Politics In India Since Independence Chapter 6 The Crisis Of Democratic Order

C.

(i) The Janata Party government was not cohesive. There was power struggle within the party.

(ii) The Janata Party lacked direction, leadership and a common programme.

(iii) The Janata government could not bring about a fundamental change in policies from those were pursued by the Congress. 

(iv)The Janata Party got split and the goverment led by Moraji Desai lost its mojority in less than 18 months and another goverment was formed by Charan Singh with Congress support but later Congress had withdrawn its support.

(i) In all 676 opposition leaders were arrested. Nearly one lakh eleven thousand people were arrested under preventive detention laws.

(ii) Severe restrictions were put on the press, sometimes without legal sanctions.

(iv) The General manager of the Delhi Power Supply Corporation received verbal orders from the office of Lt. Governor of Delhi to cut electricity to all newspaper presses at 2 a.m. on 26 June, 1975. Electricity was restored two to three days later the censorship apparatus had had been set up.

(v)Torture and custodial deaths occurred during the emergency. 

(vi) Over-enthusiasm about population control led to cases of compulsory sterilisation.

(vii) Governmental power was exercised by those who held no official position.

(viii) The administration and the police bacame vulnerable to political pressures.

(ii) Supporters of Indira Gandhi held that in a democracy, opposition cannot continuously have extra-parliamentary politics targeting the government because this leads to instability and distracts the administration from its routine task of ensuring development.

(iii) Indira Gandhi wrote in a letter to Shah Commission that subversive forces were trying to obstruct the progressive programmers of the government and were attempting to dislodge her through extra-constitutional means.

(i) Since 1967 elections the oppositions parties had been coming nearer to each other. That election had brought the idea of coalitions in Indian politics and various SVD governments were formed.

(ii) Before emergency the movement led by Jayaprakash Narayan had received support from the non-Congress opposition parties like the Bharatiya Jana Sangh, the Congress (O), The Bharatiya Lok Dal and others.

(iii) The opposition parties organised a massive demonstration on 25 June, 1975 and asked for resignation of Indira Gandhi.

(iv) Arrest, censorship, torture, custodial deaths during emergency and other actions of the government directly affected the political parties and the ordinary people.

(v)All these factors brought the opposition together and formed a new party known as the Janata Party under the leadership of Jayaprakash Narayan. The new party made the election into a refrendum on the Emergency.

(vi)The public opinion was against the Congress. The formation of the Janata Party ensured that non-Congress votes would not be divided. All these factors led to the victory of the Janata Party and coming of opposition into power at the Centre.

(b) Impact on relationship between the Executive and Judiciary : A conflict between the Parliament and Judiciary had been going on over different constitutional issues, the constitutional interpretations and political ideologies were getting mixed up. People close to the Prime Minister wanted a judiciary and the bureaucracy ‘committed’ to the vision of the executive and the legislature. During emergency exactly this happened. The government made extensive use of preventive detention. Large scale arrests were made. Arrested workers could not challenge their arrest through habeas corpus petitions. Although some High Courts gave judgments allowing courts to entertain a writ of habeas corpus but the Supreme Court over-ruled the High Courts and accepted the government’s plea. This judgment was one of the most controversial judgments of the Supreme Court which had closed the doors of judiciary for the citizens.

(c) Functions of Mass Media : The Emergency adversely affected the functioning of mass media as mentioned below:

(i) After midnight of 25 June 1975, the electricity to all the major newspaper offices was disconnected.

(ii) Freedom of press was suspended and press censorship was introduced.

(iii) Newspapers like the Indian Express and the Statesman protested against censorship by leaving blank spaces where news items had been censored.

(iv) Magazines like the Seminar and the Main Stream chose to close down rather than submit to censorship.

(v) Many journalists were arrested for writing against the Emergency.

(vi) Many underground newsletters and leaflets were published to bypass censorship.

(d) Working of the Police and Bureaucracy : Even before the declaration of Emergency, persons close to the Prime Minister started talking of the need for a bureaucracy ‘committed’ to the vision of the executive and the legislature. This happened in practice during Emergency because the actual implementation of the Emergency rule took place through the police and the administration. These institutions could not function indepedently. They were turned into political instruments of the ruling party. According to Shah Commission Report, the administration and the police became vulnerable to political pressures.

