People’s power

June 25 marks 35 years of the imposition of the Emergency on India, by the then president Fakhruddin Ali Ahmed on the advice of prime minister Indira Gandhi. This suspension of fundamental rights as assured under the Constitution was — and remains — the worst crisis faced by the Indian democracy which was just out of its infancy. It is for that reason that this day has to be remembered and marked.

The Emergency was the result of a period of civil unrest that had its origins in the wavering political fortunes of an autocratic Gandhi. That the system could be so easily manipulated is a constant reminder of the fragility of democracy. Until and unless we internalise our understanding of our fundamental rights, we will always fall prey to the outwardly attractive devices of an autocratic form of government.

We as a people have rights and these rights are paramount and must be safeguarded by the state at all times. This is a precious gift that we have given ourselves. It should not ever be threatened again. “Eternal vigilance is the price of liberty; power is ever stealing from the many to the few,” said Wendell Phillips, a 19th century American advocate for abolition of slavery and rights for Native Americans.

When these rights were suspended on the premise that India was going through grave danger, most people were quick to realise how distressing it is to live in a world where you could not speak your own mind for fear of retribution, where media was censored and political opponents put in prison. For those 18 months, until March 21 1977 when the Emergency was lifted, India became a totalitarian state ruled by a dictator.

Every time people in power express discomfort and dislike for dissenters and for the opposition — unlike for instance China where the Party is paramount and brooks no opposition — we have to remind ourselves the nightmare of the Emergency. Every time a law is proposed — seeking to fight Maoists or terrorists — where fundamental rights are to be curtailed, we are looking at a proposal which threatens democracy.

India is much stronger today than it was in 1975 and the benefits of democracy have trickled down much further with more people being aware of their rights. But we must not ever think we are immune to the totalitarian virus. Eternal vigilance is indeed the price of liberty.