Dark period of emergency that saw Indian democracy brutally crushed: PM Modi

EMERGENCY ARCHITECTS: Prime Minister Indira Gandhi with President Fakhruddin Ali Ahmed, when she visited him on August 21, 1974. Mrs. Ahmed is on the left. On the advice of his cabinet, President Fakhruddin Ali Ahmed declared a state of emergency under Article 352, citing “internal unrest”. Photo: The Hindu Archives

THE MARCH THAT SHAKEN MRS. GANDHI: Socialist leader Jayaprakash Narayan is seen sitting outside the locked door of the Patna Secretariat while leading the anti-corruption movement in Bihar in October 1974. As JP started visiting more states, he also united several anti-Congress parties and protests against Indira Gandhi’s government intensified, which was seen as one of the main reasons for her recommending the state emergency. Photo: The Hindu Archives

JP’S MOVEMENT: JP led a ‘March to Parliament’ in Delhi in March 1975. His movement ended Congress rule at the Center for the first time in 1977. Different political parties came together under the banner of his Janata Party to provide the country with its first non-Congress government. Photo: The Hindu Archives

GUJARAT REVOLT: Morarji Desai (centre) sat on an indefinite fast to press for early elections in Gujarat. Elections were held in June and, for the first and only time, Gujarat delivered a no-majority verdict in the Assembly. Two weeks later, a state of emergency was imposed.

RAILWAY STRIKE: This image, which later became a symbol of the state of emergency, was taken when union leader George Fernandes was arrested during the Indian railway strike in May 1974. Fernandes led the agitation demanding a review of wages and eight-hour shifts for railway workers. Despite his arrest, around 70% of railway workers refrained from work, crippling the country’s largest PSU.

A LOST LEGAL BATTLE: Indira Gandhi lost the legal battle in the Allahabad High Court in a petition filed by Raj Narain (pictured), challenging her election in 1971 from Rae Bareli in Uttar Pradesh. This conviction means that she ceases to be an MP.

IMPOSED EMERGENCY: The front page of The Hindu, dated June 26, 1975, reports that the President proclaimed an emergency, on its front page.

WHEN A CM PROTECTED: Karunanidhi, then chief minister of Tamil Nadu, distributes handmade pamphlets to the public near the Anna statue in Mount Road to protest against press censorship during the Emergency. On July 12, 1975, he addressed a mass rally at Marina Beach in Madras, declaring that there was no internal or external threat to India and appealing to the vast public to take a pledge to defend their freedoms. His government was subsequently dismissed. This image was taken from a photo exhibition at Kalaignar Karuvoolam. Photo: Mr. Vedhan

THE STORY OF THE INVISIBLE: While JP was addressing a meeting in Vijayawada against the Emergency in 1975, three youths – Yalamanchali Sivaji, Yarlagadda Lakshmi Prasad and Kambhampati Hari Babu – can be seen. All subsequently became deputies. Sitting in the audience, but missed in the click, is a young man who was one of several people arrested for opposing the state of emergency. This was Mr. Venkaiah Naidu, who later became the Vice President of India. This photo was shared with The Hindu by Dr Sivaji. Photo: Special Arrangement

DMK FACES ANGER: DMK youth leaders MK Stalin, Arcot Veerasamy and Murasoli Maran were among those detained at MISA. C. Chittibab, former mayor of Madras, died in custody while trying to protect Stalin. The photo shows the cell of the old Madras Central Jail, where Chief Minister MK Stalin was detained under the Maintenance of Internal Security During Emergency Act.

THE GOVERNMENT’S STORY: In this image shared by the Press Information Bureau, some members of the Indian community in London challenged Indira Gandhi, in New Delhi on September 15, 1975. They had participated in the massive demonstration in support of the emergency measures and against the distortions of the British press and the BBC. Photo: Special Arrangement

THE JANATA GOVERNMENT: Morarji Desai (left) speaking to LK Advani (right) while Jayaprakash Narayan looked on, in New Delhi on January 22, 1977. This photograph would not have been possible before the Emergency given their political views. But the anti-Congress leaders united to form the Janata government, handing the Congress its first defeat at the Centre. Moraji Desai became Prime Minister, LK Advani became I&B Minister, while JP chose to stay away from electoral politics. Photo: The Hindu Archives

ENDING THE EMERGENCY: Indira Gandhi called for new elections in March 1977 and released all political prisoners. The photo shows Mrs Gandhi meeting opposition party leaders in New Delhi on January 28, 1977.

NEW LEADERS HAVE RISE: The Emergency has given rise to a new wave of politicians, with Chandra Shekhar being a striking face. He and Atal Bihari Vajpayee, who were ministers in the Janata government, eventually became prime ministers.

DRACONIAN LAW: George Fernandes and Mulayam Singh Yadav take part in a ceremony to commemorate Emergency Political Detentions, in Lucknow, June 26, 2006. The two leaders were arrested during the period when the infamous Maintenance of Internal Security Act (MISA) was in force. The law allows for the detention of people without a warrant for an indefinite period.