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Indian Express
3 days ago
- Politics
- Indian Express
‘A party of opportunists, jee-huzoors that Congress is now, can never do anything worthwhile': JP to Indira from jail
A characteristically sharp attack that accused Indira Gandhi of resorting to 'fascism', a defence of his own position, and a personal appeal to her as the friend of her father Jawaharlal Nehru to not destroy democracy — Jayaprakash Narayan swung between anger and emotion in a letter he wrote to Mrs Gandhi on July 21, 1975, from the solitary confinement where he was kept by her government. The letter is preserved in JP's original handwriting as part of his jail diaries at the Prime Ministers' Museum and Library archives in the capital. 'Here was this same Prime Minister who used to accuse us time and again of wanting to destroy democracy and establish fascism. And here is the same Prime Minister herself destroying democracy and establishing fascism in the name of the same democracy,' JP wrote to Indira. 'You know I am an old man. My life's work is done. And after Prabha's (his late wife) going, I have nothing and no one to live for… I have given all my life to the country and asked for nothing in return. So, I shall be content to die a prisoner under your regime,' JP wrote. His 'parting words of advice', he said, were: 'Please do not destroy the foundations that the father of the nation, including your noble father, had laid down. There is nothing but strife and suffering along the path that you have taken.' The damage inflicted would take a long time to repair, JP wrote, though he was confident that India would spring back. 'A people who fought British imperialism and humbled it cannot accept indefinitely the indignity and shame of totalitarianism… Indira ji, please do not identify yourself with the nation. You are not immortal, India is.' Hitting out at the PM for muzzling the press and for imprisoning Opposition leaders, JP dismissed her purported statement that 'democracy is not more important than the nation'. 'Are you not presuming too much, Madam Prime Minister? You are not the only one who cares for the nation. Among those you have detained or imprisoned, there are many who have done much more for the nation than you,' the veteran freedom fighter, who had led the Quit India Movement of 1942 underground after the arrest of the top leadership of the Indian National Congress, wrote. 'And every one of these is as good a patriot as you. So, please do not apply salt to our wounds by lecturing to us about the nation.' He added, 'There is no choice between democracy and the nation. It was for the good of the nation that the people of India declared in the Constituent Assembly on 26th November, 1949, that 'We the people of India having solemnly resolved to constitute India into a sovereign democratic republic… give to ourselves this Constitution.' That democratic Constitution cannot be changed into an authoritarian one by a mere ordinance or a law of Parliament.' Read the full letter below: JP also accused Indira of spreading canards to justify her decision and painting him as the villain of the piece. 'Having muzzled the press and every kind of public dissent, you continue with your distortions and untruths without fear of criticism or contradiction. If you think that… you will be able to justify yourself in the public eye and damn the Opposition to political perdition, you are sorely mistaken,' he wrote, challenging her to revoke the Emergency if she doubted his words and hold elections. On his appeal to the police and Army to not take 'unlawful orders', JP denied the charge that it was an attempt to paralyse the government. What was being done was non-violent civil disobedience, he said, as people had the right to protest non-violently rather than wait for the next elections if they saw large-scale corruption and misgovernance. The socialist leader said people also had the right to demand the resignation of an elected government in the event of misrule, and said the mammoth anti-government rallies being held were proof of the popular sentiment. In the case of Bihar, JP said, the instances of firing and lathicharge on students had made matters worse. JP added that all he had tried to do was 'to make the men and officers of the forces conscious of their duties and responsibilities', and that this was 'within the law: the constitution, the Army Act and the Police Act'. JP mentioned that the evening before the Emergency was clamped, Nanaji Deshmukh had announced at the Ramlila Maidan rally in Delhi a Satyagraha pending the Supreme Court ruling on the Allahabad High Court verdict that had struck down Mrs Gandhi's election to the Lok Sabha. Instead of responding to the popular demand to step down after the verdict, JP regretted, Mrs Gandhi had tried to cling to power. 'Through your henchmen, you had rallies and demonstrations organised in front of your residence begging you not to resign.' He also mentioned a smear campaign against the High Court judge who pronounced the verdict against her. Attacking the sycophancy in the Congress, with the exception of leaders like Chandra Shekhar and Mohan Dharia who had been jailed, JP said Mrs Gandhi would not be able to fool the people of India despite all her efforts. '… a party of self-seekers and spineless opportunists and jee-huzoors such as the Congress, alas, has become, can never do anything worthwhile,' he asserted.
