, which had been a robust institution with traditions of internal democracy.

Chronological Milestones & Life Events

1. 1967: 1967 Milestone — Between 1967 and 1971, Prime Minister Indira Gandhi came to obtain near-absolute control over the government and the Indian National Congress party, as well as a huge majority in Parliament.
2. 1969: 1969 Milestone — Within the Congress, Indira outmaneuvered her rivals, forcing the party to split in 1969—into the Congress (O) (comprising the old-guard known as the "Syndicate") and her Congress (R).
3. 1975: 1975 Milestone — The Emergency in India was a 21 month period from 1975 to 1977 when prime minister Indira Gandhi declared a state of emergency across India by citing internal and external threats to the country.

Historical Fact-Check Quiz: The Emergency (India)

True or False: “The Emergency period saw the suspension of civil liberties and the imprisonment of numerous political opponents.”

Answer (TRUE ⭕): Over 100,000 political opponents, journalists, and dissenters were imprisoned during this time.

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Frequently Asked Questions about The Emergency (India)