Emergency 1975: Some unknown facts | L.S. Herdenia

July 8, 2024

While observing fiftieth year of the imposition of emergency it is not mentioned that the constitution has empowered the Union government to impose three types of emergency if the situation warrants. They are if the country is facing aggression, internal emergency and financial emergency. Then Prime Minister Mrs. Indira Gandhi in the best of her wisdom must have thought that the country should be put under emergency.

There is no doubt that the country was facing severe problems largely because of our resources dried up in the Bangladesh war. Prices were rising, employment was acute. Moreover while blaming Indira Gandhi opposition was asking police and army not to carry out orders of the government. Among others such a call was being given by Jay Prakash Narayan. His call was to army and police to disobey immoral order’s of the govt. Commenting on this a foreign observer said that it appeared that J.P. wished simply for the state to disappear. Another foreign observer Jue Elder suggested the emergency was script jointly authored by J.P. and Mrs. Gandhi.

Before Total Revolution was formally launched there were many who tried to broker a deal between J.P. and Indira Gandhi. These included Chandra Shekher Krishen Kant and Professor P.N. Dhar. The C.P.I. and others like Nandani Satpathy, K.P. Ganesh, Aruna, Asaf Ali and Edata Narayan agreed that no such compromise was possible and she should not delay any further in leading the masses to defend the nation against the Total Revolution.

It was when Indira Gandhi made up her mind to turn the tide against the Total Revolution. The CPI in Bihar particularly helped to subdue the J.P. Movement.

Meanwhile, reports of conspiracy started reaching New Delhi to damage and destroy all the leaders in the sub-continent who were responsible for the establishment of Bangladesh. These leaders were Indira Gandhi, Sheikh Mujibur Rehman and Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto.

Shortly afterwards a similar message and information came from the Central Committee of the communist party of Cuba personally signed by Fidel Castro. Both he and Yasser Arafat had warned Indira Gandhi of the ongoing conspiracy to destabilise the Indian subcontinent which of course required her removal and that of Sheikh Mujib and Bhutto.

Meanwhile, the Allahabad High Court Judgement came disqualifying Indira Ji as a member of parliament. This gave a golden opportunity to [the opposition to] ask Indira Ji to resign. At one time she thought of resigning. But she was warned that if she does so that would only whet the appetite of destablisers and encourage them to commence quickly the destruction of our nation state. Responding to these reports she said that apart from physically destroying her the more important thing was that the country and all that it had achieved was being sought to be destroyed. She added that all this was being prepared not only in the country but outside as well.

Looking at the pressure mounted by the opposition Indira Gandhi decided to put the country under emergency. Large-scale arrests were ordered. Among those who were arrested were Jaya Prakash Narayan, L.K. Advani, Morarji Desai, Atal Bihari Vajpayee, Rajmata Vijaya Raje Scindia - Rani of Jaipur. At the state level, thousands were put behind bars. There was a sort of competition among the Chief Ministers who ordered more arrests. Among them was the then Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister P.C. Sethi. He used to send lists of people to the collector whom he wanted to be arrested. But there was such collectors who did not arrest a single person who figured in the list sent by the Chief Minister I still remember the names of two collectors. The two collectors were K.K. Chakravarty (Satna) and Chaturvedi (Rewa). Both of them earned the wrath of Sethi. There was little opposition to the arbitrary arrests. In fact no sooner the leaders were arrested than the movement collapsed. There was very little protest no matter the heroic postures struck. In fact J.P. very soon tried to get in touch with Indira Gandhi, get released and do constructive work. Similarly, Bala Saheb Deora, the head of the R.S.S. wrote a somewhat abject letter of apology and denied of involvement in J.P. movement along with a promise of good behaviour. The collapse of the Total Revolution has led to some comment that it proved that the emergency was not necessary (This claim is made in the book written by communist leader Mohit Sen, page 352 and also from D.R. Goyal’s book on R.S.S.)

The emergency also resulted in some positive developments. For example, trains started running on time, employees started reaching the office punctually, prices of things of daily use were reduced, Law and order came under control. In short society became orderly.

