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Responding to a petition by Raj Narain, Justice Sinha convicted Indira Gandhi for having indulged in corrupt campaign practices and declared her election invalid. This meant that Mrs Gandhi could not seek election to Parlianment or hold office for six years. In other words, it meant that she could not continue as Prime Minister.
Jayaprakash Narayan and a coalition of opposition leaders did not want to wait for the result of Mrs Gandhi’s appeal to the Supreme Court. Neither were they willing to let matters be till the general elections slated after eight months. On June 25, JP announced a week-long nationwide campaign of civil disobedience from June 29 to remove Mrs Gandhi from Prime Ministership. She responded by declaring a state of Internal Emergency under Article 352 of the Constitution on the morning of June 26. This was to last for a period of 19 months signalling a rupture in the democratic fabric of India which is yet to be forgotten. Many bore the brunt of the Emergency years (1975-1977). Twenty-five years later, a few recount the run-up to the Emergency, its darkest hours and its ultimate rejection by the people of India.
Chandrashekhar, former Prime Minister: Since morning there was a continuous flow of Congress leaders to my house. All of them wanted me to issue a statement supporting Indira Gandhi, asking her to continue as Prime Minister. I said I cannot be a party to this move since I believed that once a person is disqualified she had to step down. She could always come back after a favourable verdict from the Supreme Court. In the afternoon, a friend and a senior Congress leader asked me to meet Indira Gandhi. I told him that if I met her I would advise her to resign.
Khushwant Singh, Journalist and author: I was in Mexico attending a conference when the Emergency was announced. Like everyone I was shocked. Though I supported the Emergency, I didn’t approve of fetters on the press. Because of censorship, two issues of the Illustrated Weekly of India didn’t come out.
I had always criticised Jayaprakash Narayan’s movement. I thought he was trying to transgress the rights of citizen in a democracy. How could he stop MLAs from going to the assembly? He brought the country on its head giving Mrs Gandhi a good excuse to proclaim Emergency which brought a general relief in the country.
TVR Shenoy, Journalist: From June 12, when the Allahabad High Court gave its verdict, to June 25, there was high drama. Even within the Congress there were rumblings that Indira Gandhi should step down until she is cleared by the Supreme Court. The hard-liners wanted Jagjivan Ram to replace Mrs Gandhi. Another group wanted Swaran Singh to replace Mrs Gandhi. Then there was a third group, led by Sanjay Gandhi, which argued that Mrs Gandhi should continue.
Kuldip Nayar: The day almost passed off peacefully only to be broken by a midnight call at home. Someone from Bhopal wanted to know why the streets were teeming with policemen. Half asleep, I promised him I would check up and hung up. Seconds later, there was another call, this time from my office. The caller informed that the electricity to all newspaper offices in Bahadur Shah Zafar Marg had been snapped. This was followed by another call from Irfan Khan of Everyman’s Weekly, a magazine started by JP, who informed me of arrests of leaders like JP, Morarji Desai and Chandrashekhar. Badly shaken I called up the Principal Information Officer (PIO) and the Information Secretary to confirm what I had heard. No information was available. Only two papers — The Hindustan Times and The Statesman — could come out that day because they were supplied power by the New Delhi Municipality and not the Delhi Municipal Corporation, which had received the orders to black out newspaper offices.
Prabhas Joshi, Journalist: I was with Jayaprakash Narayan that night. During the day, he had delivered a speech in Ramlila Ground. As opposed to what was later stated, JP didn’t ask the armed forces to revolt. He requested them not to accept unconstitutional orders. But it was clear that JP would be arrested.
Prabhas Joshi: Since I wanted to carry the entire text of JP’s speech (at the Ramlila Ground the previous day) in Prajaniti I went to office and heard the speech again. S. Mulgaonkar, Ajit Bhattacharjea and Kuldip Nayar also came. We didn’t know what would happen. At the most we thought it would be over in two or three days. What surprised us is that people didn’t stir out of their homes. Much later in Bombay, I asked JP if he was disappointed by people’s reaction. He said, “I was not disappointed with what happened elsewhere but I was shocked that the people of Bihar didn’t revolt.”
VC Shukla, Former Information and Broadcasting Minister: Till the 26th morning, I didn’t know about the Emergency. At the Ahmedabad airport Madhavsinh Solanki told me about the PM’s decision. I took over the I&B ministry within three days. Censorship was done under a provision normally used during difficult times. There were problems during the initial days, but everything settled down when people knew what they were supposed to do.
Chandrashekhar: I went to sleep. I was woken up at 3.30 am by a phone call. It was Radhakrishna from the Gandhi Peace Foundation telling me that the police had come to arrest JP. I asked Sahay to see whether there were policemen outside my house. There weren’t any. I went over to JP’s and trailed him till the Parliament Street police station where they had taken him. Then the Superintendent of Police (Intelligence) came, took me aside and told me that a car had come to take JP away and that he didn’t have the guts to tell JP. He also told me that he had a warrant for me. JP was taken away and I was brought to my home. The officer told me to make as many calls as I wanted and kept saying that Mrs Gandhi “had gone mad.”
Prabhas Joshi: There was no visible resistance. Everyone wanted to get bail to avoid arrest. But to say that no resistance was planned is also an exaggeration. There was a lot of underground activity. We were using our journalistic skills to carry on this movement. Later it became more a people’s movement rather than an organised protest. But the upper class — entire south Delhi, in fact — was always with Mrs Gandhi. Even the sight of leaders of different hues flocking to him looked unrealistic. I remember asking JP, “Do you think these politicians will be with you till the end?” He understood what I meant and said, “I know they will come only half-way with me.”
