The Crisis of Democratic Order

Written and reviewed by Subhra Gupta, Humanities faculty at UniDrill (M.A. Sociology, University of Delhi · 7 years teaching Humanities). Based on NCERT Political Science Class XII (Politics in India since Independence), Chapter 6.

The morning some newspapers did not appear

On the night of 25 June 1975, the electricity supply to several newspaper offices on Delhi's Bahadur Shah Zafar Marg was cut. By the next morning, opposition leaders had been arrested, the Cabinet had been called to a meeting at 6 a.m. to be told that an Emergency had already been proclaimed, and newspapers had to submit their stories for approval before publication.

How does an elected government, with a large majority, end up suspending the rights that elections are meant to protect? This chapter is the answer, in three parts: the build-up (1971 to 1975), the Emergency (June 1975 to March 1977) and the way voters and institutions responded afterwards (1977 to 1980).

Timeline: 1973 to 1980

Why was the country restless? Cause and effect

After the 1971 and 1972 victories, the government had a strong pro-poor image, but the slogan of Garibi Hatao could not remove poverty quickly. The conditions listed below turned hardship into protest.

The same years saw the Naxalite movement. Marxist-Leninist groups, strong in West Bengal, took up arms against the existing economic order, and the State government responded with strong police action.

At the same time, relations between the government and the judiciary became tense, and party competition became bitter and polarised.

Gujarat, Bihar and the Railway Strike

Three protests in 1974 built up the pressure. Learn them as a set, since NTA likes to mix them up.

JP agreed to lead the Bihar movement on two conditions: it must stay non-violent, and it must not be confined to Bihar. His call for Sampoorna Kranti (Total Revolution) meant change in social, economic and political life together. In 1975, JP led a very large rally in the capital, supported by the Bharatiya Jana Sangh, Congress (O), the Bharatiya Lok Dal, the Socialist Party and others. For the first time, an opposition platform could draw national support.

Parliament vs the courts

The second line of conflict was constitutional. Three questions kept arriving before the Supreme Court: can Parliament cut down Fundamental Rights, can it limit the right to property, and can it curtail Fundamental Rights to carry out the Directive Principles? In Kesavananda Bharati (1973) the Court answered with the basic structure doctrine: Parliament may amend the Constitution but cannot alter its basic structure.

The day after the verdict, the government set aside the seniority of three judges (who had ruled against it) and appointed Justice A.N. Ray as Chief Justice. Talk of a "committed judiciary" and a "committed bureaucracy" began, the idea that judges and officials should share the vision of the elected government.

Two views. For the exam: the government held that an elected Parliament must be able to amend Fundamental Rights to deliver land reforms and social change, and that judges and officials should be committed to those goals. Another reading: critics held that courts must be able to check even a large majority, and that a judiciary chosen for its loyalty could no longer protect rights. The Court's basic structure ruling was the constitutional middle path.

Beyond the textbook. For the exam: the basic structure doctrine comes from Kesavananda Bharati (1973). In reality: the case was heard by a bench of thirteen judges and the doctrine was accepted by a narrow majority of seven to six. This is why later governments and courts have treated it as the settled limit on amending power.

12 June to 25 June 1975: the final fortnight

The immediate trigger was a court case. On 12 June 1975, Justice Jagmohan Lal Sinha of the Allahabad High Court declared Indira Gandhi's election from Rae Bareli in 1971 invalid on a petition filed by the socialist leader Raj Narain, on the ground that she had used government servants in her campaign. She was barred from contesting elections for six years. On 24 June, the Supreme Court granted a partial stay: she could continue as MP but could not take part in Lok Sabha proceedings or vote.

On 25 June, JP addressed a rally at Ramlila Maidan, announced a nation-wide satyagraha for the Prime Minister's resignation and asked soldiers, police and government employees to refuse orders they considered illegal and immoral. That night the government declared an Emergency.

The chain in one line: inflation and unrest → Gujarat, Bihar and the Railway Strike → 12 June High Court verdict → 24 June partial stay → 25 June JP's rally → Emergency proclaimed

The declaration of Emergency

The Prime Minister recommended an Emergency to President Fakhruddin Ali Ahmed, who issued the proclamation that night under Article 352, on the ground of "internal disturbance". The Cabinet met at 6 a.m. on 26 June and was told of the decision after it had been taken.

Article 352 allows an Emergency when the country faces external threat or internal disturbance. In the 1975 proclamation, the government argued that the protest movement had created a serious law and order situation. The opposition argued that this was an ordinary democratic protest.

Two views. For the exam: the government held that the call to the army and police, and the scale of agitations, amounted to a threat to the country's order, so an Emergency was needed. Another reading: the opposition held that this was a peaceful movement that political leadership could have handled through talks and elections, and that Article 352 was not meant for it.

