Paper: GS – II, Subject: Polity, Topic: Executive, Issue: Implications of the forced sterilisation campaign during emergency.
Context:
One of its darkest legacies of the emergency (1975-77) was the forced sterilisations (nasbandi) campaign led by Sanjay Gandhi, primarily targeting the poor, Dalits, minorities, and rural communities.
Key Highlights:
Nature of the Sterilisation Campaign:
- State sponsored campaign: Carried out under the guise of population control, but was in reality a state-sponsored exercise of violence.
- Neo-Malthusian ideology: It was influenced by neo-Malthusian ideologies promoted by global agencies like Ford Foundation, World Bank, and International Monetary Fund (IMF).
- Violation of Individual rights: It led to massive bodily invasion and loss of autonomy, especially for the vulnerable.
Targets of the Programme:
- Obtaining a sterilisation certificate became essential for ration access, employment, and Government benefits.
Global Parallels:
International Examples:
- U.S. (1907–1997): Over 60,000 forced sterilisations under eugenics laws targeting mentally ill, Black, Native Americans, and Latinos.
- Nazi Germany: Eugenics policies led to sterilisation and later, genocide.
- Peru (1990s): Fujimori’s government sterilised 300,000 rural women.
- China: Enforced sterilisation under its one-child policy.
Impact in India:
- Shah Commission Findings:
- 1.3 million vasectomies (1975) → 2.6 million (1976) → 8.3 million (1977).
- Total sterilisations (male & female combined) made it the most extensive coercive campaign in world history.
- Most aggressive implementation in Uttar Pradesh, Haryana, Rajasthan, Bihar, and Madhya Pradesh.
- Notorious incidents such as Muzaffarnagar Police Firing (1976) which led to 25 protesters killed. Haryana’s Gokul Kand and Uchana village faced mass sterilisations.
Social Fallout:
- Grassroots Opposition: Student protests in Bihar (Patna, Gaya, Muzaffarpur, Bhojpur). Resistance was led by Underground activists, and Jayaprakash Narayan-led Total Revolution.
- Political Consequences: Contributed to Congress’ defeat in 1977 elections with the opposition leading with the slogan of “Kya mila sarkar tumhe? Emergency lagake nasbandi karake” (What did you gain by imposing Emergency and conducting sterilisation?).
- Biopolitics: Sterilisation reinforced how state power can weaponize science and healthcare. It showed authoritarian use of development discourse (population control, poverty alleviation) for suppressing vulnerable groups.
- Lasting Trauma: It left deep psychological, economic, and social trauma. Still no comprehensive reparations or formal apology from the state.
Conclusion:
The Emergency’s sterilisation drive is a grim reminder of authoritarianism under democratic disguise. It points out the importance of bodily autonomy, need for informed consent, and vigilance against state overreach under developmental narratives.
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