Time of India
4 days ago
- Entertainment
- Time of India
Why were movies like Aandhi, Nasbandi and more silenced during Indira Gandhi's Emergency era?
The 21 months of Emergency in India (1975–1977) not only restricted civil liberties but also imposed strict censorship on cinema and the arts. Many films, whether finished or still being made, were blocked, banned, or edited heavily during this time. Here's a look at some of them: 1. Aandhi Gulzar's 1975 film Aandhi was banned soon after its release. Many believed it was based on Prime Minister Indira Gandhi's life, especially because the lead character, Aarti Devi (played by Suchitra Sen), had similar looks, including a white streak in her hair. Though the makers said it was purely fictional, the government stopped its screening. It was allowed back after the Emergency ended. by Taboola by Taboola Sponsored Links Sponsored Links Promoted Links Promoted Links You May Like All-Inclusive Cruise Offers – Book Now Search7 Learn More Undo 2. Kissa Kursi Ka This bold political satire by Amrit Nahata took direct aim at the ruling powers. Its main character, Gangaram, was believed to be based on Sanjay Gandhi. The film's negatives were reportedly destroyed by officials, and the Information and Broadcasting Minister at the time, VC Shukla, was involved in confiscating its prints. Live Events Nahata later re-shot the film in 1978, but even this version faced issues with censorship. 3. Andolan Directed by Lekh Tandon, this film focused on the Quit India Movement of 1942. The story follows a teacher who leads a rebellion against British rule. During the Emergency, the censors flagged it for its political content, delaying its release. 4. Chanda Marutha This Kannada film was based on the play Kranthi Bantu Kranthi by P Lankesh. Directed by Pattabhi Rama Reddy, it starred his wife Snehlata Reddy. Snehlata was jailed during the Emergency and tragically died five days after being released on parole. Though the film itself faced obstacles, its backstory became symbolic of the times. 5. Nasbandi Directed by I S Johar, this film poked fun at the forced sterilisation drive during the Emergency. It used lookalikes of big stars like Amitabh Bachchan, Shashi Kapoor, and Rajesh Khanna to tell its story. The film was banned for mocking the government's unpopular programme. It was finally released in 1978, after the Emergency ended. 6. Kranti ki Tarangein (Waves of Revolution) This was a powerful documentary by Anand Patwardhan, made in 1975 when he was just 25. It followed the early days of the JP Movement and its transformation into a national protest against the government. Though it was never formally released, underground groups widely circulated it during the Emergency as mainstream media was tightly controlled. Inputs from PTI
Time of India
4 days ago
- Entertainment
- Time of India
Films that faced censorship during Emergency
(Picture Courtesy: Facebook) The 21 months of Emergency saw the government impose stringent censorship on the world of arts and cinema. Several films -- either completed or in production -- came under scrutiny for their content during this period. Here's a look at films that were banned, stalled, or faced issues during the Emergency: 1. "Aandhi" Widely believed to be inspired by the life of then Prime Minister Indira Gandhi, Gulzar's 1975 movie was banned shortly after its release. Though the filmmakers maintained it was a fictional story, the similarities between the lead character of Aarti Devi, played by Suchitra Sen, and Gandhi were hard to miss, especially the white streak in her hair. The ban was lifted after the Emergency ended. 2. "Kissa Kursi Ka" A satire about the prevailing political scenario by filmmaker Amrit Nahata, the movie's negative was destroyed and its prints confiscated by then Information and Broadcasting minister VC Shukla, who was close to Indira Gandhi's younger son Sanjay Gandhi. The movie's lead character of Gangaram was modelled on Sanjay Gandhi and it also starred Shabana Azmi, Raj Babbar, Raj Kiran and Utpal Dutt. by Taboola by Taboola Sponsored Links Sponsored Links Promoted Links Promoted Links You May Like 유일한 공식 무료 SOC 게임! 설치도 없습니다! 경복의 바다 게임 플레이 Undo Nahata remade the movie and released it in 1978. However, this version also faced censorship. 3. "Andolan" The Lekh Tandon-directed movie was a politically-charged film which dealt with the 1942 Quit India Movement. It revolved around an Indian teacher who begins a rebellion against the British colonial government in his hometown. The movie, starring Rakesh Pandey and Neetu Singh, also faced the censor's snip during the Emergency. 