THE EMERGENCY: 46 YEARS LATER
The anniversary of the Emergency, a blot on Indian democracy, is a moment to celebrate liberty and commit to its protection. EPISODE #28
Dear Reader,
A very happy Monday to you.
The anniversary of the Emergency comes up later this week. It is a difficult moment for a country which has, except for that dark period, always celebrated its democratic credentials. This year the date is all the more significant as it coincides with a global commitment from the major democracies to protect and preserve liberty. Accordingly this week I revisit the imposition of Emergency in this backdrop.
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REVISITING THE EMERGENCY
Later this week the country will observe an unfortunate anniversary: The imposition of Emergency.
Interestingly it coincides with India’s endorsement of the G7 ‘Open Societies Statement’ and the ringing admonishment, earlier this week, of the Delhi police by the High Court for what it believes to be a case of blurring the lines between terror and protest in interpreting rules to arrest three student activists.
Connect the dots and you will observe that they have one subtext in common: Liberty.
One is a grim reminder of the consequences of losing liberty; the second is a fresh commitment from the government of India to uphold liberty; and the third instance is a reiteration of the institutional protection of one’s rights guaranteed in the Constitution.
We must never forget that the enunciation, protection and guarantee of liberty is central to any functioning democracy.
And protection of this fundamental right has become both imperative and tricky as the world and India in particular confront difficult trade-offs—which will inevitably have losers and winners. This has become more complicated in a world that has had to simultaneously deal with the devastating fallout of a once in a century pandemic which originated in Wuhan and an escalation of belligerence from a China desperate to wrest the numero uno spot from the United States.
The next few years therefore will not be a clash of civilisations—as some scholars seek to project. Instead it will be a battle to protect liberty.
THE MEMORY
For most of India—given that 65% of India is less than 35 years of age—the upcoming anniversary of the Emergency is at best a fading memory. It was much before their time.
Personally I was in school and coping with teenage issues when Emergency was declared on the midnight of 25-26 June 1975 by the then Congress government headed by Prime Minister Indira Gandhi. Even though we were young we could figure that something had altered fundamentally in our daily lives. The crackdown by the government was real and frightening.
Overnight our mohallas (as the square in front of our homes) morphed into hubs for furtive confabulations among concerned neighbours. In one instance, I do recall how the police swooped down to nab an activist in the neighbourhood—who smartly hopped across the adjoining terraces to evade arrest, while the rest of the mohalla stalled the cops. Many were not as lucky.
Fear was in the air. The late Arun Jaitley was the Delhi University Students Union president and one of those incarcerated for organising a protest against Emergency. For the last few years he had taken to social media around 25 June to share his thoughts and personal experiences. Sharing a quote, my personal favourite, from one such post:
“The Lesson from the Emergency is that if you curb free speech and allow only propaganda, you become the first victim of propaganda because you start believing that your own propaganda is the truth and the full truth.”
If you are keen to read more posts from Jaitley, click here.
He was not the only one to be arrested. Across the country protesters were picked up. Sometimes even innocent citizens, just for being perceived to be a critic; several disappeared without a trace.
News was censored by special government representatives populating newsrooms. As a result we heard or read only what the government wanted us to. It was a classic Orwellian moment.
Like the plot in Orwell’s classic book, 1984, the situation was such that no one was either safe or free as everything was owned by the state:
“There was of course no way of knowing whether you were being watched at any given moment. How often, or on what system. The Thought Police plugged in on any individual wire was guesswork. It was even conceivable that they watched everybody all the time.”
Yes today many of us worry about the loss of liberty. Keep in mind though that to actually lose it is something else altogether. Trust me. Even to a teenager the insecurity that Emergency introduced in our daily lives was palpable.
The thing is that everything in life is relative and hence its interpretation is subjective. Frankly, nothing wrong with it. Exactly how it should be in a democracy. But, often we perceive the establishment’s (can be the government, a company or a powerful individual) inherent desire to spin/suppress bad news as a curb on freedom. This is not to justify, but remember that no government anywhere in the world is going to be cool with negative publicity. Yes, they have the right to spin. But then we have the right to report the truth too.