(b) The authors are describing this period as close to a two-party system because major opposition parties had come together on the eve of the election and formed the Janata Party. Even some leaders Congress who were opposed to the Emergency also joined the new party. Jagjivan Ram, a Congress leader, who had formed his own party - Congress for Democracy, later merged it with the Janata Party. Thus, it looked like a two-party system has come into existence in 1977.

(c) (i) Congress : The main cause for the split in the Congress was that some leaders were opposed to the Emergency, joined the Janata party. Leaders like Jagjivan Ram formed another party. The change in the nature of the Congress was also responsible for its split. The Congress party now identified with particular ideology and depended on the appeal of one leader like Indira Gandhi. It was no longer an umbrella party which accomodated leaders and workers of different ideological dispensations and view points.

(ii) Janata party : The cause of the split in the Janata Party was that it lacked direction leadership and a common programme. It was the Emergency that could keep the opposition together for a while. The party was not cohesive. There was competition for the post of Prime Minister. Morarji Desai became the Prime Minister but the power struggle within the party continued and ultimately led to its split.

(ii) Excesses during the Emergency such as censorship of the Press, arrests, custodial deaths.

Congress lost in every constituency in Bihar, UP, Delhi. Haryana and Punjab. It won one seat each is Rajasthan and Madhya Pradesh.

ii. Students’ agitation in Gujarat

iii. Declaration of Emergency

iv. Janata Party

This caused the goverment to impose emergency on all over India.

The apointment became controversial because the government set aside the seniority of three judges who had given rulings against the stand of the government on different occasions.

The federal distribution of powers remains practically suspended and all the powers are concrentrated  in the hands of the union government.

(i) Indian politics had a history of popular struggles.

(ii) Right to publicly protest against the goverment.

(iii)Mostlyw peaceful and non-violent agitations in Bihar and Gujarat.

(iv) No cases were registered against most of the detainees.

(v) No concern about law and order were expressed by the Home Ministry.

(vi) Enough routine powers with the government to deal with the situation.

(ii) In Haryana, UP, Bihar, Delhi, Punjab, the Congress could not win even a single seat. In Rajasthan and Madhya Pradesh it could win only one seat each.

(iii) In Andhra Pradesh, Kerala, Karnataka i.e., the southern States Congress and its allies swept the polls.

(ii)1977 elections were fought by the Janata party on the slogan of  'save democracy’.

(iii) Corruption, lawlessness and violence imply that there was corruption in high places in the government. There was no law and order and violence was on the rise in the country.

(i) Indira Gandhi emerged as a towering leader with tremendous popularity.

(ii) The party competition became bitter and polarised.

(iii) There was tension in the relationship between the government and the judiciary.

(iv) The politics was becoming too personalised and the governmental authority was being converted into personal authority as happened during the emergency.

(i) The Bangladesh crisis had put a heavy strain on India’s economy. About eight million people crossed over the East Pakistan border into India. This was followed by war with Pakistan. 

(ii) After the Indo-Pak war of 1965, the US government had stopped all aid to India.

(iii) In the international market the manifold increase in oil prices led to an all-round increase in prices of commodities. Such level of inflation caused much hardship to the people.

(iv) Industrial growth was low and unemployment was very high, particularly in rural areas.

(v) In order to reduce expenditure, the government froze the salaries of its employees. This caused further dissatisfaction among the goverment employees.

(vi) Food grain output declined by 8 per cent.

(b)Leadership: Jayaprakash Narayan joined the movement on the condition that the movement will remain non violent and will not limit to Bihar.

(c) Demands : Jayaprakash Narayan demanded the dismissal of Congress government in Bihar and gave a call for total revolution in the social, economic and political spheres in order to establish true democracy.

(d) Activities : (i) A series of bandhs, gheraos and strikes were organised.

(ii) In March, Jayaprakash Narayan led a people’s march to the Parliament.