4. "Chanda Marutha" Based on P Lankesh's beloved play, "Kranthi Bantu Kranthi", the Kannada film was made just before the Emergency broke out. It was directed by Pattabhi Rama Reddy and featured his wife Snehlata Reddy. Snehlata was thrown into jail and died just five days after being released on parole. 5. "Nasbandi" Directed by I S Johar, the movie was a satirical take on the forced sterilization campaign that was carried out during the Emergency. The film featured duplicates of leading actors of the time -- Amitabh Bachchan, Shashi Kapoor, Manoj Kumar and Rajesh Khanna. Due to its controversial subject, the film was banned but was released in 1978 after the political environment changed. 6. "Kranti ki Tarangein" (Waves of Revolution) The first-ever documentary by Anand Patwardhan chronicled the start of the JP Movement in Bihar and how it snowballed into a national movement before Emergency was imposed in 1975. Anand was just 25 when he made this movie in 1975 and captured the mass mobilisation and civil unrest at a time when the mainstream media was under increasing state pressure. It was widely circulated by underground groups throughout the Emergency.
The Print
4 days ago
- Politics
- The Print
Control, fear, and division—Congress hasn't changed even 50 years after Emergency
Journalist Coomi Kapoor, in her detailed account titled The Emergency: A Personal History , wrote that more people were jailed during those 21 months than during the entire Quit India Movement in 1942. This single line tells you how deep the betrayal ran. That night, Prime Minister Indira Gandhi imposed a nationwide Emergency. With one signature, the Constitution was rendered powerless, civil liberties vanished, and the world's largest democracy slipped into darkness. Over the next 21 months, India became unrecognisable. Parliament was silenced, the courts stood helpless, the press lost its voice, and the people lost their rights. It was on the night of 25 June 1975 that India's democracy was quietly smothered under the weight of fear and tyranny. Not by an invading army. Not by a colonial power. But by our own elected government. A government led by the Congress party, the same party that claims it gave India its freedom. The party that once chanted slogans of freedom jailed its own citizens for demanding it. Courtroom verdict that shook a PM The seeds of the Emergency were sown in a courtroom. In the 1971 Lok Sabha elections, Indira Gandhi secured a massive win from Rae Bareli. But her victory was contested by Raj Narain, a socialist leader, who accused her of electoral fraud. On 12 June 1975, the Allahabad High Court found her guilty and declared her election void. The verdict disqualified her from holding office for six years. Her political legitimacy stood shattered. And rather than stepping down, she chose to strike at the very roots of democracy. Gandhi advised then-President Fakhruddin Ali Ahmed to declare an Emergency. The order was signed in haste on the night of 25 June. The people of India went to sleep in a free country and woke up in a dictatorship. Also read: JP wasn't a saviour of Constitution. He called Mao his guru India in chains What followed was one of the darkest periods in our republic's history. Opposition leaders were thrown into jail. Atal Bihari Vajpayee, LK Advani, Morarji Desai, Jayaprakash Narayan – all were imprisoned under harsh laws like the Maintenance of Internal Security Act (MISA). The press was brought to its knees through censorship. Some newspapers, like The Indian Express, left editorial pages blank in protest. Students were hunted, citizens were watched, and those who spoke were put behind bars. The infamous forced sterilisation drive robbed countless people of dignity and choice. Even those within Congress who raised their voices paid the price. Leaders like S Jaipal Reddy in Andhra Pradesh and then-Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M Karunanidhi were targeted for daring to oppose the Emergency. Government figures reported over one lakh detainees under the MISA and Defence of India Rules (DIR). It was not just politics that suffered. India's soul was under arrest. The people answer back Despite the repression, the people did not forget. And when given the chance, they responded with courage. On 21 March 1977, the Emergency was lifted. In the elections that followed, the Congress faced the full force of public anger. The Janata Party coalition swept to power. Indira Gandhi lost her