Personally I recall how the Congress-led United Progressive Alliance, a government which several among us claim was a good example of liberal thought, reacted harshly to a story I wrote titled “jobless growth”—ironically based on the employment numbers officially released by them; which revealed that despite near double digit economic growth employment in the economy contracted.
Their representatives sought to brow beat the management of my then newspaper into retracting the story—the occupational hazard of a journalist. Grateful that they didn’t blink and called the government’s bluff. The simple point is that it is one thing to frown on bad news and another to take away your rights to be a journalist. During the Emergency the latter was what happened.
The Promise
It is therefore heartening to note that the government of India is a signatory to the 2021 Open Societies Statement issued at the just concluded G7 summit in Cornwall. If you wish to read the entire communique then click here.
At one level it is unambiguous in its intent to form an alliance of democracies with the unstated objective of containing a belligerent China.
“As leaders of over half of the world’s population living in democracies, we believe it is imperative that we reaffirm and encourage others to embrace the values that bind us together, including our respect for international rules and norms.”
At another level it made clear that the idea of liberty was non-negotiable.
“(Guaranteeing) Freedom of expression, both online and offline, as a freedom that safeguards democracy and helps people live free from fear and oppression; The rule of law and effective, independent and impartial judicial systems free from corrupt influence of coercion, so that each person can access justice and benefit from a fair trial.”
It is clear then, the writing is on the wall. The idea of liberty is going to be weaponised to take on China.
For India this is particularly significant. Not because of the underlying promise of reining in an unruly neighbour.
Instead it is about how it is now counted in the alliance of democracies. Implicitly it is a vote for the Constitution of India which enshrines the idea of liberty as a fundamental right.
Recommended Reading/Viewing
Civic authorities have always struggled to get people to commit to walking the talk on social good. In the current context the imperative of wearing a mask is an excellent example. It is hugely frustrating to see so many of us ignoring this plea even though it is at considerable personal risk.
Apparently there is a way to influence good social behaviour: gamification. Check out the video below: The Piano Stairs.
Till we meet again next week. Stay safe.
Topical issue, very relevant to what is going on currently; with Twitter, the UN agency and not to forget our domestic army of critics. Today I witnessed a Congress spokesperson, blatantly calling the PM spineless; as according to her opinion he was hiding during the peak of the second wave and has now become very visible after the problem is under control. Rather than being based on any logical narrative, it appeared more of a baseless personal hate attack of name calling. Yet such comments are not censured and instead the PM and his government is being accused of suffocating rightful voices of dissent and protest. This government has courageously stood up to Chinese border bullying and taken bold steps in Kashmir, that they feel will solve the festering problem. So spineless did not make any sense. The farmer's agitation and Shaheen Bagh protests would have been dealt with strong force if the government did not uphold the democratic right to protest. The country can do without "liberal" thieves.
dear Anil,
A very thought provoking article on one of the darkest phase of our history .The most important lesson learnt from emergency is that India as a democracy can only remain strong if we strengthen our constitutional institutions like Parliament,the Supreme Court , the Election Commission and the PMO rather than strengthening an individual or a family.The three organs of democracy have to function in complete harmony , as their respective roles have been well defined by our Constitution.During the disturbing times of emergency, the legislature, executive and the judiciary failed to perform their functions and there was dictatorship.Even Media , the fourth pillar of democracy was not spared from the autocratic functioning of the Prime Minister.
The emergency destroyed freedom and democracy in our country and took away the rights of the citizens. I remember the slogan "Indira is India and India is Indira". The propaganda spread by the ruling party was that Indira Gandhi is indispensable to the country and above the constitution. the mass sterilization campaign by Sanjay Gandhi is one of the examples of human rights violations. the 21 months of emergency remain one of the most controversial periods of independent India"s history .