Soon after the imposition of the emergency Sanjay Gandhi, the Second son of Indira Ji emerged as extra-constitutional authority. He started issuing orders both to the central and state governments. What was extraordinary was the latitude that Indira Gandhi gave him. Part of it is explained by his strong attachment to her and the resoluteness that he had displayed at the point of extreme political and personal crisis just prior to the imposition of the emergency. But there are also reports that she pulled him up when and took her own decision. (349)

Sanjay Gandhi’s rise was very fast. His behaviour with seniors, day by day, became very rude. Two examples I still remember. Legendary person Smt. Subhadra Joshi was very close to Indira Gandhi. Both of them are very dear to Mahatma Gandhi. One day Smt. Joshi noticed that propaganda material was being sent from the Prime Minister’s residence. She thought this should be brought to the notice of Indiraji. But when she did so Indiraji told to Subhadraji to bring it to the notice of Sanjay. When Subhadraji told Sanjay he rudely told her "Keep yourself away from these matters." When Subhadra informs Indiraji she kept quiet. From that day onwards Subhadraji stopped visiting Indiraji.

Another instance relates to a very senior leader of M.P. Congress. Sanjay during his tour of Madhya Pradesh was going to Mandsaur. Jajoo Ji belonged to Mandsaur. He was advised to join Sanjay. On the way, Jajooji advised Sanjay not to drive fast. The moment he gave this advise Sanjay stopped his vehicle and asked JajooJi to get out of the vehicle. The place where Jajoo was asked to get down was a deserted Jungle area. He had to walk a few miles before he could get a lift.

During his visit to Bhopal, he was asked to address a meeting of Muslim intellectuals. He started his speech with the question why you Muslims grow a beard. Muslims were shocked to hear this question. His forced family planning programme and slum clearance drive made him and to some extent Indiraji unpopular.

The censorship in my opinion was the cruel measure which was taken as part of the emergency. The officials who were asked to enforce censorship used to behave in a highly objectionable manner. Their misbehaviour and the extent of the censorship made the emergency a much-hated measure. I still remember some of the harsh measures taken during the emergency. When the state aircraft of the Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister crash-landed. The media was told not to report it.

One day I received a call from Shri V.C. Shukla, who was Minister for Information and Broadcasting. He asked me to come to Delhi immediately. For what he did not tell me. He asked me to come from airport to his residence. On reaching him he asked me "You write in the Mainstream. My reply was yes". Minister further said I want to meet him. Take an appointment from Nikhil Chakravarti’ I telephoned Nikhil dada and informed him that Shukla wants to meet him. Will you come we are sending car?

His reply was he wanted to meet me. "I have no desire to meet him". After this reply the Minister decided to go to Nikhil’s office. The moment Minister reached the Mainstream office. Nikhil Dada asked Minister "What brings you here". Shukla said "Your magazine is publishing a cartoon with the title "A dialogue between and son." In one cartoon son asks his father "When there is a twenty point programme why Sanjay has to launch a five point programme". Father’s reply was because he does not know panch se jyada ginti."

The moment Sanjay read it he is furious and wants me to take some action. Nikhil Dada’s reaction was Vidya do what he wants you to do and I will continue to do what my conscience asks me. Even such journalists who supported the emergency disliked the emergency.

Looking at the declining opposition Indira decided to lift the same. I was in Moscow in a delegation led by Vasant Sathe. We were having dinner at the residence of an Indian diplomat. During the dinner wife of the diplomat informed that Prime Minister Indira Gandhi had announced the dates of the election and lifting the emergency. We were shocked. Speculation started about whether Indiraji would win. Diplomats are always informed. He said that Indiraji’s defeat is certain. We asked him if Indiraji also knew it. His reply was perhaps yes. Then why she is doing so. His reply was because "democratic blood flows in her veins." She did not want to keep India under the arbitrary rule. She is the daughter of Jawahar Lal Nehru a democrat".

In the election, the Congress was routed. Unlike the Congress, the Janata Party had not fought the election under a single leader. After the results, a controversy arose as to who should be chosen as Prime Minister. The supporter of Charan Singh felt that the sweep in northern India made him the logical choice, Jag Jivan Ram’s men argued that since his defection had been decisive he should be considered. Then there was Morarji Desai who had almost become Prime Minister in 1964 and again in 1967. Finally, it was decided that grand old men behind Janata, Jaya Prakash and J.B. Kriplani would make the choice. They settled on Desai who had unparalleled administrative experience as well as a spotless personal record. Jagjivanram was offered the Defence portfolio, Charan Singh the Powerful Home Portfolio, and finance went to an old civil servant. H.M. Patel and Jana Sangh leader Atal Bihari Vajpayee became external affairs ministers. Though the cabinet was formed there were vast differences between Ministers. Differences reached such a turn that ultimately led to the collapse of government. Thus total revolution ended in total failure.