seat in Rae Bareli to Raj Narain, the very man whose challenge had triggered the crisis. Congress was wiped out in states like Uttar Pradesh and Bihar. For the first time, Indians realised that change was possible. That a Congress-free India was not a dream, but a choice. Has the Congress changed? The short answer is no. The same mindset that led to the Emergency still lingers in the Congress party today. It still believes in power without accountability. It still believes that only one family has the right to lead. Time and again, it has sidelined deserving leaders in favour of dynastic loyalty. Time and again, it has sidelined capable leaders in favour of dynastic loyalty. A telling example is that of Jyotiraditya Scindia. After the 2019 Lok Sabha elections, despite being a promising young leader from Madhya Pradesh and a loyal member of the party, he was kept away from key decision-making and denied major responsibilities. Eventually, disillusioned, he left the Congress to join the BJP in 2020, and now serves as a Union minister. This episode clearly reflects the Congress' persistent preference for family over merit. The Congress that once dominated Indian politics now barely holds on. It governs in only a few states. In many parts of the country, it has no presence at all. In the 2024 Lok Sabha elections, it contested 328 seats, but could win only 99. In several constituencies, it finished third or lower. This is not just a story of electoral defeat, it is a story of losing touch with the people. Also read: Alienating Hindus broke Congress. It must win them back to survive Emergency is a warning, not a memory Today, 50 years later, the Emergency still haunts our collective memory. It is a reminder that freedom cannot be taken for granted. That institutions must be protected. That democracy needs not just elections, but accountability, courage, and truth. Had Congress respected democracy after Independence, India could have marched forward much faster. Instead, decades were lost to a politics of control, fear, and division. The India we see today – confident, growing, respected across the world – is not the result of Emergency-style governance. It is the result of restoring people's trust, empowering citizens, and putting the nation first. The Emergency was not just a political blunder. It was a betrayal. The Congress party tried to erase the very idea of democracy in India. That cannot be forgotten. It should never be forgiven. Those who hijacked MK Gandhi's name have no right to speak about freedom. It is time they apologise to the nation. It is time they step aside. Only then will India's democracy truly be complete. S Vishnu Vardhan Reddy is Vice President, BJP Andhra Pradesh. He tweets @SVishnuReddy. Views are personal. (Edited by Aamaan Alam Khan)
Indian Express
5 days ago
- Politics
- Indian Express
Explained: Emergency and its lessons
The Emergency was imposed exactly 50 years ago on June 25, 1975. The 21-month period, one of the darkest chapters in the history of the Indian republic, saw the suspension of civil liberties, curtailment of press freedom, mass arrests, the cancellation of elections, and rule by decree. Here's a brief history. Indira Gandhi rode to power on an electoral landslide in 1971, but her government was rocked by crisis after crisis. Expenses incurred during the 1971 India-Pak war, droughts, and the 1973 oil crisis buffeted the Indian economy, causing hardship for the people. Corruption, misgovernance, and state excesses sowed further discontent. In February 1974, the Navnirman (Regeneration) students movement forced Congress Chief Minister Chimanbhai Patel to resign over corruption allegations. This inspired a students' movement in Bihar which saw socialists and right wing organisations coming together to form the Chhatra Sangharsh Samiti. Jayaprakash Narayan, a Gandhian and hero of the Quit India Movement, eventually took the reins of this movement. His call for 'sampoorna kranti (total revolution)', first made on June 5 at Patna's historic Gandhi Maidan, brought Bihar to a standstill. Earlier, in May 1974, socialist leader George Fernandes had led an unprecedented strike of railway workers that paralysed the Indian Railways for three weeks. Over the course of 1974 and early 1975, the JP Movement reverberated across the country. JP himself toured the country, much like Mahatma Gandhi during the Independence Movement, and channeled popular discontent against Indira. 