The role of the Naxalite Movement in the politics of india has been examined below :

(i) CPI(M) was divided into two and in 1969 a new party—Communist Party (Marxist-Leninist) was formed under the leadership of Charu Majumdar.

(ii) The new party decided to adopt a strategy of protracted guerilla warfare in order to lead a revolution.

(iii) The Naxalite Movement has used force to snatch land from the rich land owners and give it to the poor and the landless.

(iv) The movement has now splintered into various parties and organisations. CPI-ML (Liberation) participates in open democratic politics.

(v) Most of the Naxalite affected areas are backward inhabited by Adivasis which are exploited by money-lenders and other people and these conditions lead to the growth of the Naxalite Movement.

(i) Enocomic factors : In the elections of 1971, the Congress had given the slogan of ‘garibi hatao’ (remove poverty) but the promise had not been implemented. The economic condition of the people did not improve much after 1971-72. As a result of poor economic conditions, non-Congress opposition parties had started protests in different parts of the country.

(ii) Gujarat and Bihar movements : In 1974 the students in Gujarat and Bihar which were Congress ruled states started agitation against rising prices and corruption in high places. The opposition parties too joined these protests. As a result of these agitation, elections were held in Gujarat, where Congress was defeated. In Bihar, the movement was guided by Jayaprakash Narayan who tried to spread it to other parts of the country.

(iii) Conflict with judiciary : In the meantime the relations between the executive and the judiciary strained due to appointment of Justice A.N. Ray as Chief Justice of India, ignoring three other senior judges. On 12 June 1975, Allahabad High Court declared the election of Indira Gandhi invalid. The above events set a stage for a big political confrontation which came on 25 June 1975 when at Ramlila ground. New Dehli, Jayaprakash Narayan announced a nationwide satyagraha against Indira Gandhi. The same night she declared internal Emergency.

(i) A large number of leaders and workers of the opposition parties were arrested. These arrested persons could not even challenge their arrests through habeas corpus petitions.

(ii) It is said that with the arrest of opposition leaders, India ceased to be democratic during emergency.

(iii) The Emergency led to the unity among the opposition parties. The opposition parties came together and formed the Janata Party on the eve of 1977 elections.

(iv) Some Congress leaders, who had opposed the emergency, too joined the Janata Party. A separate party-Congress for Democracy was formed by Jagjivan Ram. It later on merged with the Janata Party.

(v) In 1977 elections the Janata Party won but could not remain together. Congress once again won in 1980 elections. Between these two elections, the Congress Party changed dramatically.

(vi)It now identified itself with a particular ideology, claiming to be the only socialist and pro-poor party. The opposition, on the other hand, began to rely more and more on ‘non-Congressism’ to avoid a division of non-Congress votes in the elections.

(i) Was the Emergency necessary? : The supporters of Emergency say that it was necessary for the regular functioning of the government because Jayaprakash Narayan had asked the police, army and the government employees not to obey government’s illegal and immoral orders. Critics point out that there was nothing wrong in the agitation of the opposition parties. It was peaceful and non-violent.

(ii) What happened during Emergency?: The government stated that it used the Emergency for the welfare activities for the people such as twenty point-programme. The critics however point-out that the Emergency was used for programmes like compulsory and forced sterilisation and relocation of the poor. Press censorship, torture and custodial deaths were order of the day.

(iii) Lessons of the Emergency : Critics point out that India ceased to be democratic during the Emergency but the fact remains that democratic functioning resumed within a short span of time. The general elections were held in March 1977. Indira Gandhi and her party was defeated but they accepted the defeat in a democratic way.

(ii) The following allegations were charged against the opposition parties under the leadership of Jayaprakash Narayan.

(a) Negation of functioning of democracy and duly elected governments.

(b) Violent incidents in the country.

(c) Incitement to army to mutiny and police to rebel.

(d) Arousing of communal passions.

(e) Threat to stability.

(ii) The allegations to some extent appears correct because on 25 June 1975, in his speech at Delhi’s Ramlila grounds, Jayaprakash Narayan announced a nationwide satyagraha and asked the army, the police and government employees not to obey “illegal and immoral orders”.