The disintegration of the Janata party proceeded against a background of despairing letters written by Jaya Prakash Narayan to his proteges. In Oct. 1979 J.P. died, a broken man Ramchandra Guha quotes the liberal editor A.D. Gorawala who while paying tributes to J.P. and describes him as a great moral force of the country, the toughstone of right and wrong. His last great effort was the formation and victory of the Jarot. Part whose narrow and partisan men absorbed in their own self-interest and self-importance failed badly.

The most important fact behind the downfall of the Janata Party govt. was the role of the R.S.S. It was not willing to play second fiddle to a bunch of conservative congressmen, socialists and sundry others. They were determined to take control using the method of penetrating planning and blackmail. It acted through the BJP including Atal Bihari Vajpayee who even at that time managed to combine loyalty to the R.S.S. with the practical politics of the R.S.S. that claimed his allegiance.

Madhu Limaye was at the forefront of opposing the co-existence with R.S.S. He wanted to leave the R.S.S. while merging in the Janata Party. Jana Sangh was not prepared to do so Limaye also thought the R.S.S. had external links with power whose ideology had nothing in common with their own but who shared a common interest in destroying the Indian state as it had taken shape. Though he did not publicly admit it so many words he was grateful to Indira Gandhi for so frontally and successfully bringing the downfall Janata party govt.

Meanwhile, factional fight took a serious turn. A time came when Charan Singh in order to fulfil his ambition sought the support of Indira Gandhi to become Prime Minister. Another factor to brought the downfall of the Janata government was the courage with which she continued to act during the Janata rule. Whenever occasion arose she stood with the people who faced atrocities on communal and caste basis. her visit to Belchi in Bihar to share the struggles suffered by Dalits drew worldwide publicity. This was specifically because she crossed the flooded river by riding the elephant. On foreign policy, she never missed the occasion to Condemn Anglo-America aggressive action. For example, she came out with a strongly worded statement condemning U.S. aggression on Cambodia.

Mohit Sen, the communist leader writes in his autobiography "A Traveller and the Road". When I met Indira Gandhi and congratulated her on the downfall of the Morarji Desai government, she immediately responded that on no account should the Charan Singh Government be allowed to stabilise.

The Janata government set up a commission to enquire into atrocities committed by Indira Gandhi. In the first few months, the Shah Commission examined scores of witnesses: bureaucrats, police officers, municipal officials, and members of Mrs Gandhi’s cabinet. But Indiraji herself refused to testify. Three times she was called to the witness box, three times she came and chose not to answer questions claiming she was bound by the oath of secrecy. A journalist victimised during the emergency saw this as an outrageous attempt to make a mockery of the proceeding of the commission. A journalist more sympathetic to the other side sarcastically commented that the Shah commission was supposed to be a sort of Nuremberg Trial. Instead, it has become a tamasha in which the heroine is constantly absent and minor villains or comedians hold the stage. (Quoted from Ramchandra Guha’s book.)

Meanwhile, attempts were made to arrest Mrs. Gandhi. Looking back on the three years of the Janata regime, one analyst remembered it as a chronicle of confused and complex squabbles, intra-party rivalries, shifting alliances, defection, charges and counter-charges of incompetence and the corruption and humiliation of persons.

The Janata government which was committed to Total Revolution could not complete a five-year term because of a factional fight it could last only for less than three years. actually, it took less than three years for Mrs Gandhi’s return to power. Her Congress party won 353 seats in the 1980 elections. She benefited from a division of votes between the two rival Janata factions. Mrs Gandhi during her election campaign claimed that she alone has the ability to rule and it is obvious voters agreed with her and voted her back to power. "Janata ho gayi fail kha gayi chini aur mitti ka tel" was the most popular slogan against Janata’s rule.

After her victory in 1980, Mrs Gandhi remarked I never thought that these total revolutionaries were such a pack of cowards and that they surrender so soon I would not have ordered emergency.

(Author: L S Herdenia is a veteran journalist based in Bhopal)