Paper: GS – II, Subject: Polity, Topic: Executive, Issue: Lessons to be learned from emergency.
Context:
The 50th anniversary of the Emergency (1975 – 77) in India emphasizes the need to go beyond mere criticism of the past and encourages introspection about democratic decline in the present.
Key Highlights:
- Emergency as Personal Power Play: Indira Gandhi’s Emergency was driven largely by personal and political motives, not national interest. It showcased a dangerous blend of popular legitimacy with authoritarian tendencies.
- Institutional Vulnerability: Weaknesses in the Congress Party and bureaucracy enabled the swift declaration and enforcement of Emergency. The media’s timidity, judiciary’s submission to executive power, and pliable bureaucracy played key roles.
- Democracy Undermined: The Emergency symbolized suspension of democratic norms especially dissent and freedom of speech and expression.
Lessons for current times:
- Shrinking Space for Dissent: Since 2014, political discourse has shifted. All protests are seen as “anti-national.” Dissent is delegitimized and criminalized through laws like UAPA.
- Abuse of Institutions: Similar to the Emergency, institutions today are being used for partisan agendas. Police and bureaucracy act as political tools. Judiciary and civil liberties are increasingly compromised.
- “Emergency Template” Still Alive: Although the Emergency framework has been legally discarded, its spirit is revived through centralization of power, use of election victories to justify authoritarian moves and conflation of national interest with ruling party interests.
- Oppressed opposition: There is a visible erosion of democratic ethos, especially the role of opposition and independent institutions.
- Democratic backsliding: The over-centralization of power and suppression of dissent are indicators of democratic backsliding.Indian democracy today faces the threat of becoming “majoritarian without being authoritarian on paper.”
India’s Constitutional Vision: India’s founding vision envisages
- Upholding this vision requires constant vigilance and civic participation.
Conclusion:
Remembering the Emergency is not just an act of memorialization but a call to action. Citizens must reflect on how democratic norms can be safeguarded against creeping authoritarianism.
https://indianexpress.com/article/explained/explained-emergency-its-lessons-10086542
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