(i) Aithogh the normal democratic functioning resumed within a short span of time, one important lesson of Emergency is that it is extremely difficult to do away with democracy in India.

(ii) Secondly it brought out some ambiguities regarding the Emergency provision in the Constitution that have been rectified since.

(iii) Now ‘internal’ emergency can be proclaimed only on the ground of ‘armed rebellion’ and it is necessary that the advice to the President to proclaim Emergency must be given in writing by the Council of Ministers.

(iv) During Emergency the judiciary could not protect the civil liberties of the people. Emergency made everyone more aware of the value of civil liberties. The courts too have now taken active part in the protection of civil liberties of individual after the Emergency.

(v) The Emergency has also shown that there should be a balance between routine functioning of a democratic government and the continuous political protests by parties and groups.

(vi) It also established the fact that the administration and the police became vulnerable to political pressures.

Once an emergency is proclaimed, the federal distribution of powers remains practically suspended and all the powers are concentrated in the hands of the union government.

Imposition of ‘Emergency’ by Congress led to its defeat.

(i) Conflict between Parliament and the Judiciary on the question ‘can the Parliament abridge the Fundamental Rights’.

 (ii) Can the Parliament curtail the right to property? Court responded by stating it cannot amend the Constitution to curtail the rights.

 (iii) The Parliament amended the Constitution saying that it can abridge no Fundamental Right for giving effect to Directive Principles, but the Supreme Court also rejected it.

 Due to these conflicts, this period is called the period of Constitutional Crisis.

Yes, the declaration of Emergency in 1975 was necessary.

 Arguments:

 (i) Internal disturbances and agitations in the country.

 (ii) Grave crises had arisen which made the proclamation necessary.

 (iii) Political mood of the country had turned hostile.
                                                                                      Or
Lesson learnt from Emergency:

 (i) One lesson of Emergency is that it is extremely difficult to do away with democracy in India.

(ii) It brought out some ambiguities regarding the Emergency provisions in the Constitution that have been rectified since.

(iii) Emergency made every one more aware of the value of civil liberties.

The demands were related to bonus and service conditions.

The Consequences were:

 (i) According to Shah Commission nearly one lakh eleven thousand people were arrested under Preventive detention laws.

 (ii) Torture and custodial deaths occurred, arbitrary relocation of poor people and compulsory sterilization.

 (iii) Formation of Janata Party and the defeat of congress in most of the states.

(iv) Democratic functioning were suspended and draconian measures were adopted.

(i) The person is Morarji Desai.

(ii) They belong to Congress Party.

(iii)  According to the group of five, he is trying to subvert democracy, create chaos and grab power.

It stands for the constant realignments and shifting political loyalties. In political vocabulary in India it describes the practice of frequent floor –crossing by legislators.

The reasons were:

(i) Internal disturbances and agitations in the country.

(ii) Grave crises had arisen which made the proclamation necessary.

(iii) Political mood of the country had turned hostile.

Consequences:

(i) According to Shah Commission nearly one lakh eleven thousand people were arrested under Preventive detention laws.

(ii) Torture and custodial deaths occurred, arbitrary relocation of poor people and compulsory sterilization.

(iii) Democratic functioning were suspended and draconian measures were adopted.

OR

Three factors which were responsible for Indira Gandhi’s achieving a thumping majority in 1971 Lok Sabha elections are:

(i) She focused on the growth of the public sector and imposed ceiling on rural land holdings and urban property.

(ii) Through ‘Garibi Hatao’ she had generated a support base among the disadvantaged, Dalits, Adivasis and minorities.

(iii) The crisis in East Pakistan and Indo-Pak war leading to the establishment of Bangladesh had shown characteristic features of statesman and strong nationalist leader.

The Lessons:

(i)Extremely difficult to do away with democracy in India.

(ii)It brought out some ambiguities regarding the emergency provision in the constitution that have been rectified.

(i) The popular slogan of ‘Garibi Hatao’.

(ii) Nationalisation of Banks.

(iii) Abolition of Privy Purse.

