Emergency: a perspective

We were not small enough those days to not know of politics or couldn’t understand emergency and its impact. We were in 9-10th during 75-77. I recall all that from days of chaos, daily strikes, police actions, police mutinies ( on political provocations) during days prior to june 1975, emergency brought considerable peace and order. 

Discipline, civility and the order,  the kinds we saw during emergency in offices, streets, factories and universities were never seen in India again and even not observed to this day. 

There were some rogue sections of power who misused authority but general public was commonly never troubled except for few cases on family planning. 

Primarily some section of politicians, some newspaper barons, some lawyers were the only classes which found themselves subject of govt toughness and some people were jailed too though most were under house arrest as political prisoners only unlike what we observe today when politicians slug out in jails along with hardened criminals on arbitrary charges. 

Buses, trains, university exams everything ran in order and in time. Economy was better because industrial out put improved.  This was also time when Panjab and Haryana started giving record food grains output and our infamous imports from US and Europe almost stopped. We became Nuclear power  that too during time of cold war when resistance was maximum. We also launched our first space satellite. There was secularism and discipline in society. One can recall there was a white paper on seeking opinion on an ordinance to drop use of surnames. Constitutional Institutions were left untouched and functioned well leading to holding of free elections in 1977 which Indira herself lost. 

Yes , these all could have been done with normal laws also avoiding emergency. However politics don’t not follow logic. 

Whatever we hear about atrocities of emergency are mostly gas and part of fake stories made up later or during months immediately after lifting of emergency to win elections. Excess were indeed there but not on public. India was much better though normal aberrations of politics creeping in can’t be denied and but these had never been so grave as to be projected as monstrous as being done by some politicians of this day to confuse public. 

Emergency period should be compared in contrast to the days two years prior to emergency when we saw dirtiest of street politics played which stalled general administration making society suffer.  Rail strike of George Farnandis brought full nation to grinding halt leading to food grain shortage and decline in industrial output. Gujarat and Bihar saw worst kind of student movements led by Jaiprakash Narayan. Even it was alleged that forces were provoked openly to disobey command. Indira’s election was disqualified on flimsy administrative lapse by high court on technical grounds on which too she was allowed to challenge in Supremely court. But opposition didn’t want to wait. That was not the  provocation of declaration of emergency but culmination of avoidable happening of those days. 

Section of lawyers, journalists and politicians who received supposed brunt of emergency have also been most vocal and have power to influence public discourse. They misuse that power to confuse public and sell fake narrative. This is what’s happening. Politicians who were not even born or were at side line during days of emergency today create fake stories and narrative. Social media has come handy for spreading lies. 

The futility of all this propaganda which brought Janata party to power was observed in aftermath of emergency. We had worst govt ever which spent all time in infighting and brought new culture of politics  in India which even continues to this day and impacts progress. 

Indira was brought back to power with majority  of 380 seat in 1980 by same people who removed her. Next elections congress took 403 seats. It was people’s mandate. People know right from wrong. One can’t challenge that.  This is premise even govt of today makes. 

It is useless to make fake stories about emergency and Indira for present day politics. Our democracy which we proudly claim as pillar of unity was strengthened by leaders like Jawahar, Indira, Narsimharao, Vajpayee, Manmohan Singh. Even Devgawda  provided quite fine govt being son of soil and secular. 

During seventies and eighties it was period of cold war and India despite being third world nation and having economic challenges made its mark globally which no one could ignore. Society was in peace. India was founded in strong grounds which makes it what it is today. 

You can’t have trillion dollar economy without becoming few billion dollar economy first that too at the times which were like digging our own road to move ahead. This is what our leaders like Indira did for India. It is the same road we now can move faster and claim extra credits.