On this day: Indira Gandhi declared Emergency; all you need to know

-

“The President has proclaimed Emergency. There is nothing to panic about.” - When Prime Minister Indira Gandhi proclaimed these words on All India Radio, few were aware that it would be the start of a dark period in Indian politics.

Gandhi made the announcement just hours after then President Fakhruddin Ali Ahmed signed the order on her advice late night on 25 June. As the nation recalls one of the most tumultuous periods in its history since independence, here’s a look at all you need to know about the Emergency:

The build-up:

While Gandhi was wildly popular in the domestic arena after India’s victory over Pakistan in the 1971 war, she had to face several issues - scarcity of food, growing unemployment and rampant inflation. The situation was further compounded by student protests led by Jayaprakash Narayan, which lambasted the corruption under the Congress rule and demanded Gandhi’s resignation.

In another development, Gandhi’s win in the 1971 Rae Bareli parliamentary elections came under scrutiny. Socialist leader Raj Narain, who had contested against her, filed a petition in the Allahabad High Court, accusing Gandhi of having won the election through corrupt practices and misuse of government machinery.

On 12 June 1975, Justice Jagmohanlal Sinha declared Gandhi’s election as null and void. He also barred her from contesting an election for six years, but gave the Congress 20 days to find a replacement Prime Minister. Gandhi appealed against the verdict in the Supreme Court. On 24 June 1975, the apex court granted a conditional stay, but ordered her to not oversee any parliamentary proceedings.

Parallel to this developments, JP Narayan called for a nationwide satyagraha to remove the Prime Minister. Many people from her party also called on her to resign.

The government, however, responded by declaring a state of emergency. In her radio address, Indira Gandhi said that the Emergency was imposed to curb “internal disturbance”.

What happened during the Emergency?

Constitutional rights were suspended. Several of Gandhi’s political opponents were imprisoned including LK Advani, Atal Bihar Vajpayee, Morarji Desai and JP Narayan. The period saw censorship of the press. A mass sterilisation programme was also enacted by Sanjay Gandhi.
All powers were vested in the hands of the Union government. The 42nd Amendment to the Constitution was also passed during this period.

Aftermath:

The Emergency lasted for 21 months. In January 1977, the government stated that it would soon hold elections. In the March 1977 polls, Congress suffered a huge defeat. Opposition leaders united to establish the Janata Party, which formed the first non-Congress government in independent India.

Read all the Latest News, Trending News, Cricket News, Bollywood News,
India News and Entertainment News here. Follow us on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.



from Firstpost India Latest News https://ift.tt/y1LznA3
FP Trending

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Both COVID-19 vaccine doses needed for good protection against B16172 variant

-
It’s been a concerning few weeks in the UK, with the B16172 variant first taking hold and then spreading to become dominant. This more infectious form of the virus, initially identified in India, is what we’re now going to have to live with – unless it is out-competed by another variant in the future. Worryingly, experts had predicted that B16172 might be able to escape some of the effects of vaccines, which if true would threaten to derail the UK’s plans to finish lifting restrictions from the end of June. However, Public Health England (PHE) has looked at the ability of various variants to evade immunity and says that the UK’s vaccines remain effective against the variants circulating, including B16172. On the surface, this looks like good news. But delve a bit deeper, and things get more complicated, says Paul Hunter, professor of medicine at the University of East Anglia. PHE’s research found a little drop-off in protection against B16172 among people who were fully vaccinated.
Read more

New coronavirus variant emerge in India: How should our COVID response change?

-
Image
After genome sequencing of over 10,000 COVID-19 cases in India, researchers have discovered a new variant with two new mutations which may be better at evading the immune system. In 15-20 percent of samples from the Indian state of Maharashtra (the state accounting for 62 percent of cases in the country) a new, double mutation in key areas of the virus has been detected. These are now known as the E484Q and L452R mutations. What makes the variant different? Both these mutations are concerning because they are located in a key portion of the virus – the spike protein – that it uses to penetrate human cells. Spike proteins attach via a “receptor binding domain”, meaning the virus can attach to receptors in our cells. These new mutations include changes to the spike protein that make it a “better fit” for human cells. This means the virus can gain entry more easily and multiply faster. Given what we have seen with other similar mutations , it might also make it harder for our immu
Read more

120 flights delayed, 30 trains running late; Delhi fog & cold wave continue to give shiver to travellers

-
Arrival and departure of 120 flights, both domestic and international, to Delhi airport were affected due to dense fog and cold wave conditions on Wednesday, according to Delhi Airport FIDS (Flight Information Display System). As per the Delhi Airport FIDS, a total of 53 flights, including 21 domestic arrivals, 16 domestic departures, 13 international departures and three international arrivals scheduled are cancelled and not operating due to fog and other operational reasons from and to Indira Gandhi International (IGI) Airport in the national capital on 17 January. #WATCH | Delhi: Several flight operations delayed at IGI airport due to low visibility amid fog. pic.twitter.com/hG1DUKllEt — ANI (@ANI) January 17, 2024 Visuals from the Delhi airport showed passengers waiting outside, checking update of their scheduled flights. There were also some people waiting for flight of their families, friends and loved ones to arrive, which got delayed due to fog. #WATCH | Delhi | Pas
Read more