When India passed through black hole called Emergency

The dark terror that India went through 40 years ago is something that makes for a legend of sorts. Exactly four decades ago, India died in its spirit bit by bit only to regain its composure after a long gap of 21 months. Though India progressed well on the growth trajectory after that phase, the time is still remembered as one of the darkest hours in the country’s history.

India did not struggle with slavery or racial discrimination then. In 1975, the biggest challenge for the country’s leadership was to silence all the dissent against her and make sure the capitalist forces got to have their say.

Legend has it that the order was issued by President Fakhruddin Ali Ahmed under Article 352 (1) of the Indian Constitution for ‘internal disturbance’. Clichéd as it sounds, India, indeed, went through the phase of emergency while gasping for breaths in different phases, wondering if this would ever end.

Movements took shape underground, the voiceless, who were silenced temporarily, surfaced in tunnels and dark corridors to find ways of opposing the imposition that the government had forced on them.

Indira Gandhi, the name that still gives shivers to the Indian psyche was seen as both, a strong and an insecure Prime Minister, for having used this provision that should have been the route to take during the worst times. Emergency was a joyride for some. People were picked off the street randomly, locked away in prison and subjected to torture. Some souls withered away, while some lived to tell the tale.

Indira Gandhi’s political opponents were successfully eliminated, or silenced. Her son, who was considered the heir to the throne -- though dynastic politics was not in the spirit of Indian Constitution – Sanjay Gandhi organised and conducted mass sterilisation programmes. Pogrom would be a better word, to use, when referring to this in reality.

For having forced the country to go through the worst phase ever, Indira Gandhi got a fitting answer from the citizens of the country. She lost the elections that came up much after Emergency was lifted. The icon of oppression, Sanjay Gandhi, subsequently died in an air crash. Indira Gandhi continued to rule till she was assassinated in early 80s.

What was the confidence that Indira Gandhi gained to be able to impose a situation that was termed Emergency, while in true spirit and meaning it was much more than a mere time of haste. It was a grand display of dictatorial aura, the unfathomable truth that power corrupts and absolute power corrupts absolutely.

Indira Gandhi was much more than being a charismatic leader. She outrivalled her detractors and had created a path of her own. It was untested and untrodden. As a result, it was dangerous too. Time proved it again.

For Emergency-like situation to be imposed on the country’s psyche, the resilience was at stake. It was a test the country’s mettle took and passed with flying colours. While Indian in Emergency wept at the fate it had arrived at, the situation also stoked the fire. Just as there were cronies and loyalists; heroes and martyrs were also born out of the same political situation.

The same political unrest that had forced Indira Gandhi towards a knee-jerk reaction and design an Emergency, had also allowed the leaders across board to consolidate their forces against her. Student unrest also went a long way in planning the response to the whole situation.

George Fernandes, a socialist labour leader, who raised his handcuffed hands to the cameras turned into the symbol of strength and the answer the situation had forced people to give. What if she had not imposed Emergency? India would have respected her as a leader and that’s it.

She would have been mostly considered one of the weakest leaders for the reason that she had learnt politics on the job and had occupied the chair because of her father’s death; and not solely for the reason that she was capable of delivering the administration according to people’s expectations.

Had the Emergency not been imposed, the sense of security and strength of press, students and Socialist and Leftist forces would have gone unchecked. A country that hasn’t been provoked is a country that does not know its strength. People realised their potential only because they were shown the dictatorial shades. They resisted, and how!

Leaders were lost and leaders were born. The victory was sweeter because in the subsequent elections, Indira Gandhi learnt her most valuable lesson- you cannot silence voices by shutting the door. She left behind a very important lesson for the country to remember. Only, our memory needs to be long and strong. Else, we will be forced to learn the lesson all over again.

(Image: Indiatimes)