What changed during the Emergency

Preventive detention means arrest on the suspicion that a person may commit an offence, rather than for an offence committed. Detained persons could not challenge their detention through habeas corpus, the writ that requires the State to produce a detained person before a court. Several High Courts held that even with Fundamental Rights suspended, the State could not take away life and liberty without authority of law. In April 1976, a Supreme Court constitution bench overruled them and accepted the government's plea. This remains one of the most debated judgments of the Court.

Resistance and silence. Indian Express and Statesman left editorial space blank as protest. Seminar and Mainstream chose to shut down rather than accept censorship. Kannada writer Shivarama Karanth (Padma Bhushan) and Hindi writer Phanishwarnath Renu (Padma Shri) returned their awards. Open defiance, however, was rare. Many people accepted what happened out of fear, indifference or approval.

Changing the Constitution

Parliament made major changes during the Emergency. The elections of the President, Vice-President and Prime Minister were placed beyond challenge in the courts. The 42nd Amendment (1976) raised the term of the Lok Sabha and State Assemblies from five to six years, restricted judicial review, and added the words "Socialist", "Secular" and "Integrity" to the Preamble. The elections due in 1976 were postponed; the Lok Sabha elections took place in March 1977, after 18 months of Emergency.

Beyond the textbook. For the exam: the 42nd Amendment extended the term from five to six years. In reality: the 44th Amendment (1978) later restored the five year term, while the three Preamble words added in 1976 remain part of the Preamble today.

Pause and predict: Since the 44th Amendment, an Emergency needs the Cabinet's written advice to the President. Which feature of the 1975 declaration does this respond to?

Check your answer: The Cabinet was informed at 6 a.m. on 26 June, after the proclamation was signed. The written advice rule makes sure the whole Cabinet, not only the Prime Minister, is part of the decision.

Lessons of the Emergency

Democracy returned quickly, and that itself was a lesson: it is very difficult to do away with democracy in India. Three more lessons followed. First, the 44th Amendment changed the ground for an "internal" Emergency from "internal disturbance" to "armed rebellion", and required the Cabinet's written advice to the President. Second, awareness of civil liberties grew, and civil liberties organisations came up. Third, courts became more active in protecting civil liberties.

The chapter also notes that the police and administration had been drawn into politics during the Emergency, and that this remains a weakness in the system. The Shah Commission, set up by the Janata government in 1977, inquired into allegations of misuse of power during the Emergency.

Pause and predict: Why is "armed rebellion" a harder ground to claim than "internal disturbance"?

Check your answer: "Internal disturbance" was broad enough to cover political agitation, as in 1975. "Armed rebellion" refers to organised armed resistance against the State, a much narrower and more serious situation, so a government cannot easily use it against a protest movement.

The 1977 verdict

The Lok Sabha elections were held in March 1977. Opposition parties came together as the Janata Party under JP's guidance. Jagjivan Ram left Congress and floated the Congress for Democracy, which later merged with Janata.

The verdict was uneven across the country. The result was strongest against Congress in the north. Congress held Maharashtra, Gujarat and Orissa and did very well in the south, where the effects of the Emergency had been less severe. The election worked as a referendum on the Emergency.

Pause and predict: If the 1977 election was a referendum on the Emergency, why did Congress do so much better in the south than in the north?

Check your answer: The Emergency was not experienced in the same way everywhere. The measures were felt most sharply in the north, so the anger was strongest there, while in the south many voters had not had the same experience.

The Janata interlude and 1980

Three leaders wanted to be Prime Minister: Morarji Desai, Charan Singh and Jagjivan Ram. After the intervention of JP and J.B. Kripalani, Morarji Desai became Prime Minister on 24 March 1977, the first non-Congress Prime Minister. The party lacked direction, leadership and a common programme. Morarji Desai lost his majority within 28 months. Charan Singh then formed a government with outside support from Congress, but it lasted only about four months after Congress withdrew support. In January 1980, Congress under Indira Gandhi won 353 seats and returned to power.

Legacy and assessment

Congress lost its old umbrella character and came to be identified with one leader and one ideology. The opposition learnt the value of unity, and non-Congressism became a basis of coalition politics in later decades. Under Janata, the Mandal Commission on backward classes was set up in 1978, which later brought caste and reservation to the centre of national politics.

The Emergency was both a constitutional crisis, over who has the final word between Parliament and the courts, and a political crisis, about the relation between regular institutional democracy and democracy based on mass protest.

Key people and terms

Exam traps

60-second revision

Where this chapter connects

• Previous: Challenges to and Restoration of the Congress System explains how Indira Gandhi reached the 1971 victory that this chapter starts from.
• Next: Regional Aspirations turns to Jammu and Kashmir, Punjab, the North-East and other regional questions, which followed in the 1980s.
• Class XI link: The Judiciary and The Philosophy of the Constitution give the background on judicial review and the Constitution's basic ideas.