It is during this period that democratic institutions were subverted, and the authorities clamped down on any form of dissent which cast a dark shadow over Indira Gandhi's regime,
June 25 is an important date in Indian history. It is on this date in 1975 that former Prime Minister Indira Gandhi imposed the 'Emergency' which began one of the darkest periods in India.
It is during this period that democratic institutions were subverted, and the authorities clamped down on any form of dissent which cast a dark shadow over Indira Gandhi's regime, a legacy left by the ‘Iron Lady’ which continues to haunt the Congress to this day.
The foundation of the black chapters of India's history was set on the intervening night of June 25 and 26.
So let us recall the sequence of events that set the ball rolling for the Congress party to misuse the democratic institutions to retain power.
1971 general elections: Indira Gandhi comes to power with a resounding majority with the Congress party bagging 352 Lok Sabha seats out of 518. It was also during this time that Gandhi made a complete turnaround in her public perception by transforming herself from the 'Gungi Gudiya' to the Iron Lady.
June 12, 1975: Justice Jagmohan Lal Sinha of the Allahabad High Court ruled on a petition filed by Rajnarayan, a candidate of the United Socialist Party from Rae Bareli in which he made a series of allegations against Indira Gandhi, accusing her bribing voters with liquor, misusing Air Force planes for campaigns.
The court found Gandhi guilty of winning her Rae Bareli seat in parliament illegally, and Justice Sinha canceled the election and also barred Gandhi from contesting elections for six years. Immediately after the verdict, an emergency meeting was called at 1 Safdarjung Road, the Prime Minister's official residence and Indira Gandhi sought advice from all the leaders.
After the meeting, Indira Gandhi decided to appeal the Supreme Court against the June 12 ruling of the High Court.
June 24, 1975: The Supreme Court judge, Justice VR Krishna Iyer, said that he would not put a complete stay on the decision. The Supreme Court allowed her to remain Prime Minister but said that she could not vote as an MP until the final verdict came. The court's decision caused public outrage, protests, and demonstrations began all over the country.
June 25, 1975: Indira Gandhi got the then President Fakhruddin Ali Ahmed to sign the Emergency Declaration on midnight of June 25, citing that the civic unrest was a threat to the law and order of the country. Soon after the declaration, the state's law and order machinery got to work and rounded up prominent opposition leaders including Jayaprakash Narayan, Atal Bihari Vajpayee, LK Advani, Morarji Desai were arrested.
In a radio broadcast, Indira Gandhi told the people of the country a deep conspiracy was hatched against that the government which is why Emergency had to be imposed.
What subsequently followed was the reign of terror unleashed by Indira Gandhi's regime: the freedom of the press was taken away, many senior journalists were sent to jail.
Anyone opposing emergency was punished by being put in jail. Approximately, 11 lakh people were arrested and sent to jails.
The Emergency in 1975 lasted for 21 months, ending on March 21, 1977.
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