Janta party had sucessfuly turned the 1977 elections into referendum-

i. As all the opposition parties joined hands against Congress and urged the people to choose any one out of two.

ii. Janta party advocated the cause of democracy and called the period of emergency as the absence of democracy.

iii. JP Narayan became the icon of the opposition and also a symbol for democracy.

iv. Janta party has asked the voters to choose between democracy and dictatorship that was experienced during emergency.

i) Strikes, sit-ins, rallies and protests 

ii) These assertive actions disrupt the functioning of the government, delay decision making and destabilise the routines of democracy. 
They involve a gradual process of coming together of people with similar problems,
similar demands and similar expectations.
iii) Marginal social groups who may be adversely affected by these policies get less and less attention from political parties as well as the media because they are poor, socially economically disadvantaged sections of the society.

Elements of growing consensus
(i) Agreement on new economic policies : Most parties were in support of the new economic policies and believed that these policies would lead the country to prosperity and a status of economic power in the world.
(ii) Acceptance of the political and social claims of the backward castes : Political parties had recognized that the social and political claims of the Backward Castes need to be accepted and support reservation of seats for OBC in education and employment.
(iii) Acceptance of the role of State level parties in governance of the country: State level parties were sharing power at the national level and had played a central role in the country’s politics.
(iv) Emphasis on pragmatic considerations rather than ideological positions and political alliances without ideological agreement as most parties of the NDA did not agree with the ‘Hindutava’ ideology of the BJP. Yet, they came together to form a government and remained in power for a full term.

 The candidate may agree that it strengthened federalism because it redefined the center-state relations and fulfilled the aspirations of the Sikhs to some extent.

Democratic negotiations have played a constructive role in addressing regional aspirations example Punjab Accord, Assam Accord, Rajiv Gandhi- Laldenga Accord (Mizoram Accord).

Changing method of voting in India
- In the first general election in 1952, there was a box with the name of the candidate and his/her election symbol. Each voter was given a blank ballot paper to be dropped into the box of the candidate of his or her choice.
- After the first two elections this method was changed. Now the ballot paper carried the names and symbols of all the candidates. The voter was required to put the stamp on the name of the candidate of his/her choice. This was to be placed inside a box common for all. This system continued for years.
- Towards the end of 1990’s the Election Commission started using the EVM’s or Electronic Voting Machines. Now this is used all over India.

(i) Representative democracy has gained popularity due to widespread support in the five big countries, where ordinary citizens – rich and poor, belonging to different religions, view the idea of democracy positively and support the institutions of representative democracy.
(ii) The reason for widespread support for democracy in the five big countries of South Asia is that it suits their country and gives the hope of fulfilling their aspirations.
(iii) I do not agree with this view as the examples of India and Sri Lanka are a proof of the success of democrary. Other countries also have successful democracies.

(i) Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel
(ii) Cartoon shows that the princely rulers oppressed and exploited the people.
(iii) Sardar Patel was extremely successful in solving the issue of the princely states marger / accession with India.

Operation Blue Star was an army action in the Golden Temple, Amritsar to flush out the militants.
 This operation damaged the historical temple and hurt the sentiments of Sikh community because they saw military action as an attack on their faith.

Suggest ways and means to crush it.  Conditions responsible for the growth of Naxalite Movement :-

i) Social and economic injustice prevailing in the society.

ii) Forced labour.

iii) Expropriation of resources by outsiders.

  Suggestions to crush Naxalite Movement:-

i) Government should provide the basic rights to the people of backward areas and Adivasis.

ii) Forced labour and exploitation by money-lenders must be stopped.

iii) The Government should follow constitutional norms while dealing with the Naxalites.

Due to the following reasons the emergency became controversial.

(i) The Constitution simply mentioned internal disturbance as the reason for declaring emergency. Before 1975 emergency was never proclaimed on this ground.

(ii) People had the right to politically protest against the government. The Bihar and Gujarat agitation were mostly peaceful and non-violent. Those who were arrested were never tried for any anti-national activity.
(iii) The Home ministry, which is entrusted with the responsibility of
monitoring the external situation of the country, also did not express any concern about the law and order situation in the country.
(iv) There was no need to suspend democratic functioning and use draconian measures like the emergency.