Emergency was the darkest chapter in free India which pushed the country’s governance into a despotic system. After Indira Gandhi’s election to Parliament was set aside by the Allahabad High Court by
Justice JL Sinha on June 12, 1975, Emergency was imposed just after 12 days. Over 1.5 lakh people including national leaders like Jayaprakash Narayan, Moraji Desai, Chandra Shekhar, Biju Patnaik, AB Vajpayee and Charan Singh were imprisoned without trial. Some of these leaders were icons of India’s freedom movement. Emergency was imposed on the “pretext that nation was in danger” and there was ‘foreign hand behind destabilising of the Government’ etc. World over leaders with an autocratic mindset adopt a common stand/alibi such as ‘danger to nation’, ‘nationalism at stake’ etc to perpetuate autocratic governance in order to cover up their unrighteous governance. JP discarded imposition of emergency as “Binas Kale Biparita Buddhi” and wrote a letter to Indira Gandhi stating “every one of them (those arrested) is as good a patriot.”
On the occasion of twentieth anniversary of the Emergency Noted Jurist Nani A Palkhivala in an article in an English daily titled ‘Can ithappen again?’ had observed that the danger of a re-imposition of emergency is greater in India. Quoting George Santayana he wrote that “…..Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it.”
The citizens of India, the real sovereign power in the language of Pandit Nehru ended the emergency regime in the battle of ballot under the leadership of Jay Prakash Narayan. Nani A Palikhivala in his tribute to JP observed “He changed decisively the course of history. One life transformed the destiny of hundreds of millions...”However, the Janata Party leaders forgot the very oath they had taken at Rajghat on March 24, 1977 in the presence of JP ‘to uphold the inalienable rights to life and liberty of the citizens of our republic’ as they quarreled among themselves and hardly heeded to JP to resolve their differences.
Some of the dissidents leaders who were accusing Moraji Desai Government as a pack of ‘impotent people’ for not arresting Indira Gandhi left Janata party in July 1979 and formed a new political entity and succeeded in forming a new Government with support of 73 MPs of Congress led by Indira Gandhi.
In the language of mother of George Fernandis who had told the author in Bangalore that ‘the Janata Party leaders threw away in one hand what God had given them in two hands’ sometimes in 1980 when he met her to pay his respects. JP described the fall of Janata Party Government as “Mera Bag Ujad Gaya”. The defection based Government however did not last long leading to general election in 1980 in which Indira Gandhi came back to power with a resounding victory showing how history is inherently repetitive sometimes instantly, sometimes a little late leaving behind enough lessons to learn.
In the later years with a view to unite fragmented opposition parties, Bijubabu and RK Hegde made effort that culminated formation of “Janata Dal” in October 1988 on the birth anniversary of Jayprakash Narayan which came to power in 1989, but it also collapsed like Janata Party experiment.
An articulate Judge like Justice Chandrachud in the later years had shown his magnanimity by regretting courts failure to uphold civil liberty. Justice NV Ramana, the present Chief Justice of India in July 2021 hearing a case on sedition law (Section 124(A) IPC) in a historic observation reportedly observed as to why a colonial law used by foreigners to suppress freedom fighters is still intact after 75 years of independence. This observation is a befitting tribute to BG Tilak, Gandhiji and other freedom fighters who suffered imprisonment under this law during the colonial regime. The parameters of democracy
universally hold common objectives namely civil liberty, independent judiciary, free and fair election etc. Prime Minister Moraji Desai while moving the privilege motion report against Indira Gandhi in the Parliament on December 8, 1978 had asserted that any delay to resist dictatorial designs at the right time invites grave consequences for the nation. Under a republican constitution, the people are real sovereign while political representatives are their trustees to look after governance, not to harass them for carrying dissent.
The Saha Commission had held that any attempt by ruling party trying to snoop opposition parties or even its own members ‘will make democratic institutions a laughing stock’. Allegation of tapping of telephone of ruling party leaders like Jagjivan Ram, Chandra Sekhar had surfaced during emergency. In later years the allegations of tapping of telephone of LK Advani had also surfaced. Similar allegation is surfacing now about tapping of telephones of Ministers, Constitutional institutions and scribes through Pegasus spyware which is worrisome as such instruments are meant to monitor terrorism not constitutional officers/political leaders.
Another case of repetitive nature of history can be seen on use of Anti-defection law enacted by Congress in 1985 which contained provisions for mass defection empowering a ruling party to maneuver;
little realizing that the same, one day would be cause its downfall. In recent past, Congress lost several States like MP and Goa etc as its opponent overturned the public mandate by engineering defections.
Congress forgot to adhere to the advice of Rajendra Prasad who in his concluding address in the Constituent Assembly on the eve of adoption of the Constitution had emphasized on purity of election system to strengthen democracy. The Congress which led freedom movement is responsible for keeping the tortuous sedition laws intact, framing NIA Act which has every potential of manipulation of police power of the State, cooperative law amendment in 2012(97th constitution amendment), mines law to curtail exclusive legislative domain of States. It is responsible for various historical omissions. Those who dig the hole always fall prey to it.
Amit Saha petitioned Supreme Court to rescind CBI probe against him during UPA time alleging CBI was acting in a partisan manner. When BJP came to power, the same CBI filed case against some key UPA time Ministers, who are now crying foul.
An effort for uniting opposition parties at national level no doubt is the need of the hour. But given internal contradictions and mutual mistrust, ego clash, it is not easy to achieve opposition unity. In order to generate public good will there should be a robust commitment to the common minimum programme for governance on issues like (a) vow to strengthen federal structure by restricting intrusion to
legislative arena of the States (b) amending election law to facilitate a retired Chief Justice of India to head the ElectionCommission (c) establishment of Lokpal (d) amending the anti-defection law to prevent any type of defection (e) passing women reservation Bill (f) Judicial commission headed by Chief Justice with two senior sitting Judges of the Supreme Court, two eminent Jurists elected by a
digital exercise by Supreme Court and High Court Bar Associations (g) Universalising health insurance covers to all the citizens (h) Scrapping colonial laws like Official Secret Act and sedition law (i) Mandating consultation with CMs in appointment of Governors as per suggestion of Sakaria Commission, etc. It is time for those who governed earlier need to own their mistakes and promise not to repeat the faults.
(Panda is a former Assembly Deputy Speaker and former Member, State Planning Board, Odisha; E-mail: pandarcp@gmail.com. The views expressed are personal)