Have we learnt any lesson from Emergency imposed by Indira Gandhi

There needs to be a detailed analysis of Justice Jagmohan Lal Sinha’s verdict against the prime minister? Did he intentionally call her to Court to humiliate or embarrass her.. We have never seen such a case again even when it is a well known fact how ruling parties often misuse bureaucracy and government machinery. Was Indira Gandhi the only leader who misused power and all others are too democratic to misuse it ? Can any court do such a thing in today’s time. If a court gives a judgement against any powerful leader what will the government do ? Was this a normal decision or was there a conspiracy to derail the government and create anarchy ?

Actually, !975 crisis is a lesson for all. For political parties, for judiciary, for media as well as for the government.

What could the government do when Jai Prakash Narain called for a total revolt against the government from the police and armed forces. Was that not an act of inciting a rebellion ? Indira Gandhi could or should have initiated a political dialogue but somewhere she failed to rise on the occasion and depended too much on a coterie that just found ways and means to legitimise her acts particularly that of her son Sanjay Gandhi.

We also need to understand the political ideology of forces opposed to Indira Gandhi ?

Who was Morarji Desai and how did he become prime minister instead of Babu Jagjivan Ram ? The whole Janata experiment failed because of overambitious leaders and their rigidities in humiliating Mrs Gandhi. If Indira had failed in politically handling the crisis, Janata leaders failed miserably and believed in tit for tat.

We need to go a bit earlier in the 1970s when Indira Gandhi took some extremely radical and revolutionary decisions. Land Distribution was one major factor. Implementation of reservation was another important decision. Nationalisation of Banks and insurance companies. Doing away with privy purses of the erstwhile Raja Maharajas. Now, remember, who was opposed to Nationalisation of Banks and strengthening of the public sector ? Yes, It was Moraraji Desai, who later became Prime minister. Dont we understand that the 1971 Indo Soviet Peace Treaty which actually helped India from any further Chinese aggression and ultimately helped create Bangladesh was always a bone of contention. So, most of these self proclaimed socialists had a pro American slant. World over socialism has inherent link with Marxism and left politics and prior to Lohia and Jai Prakash, there was a leader of great courage of conviction, named Acharya Narendra Dev, a scholar on Buddhism but completely forgotten and ignored by the Samajwadis today, many of them might not even heard. Why did socialism in India take a pro American turn ? Does the 1977 uprising against Indira Gandhi have any linkage with those who never wanted Indo Russia friendship ?

Do we know that despite so much noise, Janata Party won merely 295 seats and Congress under Indira Gandhi won 154 seats. There was a sharp difference between the voting pattern of North and South. Indira Gandhi lost RaiBareilly seat and Sanjay Gandhi was defeated in Amethi but Mrs Gandhi returned to Parliament after winning from Chikmanglur in Karnataka.

Now what was the reason for Indira Gandhi’s defeat in 1977. I can bet it. The reason was not the detention of political prisoners but mostly the compulsory sterilisation campaign in the name of family planning and this was under instructions of Sanjay Gandhi. It was resented by people vehemently. Second issue was the highhandedness of government officials in removing ‘encroachments’. Both these actions of highhandedness actually hurt and impacted negatively, Congresses core vote bank, the scheduled castes and Muslims. The results were obvious. Congress lost their support.

Interestingly, Sanjay Gandhi’s anti sterilisation initiative as well as his bulldozing at Turkman Gate on May 31st, 1976 got the biggest support from RSS and Jan Sangh. Congress actually paid the price of Emergency due to Sanjay Gandhi’s highhandedness against Muslims as well as other marginalised communities.

Indira Gandhi brought Secular and socialism in the Constitution and also added article 51a, our constitutional duties, an important point.

Emergency was a wrong decision politically for a leader who had become immensely popular and was slowly pushing her son Sanjay Gandhi for the leadership issue. She was too dependent on her and in haste to become Supreme leader, Sanjay actually created an intimidating environment. Rather than handling the discontent against the government politically, he felt they needed to be dealt almost like criminals. It resulted in widespread anger against the party in north India.

Remember, the Janata leaders could not build anything and the two years they focused only on humiliating Indira Gandhi. The people of India did not take it lightly. The Janata government failed due to its own contradictions. RSS became the point of difference. It resulted in snap polls in 1980 and the people of India gave Indira Gandhi and Congress party one of the biggest mandates. Congress won 353 seats and Indira Gandhi won not only from Raibareilly but also from Medak in Andhra Pradesh that time.

We must remember one thing. It is time for political parties to understand that people don’t like highhandedness and they punished Congress for that but the same people did not like Janata Party leaders humiliating Indira Gandhi and defeated them.

Emergency should not have been imposed but it needs to be seen whether such an important issue could have been dealt with by the judiciary in a different way. Will some one critique Justice Jagmohan Lal Sinha and Shanti Bhushan responsible for creating a constitutional crisis. I don’t know but I feel such important matters which can have far reaching consequences need to be heard by a constitution bench so that the country is saved from anarchy and chaos.

Emergency was a political failure of Indira Gandhi, was an immoral act but not unconstitutional as those powers are still with the government. If we all are so upset about that then the government must bring a constitutional amendment and remove those powers so that no powerful leader can dare to impose it on people and their political opponents. Indira Gandhi brought Foreign Contribution Regulation Act ( FCRA)during emergency to curtail political opposition and civil society and this law is still there to punish civil society organisations. Why can’t these remnants of the emergency be removed ?

And lastly the most important part. The pro American lobby led by Jai Prakash blamed Indira Gandhi for trying to create a Soviet Style dictatorial structure in India while Indira Gandhi blamed them being funded by the CIA but one fact is there. Indias’ right wing always aspired that India has better relations with the West particularly with the United States. Indira Gandhi stood solidly on the foundation of Indo Soviet Friendship. Fifty years after the emergency, the political opponents of Indira Gandhi are actually following her foreign policy and Russia India friendship is on a rock solid foundation.

Let us not be caged in our past. Impartial understanding of history provides lessons for all so that our future generations do not face it. Politically, the issue is settled as Indira Gandhi never defended it. She was defeated by people and the same people brought her back by defeating her opponents who had come to power just two years back. Let us move forward and focus on issues concerning the nation.