Khushwant Singh: Something very interesting happened during the earlier months. President Fakhruddin Ali Ahmed was in Bombay. At his reception he asked me, “Tum kya likhte rehte ho?” To which I asked, “Kya likha hai?” Actually, the article he meant was published in Femina. By the time I returned to office, pre-censorship orders had reached. I immediately called up Mrs Gandhi. H.Y. Sharada Prasad picked up the phone. I told him what had happened and in no time pre-censorship was removed. The only other editor who had a good time vis-a-vis censorship in Bombay was Vinod Mehta, then editing Debonair. Then Mrs Gandhi sent for me. I explained to her why she was wrong about the Indian Express. Her stock reply was “There can be no Emergency without gagging the press.”
Kuldip Nayar: One day in July, at five in the morning, there was a knock on my door. I was arrested and sent to Tihar. The place was full of RSS workers. I was in jail for three months. Justice R.N. Aggarwal and Justice S Rangarajan, the two high court judges who had passed my release orders, were later punished. Aggarwal was made sessions court judge and Rangarajan sent to Assam.
Prabhas Joshi: It’s true that in the middle of Emergency we lost hope. JP was released from Post-Graduate Institute of Medical Sciences, Chandigarh, and put in AIIMS — but neither had a dialysis facility. Finally, he was sent to Jaslok Hospital in Bombay. Meanwhile, Mrs Gandhi sent a cheque of Rs 97,000 for JP’s dialysis. I carried the cheque to Bombay. JP was undecided but Dada Dharmadhikari requested him to accept it. Later, however, JP declined the cheque. The response of the RSS leaders also disappointed us. One by one many middle-rung leaders of the outfit apologised to Mrs Gandhi and were freed. Even Balasaheb Deoras, the sarsanghchalak, wrote to her promising support.
Khushwant Singh: As months passed, I realised people had started misusing the provisions of the Emergency. Sanjay (Gandhi), otherwise courteous to me, had become very arrogant. He would ignore red lights and ride roughshod over others. Another person was Md Yunus. Once at the PM’s Secretariat he saw P.N. Haksar and started shouting, “Is haramjade ko kaun aane diya yahan?”
RK Dhawan, then additional private secretary to Mrs Gandhi: Chief Ministers of various states were running after Sanjay Gandhi making him a big leader. Mrs Gandhi didn’t like it and I had to intervene many times at her behest telling them not to behave in this manner. One of the reasons for Mrs Gandhi lifting the Emergency was because of the atmosphere created by these CMs.
Kuldip Nayar: It was in a party that I chanced upon the news that Mrs Gandhi was announcing elections. A senior police officer came and whispered that the police had been asked to make a constituency-wise report. To confirm this, I went to Kamal Nath’s house at six in the morning and started talking to his wife. Kamal was still sleeping. When he got up I asked, “Which constituency are you fighting from?” That made him angry. His instant reaction was: “How do you know?” That clinched it for me.
Rajinder Puri, cartoonist: After going through the Emergency and seeing its image and its reality, I wonder whether the freedom struggle too was a sham. Nothing was being done and if Mrs Gandhi had not lifted the Emergency it would have continued for five more years. After the Emergency was lifted, we wanted the country to know that Mrs Gandhi had committed treason. But everything continued as if nothing had happened. It is the marvel of the Hindu mind that we cheerfully coexist with two opposites.
TVR Shenoy: In retrospect I feel that it was the fear of Jagjivan Ram — not of JP — which prompted Mrs Gandhi to impose the Emergency. The presence of President Fakhruddin Ali Ahmed and Supreme Court Chief Justice M.H. Baig gave her added strength. Both put the seal of approval on the Prime Minister’s recommendation. In fact, it was the PM and not the Cabinet which recommended the declaration of the Emergency to the President in virtual secrecy. Mrs Gandhi based this recommendation on an Intelligence Bureau report which was never substantiated nor sourced — that there was a grave threat to the nation. What it was, and from where, is yet to be explained.
People of such character easily resort to fascism? The truth is that PM’s interference in the government is on the rise. Many things that JP and Morarji are saying might be wrong but they are right that the clouds of dictatorship are looming large over the country. I have been fortunate to know the government from inside. With great responsibility I can say that most senior ministers and senior officials have lost their personality. Not a leaf moves without PM’s order. No minister has the guts to stop the PM from committing mistakes. Forget asking her to stop, they can’t even ask her to think before taking a decision. Legally her decisions may be right but they are without compassion. As for her party less said the better?
In these circumstances if the crisis deepens it will have grave repercussions. The PM will not hesitate to take any decision to be in power. Our democracy might be in danger. Individuals’ freedom might be at stake. It’s difficult to say how the crisis will deepen. I only wish a bridge is built between the government and opposition. This might lead to some improvement. This is my desire but with there is little hope. New Year is coming with lots of dangerous signals.
What is the reality? Faith in government’s commitment and honesty is coming to an end. Nothing is being done to remove the doubt. Declaring institutions illegal, stopping their workers will not help. Government should appoint a Lokpal and think of electoral reforms. Speeches alone will not help in checking corruption. I know the home minister and secretary agree with the analysis but will not put it before the PM. Prof Dhar (PN Dhar, Principal Secretary) cannot speak with authority. If I speak to her, she will just deviate from the topic. This is her style.