The Emergency

     For those of you who have been reading along with me, A Fine Balance, you might be a little uncertain about what all the fuss about the government is about, and this so called Emergency. Well I've decided to let you guys in on what the Emergency really was, and what kind of important events occurred in this nearly 2 year period.

     The Indian Emergency took placed from June 1975 to March 1977, a 21-month period in which Prime Minister Indira Gandhi, declared a state of emergency, effectively giving her the power to rule by decree. The Emergency was so crucial and unavoidable for the people of India, because it suspended all elections and civil liberties, therefore Prime Minister Indira Gandhi could not be overthrown in the time of the Emergency. This, along with all the wicked events that occurred in those 2 years, made the Emergency one of the most controversial times in the history of Independent India.

     Opponents had long made allegations that the Congress party, lead by Indira Gandhi herself, had performed electoral fraud to win the 1971 elections. A socialist named Jayaprakash Narayan was able to direct popular action against the Central Government. Narayan and his supporters, who were increasing in numbers by the day, sought to unify students, peasants, and labour organizations in what he called The Total Revolution to nonviolently transform Indian Society, and overthrow Indira Gandhi. Indira's Congress Party was eventually defeated in Gujurat (my family's home state!) by a coalition of parties calling themselves the Janata Party (People's Party), and even faced an all-party, no confidence motion in Parliament.

     On June 12, 1975, Indira Gandhi was found guilty in the charge of misuse of government machinery for her election campaign. Her election was declared null and void by the Allahabad High Court, and she was stripped of her seat in the Lok Sabha (Parliament?). However, most of the smaller, apparent mistakes of Indira were dropped by the judge and she was simply found guilty for misuse of government machinery. This decision of the judge infuriated some people, and strikes in labour and trade unions, student unions, and government unions swept across the country, at an effort to appeal for a judgement against Indira Gandhi for her crimes. These persistent efforts finally worked as Justice Jagmohan Lal Sinha (Judge of the High Court), finally passed judgement against Indira Gandhi. The ruling later became the primary reason for the imposition of emergency called by Indira Gandhi. It also encouraged greater belief in the judiciary and democracy in India. In her own words, Indira had brought democracy in India "to a grinding halt," and she advised the continuation of the Emergency over every six-month period until her decision to hold elections in 1977.

    
     Well guys and girls, now you know what Rohinton is talking about when he refers to the Emergency. I hope this cleared up a few questions or doubts in your mind, and I hope you enjoy the rest of the book.