TORTURED: Socialist leader George Fernandes was one of the leaders of the agitation against Indira Gandhi who was arrested and kept in chains by a revengeful prime minister, Indira Gandhi.
By Rajan Narayan
As in the case of Indira Gandhi who was defeated in the post-Emergency election, the expectation is that the super-arrogant Modi will also be dismissed by Indian voters in the parliamentary elections coming up in 2024.
JUNE 26, 2023 was the anniversary of the Emergency imposed by the late Prime Minister of India 25 years ago. The Emergency was an act of the murder of democracy and containment for the Constitution. The Allahabad High Court in a case of electoral malpractices dismissed Indira Gandhi as a member of parliament. The petition was filed interestingly Raj Narain of the Socialist party.
In the normal course if a member of parliament is dismissed, the MP concerned has to quit immediately. It will be recalled that in the case of Rahul Gandhi, the speaker of the Modi parliament, AK Birla, expelled Rahul Gandhi from Parliament within 24 hours. But in the case of Indira Gandhi, she not only disobeyed the Supreme Court but declared an Emergency.
The Constitution was suspended. All civil rights were banned. There was no freedom of speech of expression. Censorship was imposed on the media. All the leading editors including S Mulgaokar, editor-in-chief of Indian Express, Kuldeep Nair and even assistant editors in the Times of India were arrested. All the Opposition leaders of all parties supporting the Jayprakash movement were also put in jail. Including the BJP leader LK Advani, the socialist leader and the leaders of every other opposition party.
EDITING `ONLOOKER’ IN BOMBAY
I WAS editing a magazine called Onlooker when Emergency was declared in 1975. We were required to submit every article to the censor and get it approved. There was a streak of puritanism over censorship. All film songs and articles considered remotely vulgar were banned. This included our pin-up which used to appear in the Onlooker.
Indira Gandhi was instigated by her younger son Sanjay Gandhi. Sanjay Gandhi advised her not to resign but to impose an Emergency. Then Sanjay Gandhi launched population control in programs in which forcible circumcising if young men was carried out. Sanjay destroyed the slum colonies. He harassed and humiliated those in the Opposition. Fortunately for the country, Sanjay Gandhi was killed in an air crash. As the pilot he was flying the aircraft very rashly.
Comparisons are being made by the Sangh Parivar between Narendra Modi and Indira Gandhi. The BJP which has been targeting the Gandhi family as a political dynasty has tried to erase the good deeds done by the Congress and the Nehru parivar. The UP government has withdrawn the name of Nehru from a list of top leaders. The 11th standards NCERT book has dropped the chapter on freedom fighters.
MODI LIKE SANJAY GANDHI!
THE difference between Narendra Modi and the late Indira Gandhi is that, but for her son, she was a democrat. So much so that within a year she lifted Emergency and declared general elections. Indira Gandhi was given the impression by her fake news purveyors that the Congress would win the elections by a huge majority. If you let the people of India decide they will always make the right decision.
To the utter shock of not only the Congress party but Indira Gandhi herself she was defeated in the post-Emergency general elections. Democracy was restored and all the arrested Opposition leaders and editors freed. The Janata party formed by JP which had fought the election as a united front swept the polls.
But unfortunately for democracy the Janata party made a mess of the voters’ mandate. It was a case of too many cooks and no waiters to serve the meal. There was a succession of prime ministers as there were revolts within the group. In the next election the people taught the Janata party a lesson by sweeping back Indira Gandhi to the seat of power.
The Indian voter is very smart. Admittedly, they elected Narendra Modi twice. But his ambition of getting elected the third time seems highly doubtful. This is because the Prime Minister Narendra Modi has started behaving as Sanjay Gandhi behaved. This is because Narendra Modi wants to establish a dictatorship. In the last assembly election before the parliamentary polls the Congress defeated the BJP in Karnataka. If the Opposition stays united there is every chance that Modi will sink in the next elections.