'Sinhasan khaali karo, ke janata aati hai (Vacate the throne, for the people are coming),' was JP's rallying call during his rallies. On June 12, 1975, Justice Jagmohanlal Sinha of Allahabad High Court convicted Indira of electoral malpractice and struck down her election to Lok Sabha from Rae Bareli. As demands for her resignation grew louder, President Fakhruddin Ali Ahmed signed the Proclamation of Emergency late on the night of June 25. Electricity to newspaper offices was cut off, and people were informed of the Proclamation by Indira herself, through an address broadcast on All India Radio at 8 am on June 26. The Emergency, which lasted until March 21, 1977, saw the Indira's government use special provisions in the Constitution to impose sweeping executive and legislative consequences on the country. 🔴 The federal structure was converted into a de facto unitary one. State governments were not suspended, but they were effectively brought entirely under the Centre's control. Parliament made laws on subjects in the State List, and the President, with parliamentary approval, modified constitutional provisions on the allocation of financial resources between the Union and states. 🔴 Almost all opposition leaders, including JP, were imprisoned. Roughly 1.12 lakh people were detained under draconian laws like the Maintenance of Internal Security Act (MISA), Conservation of Foreign Exchange and Prevention of Smuggling Activities Act (COFEPOSA), and Defence of India act and Defence of India rules (DISIR). 🔴 With the Opposition in jail, Parliament passed a slew of Constitutional Amendments. The 42nd Amendment of 1976 took away the judiciary's right to hear election petitions, widened the authority of the Union to encroach on State subjects, gave Parliament unbridled power to amend the Constitution, and made laws passed by Parliament to implement directive principles of state policy immune to judicial review. 🔴 Fundamental rights, including the freedom of speech and expression guaranteed under Article 19(1)(a), were curtailed. Newspapers were subjected to pre-censorship. More than 250 journalists, including Kuldip Nayar of The Indian Express, were jailed. While most newspapers bent, some like The Indian Express resisted the Emergency, fought the regulations in court, and published blank spaces on their pages instead of pre-censored stories. As this newspaper's former proprietor Ramnath Goenka once said: 'The hard fact is that if we went on publishing, The Indian Express may be called a paper, but cannot be a newspaper'. 🔴 On the pretext of addressing the issues that ailed India, Indira's son Sanjay Gandhi pushed a 'five-point programme', which included family planning and clearance of slums. In April 1976, bulldozers moved to clear the slums near Turkman Gate in Delhi — as locals protested, police opened fire and killed many. Family planning targets, especially in North India, led to forced sterilisations. Government officials were forced to submit to the surgeon's knife before arrears of pay were cleared. Truck drivers could not have their licences renewed without a sterilisation certificate. Sometimes, people were simply picked up from their homes or the streets to meet sterilisation targets. During one such drive on October 18, 1976, police fired on people protesting forced sterilisations in Muzaffarnagar, UP, killing at least 50. 🔴 In 1976, the year Lok Sabha elections were set to be held, Parliament extended its term by a year. For no apparent reason, Indira decided to lift the Emergency early in 1977. Some say she was convinced she would win the next election; others believe better sense prevailed. As it happened, Indira and her party were routed in the election of 1977. The Janata Party — the product of the merger of the Jana Sangh, Congress (O), the socialists and Bharatiya Lok Dal — came to power, and Morarji Desai became India's first non-Congress PM. Many Constitutional changes effected during the Emergency were reversed. While the provision itself was retained, the Janata government made it very difficult for a future PM to repeat Indira's actions. Judicial review of a Proclamation of Emergency was made possible again, and it was made mandatory for such a Proclamation to be passed in both Houses of Parliament by a special majority — a majority of the total strength of the House and not less than two-thirds of members present and voting — within a month. The 44th Amendment replaced the words 'internal disturbance' as a ground for the imposition of Emergency with 'armed rebellion'. The post-Emergency Parliament saw the coming together of the social forces behind the Jana Sangh and the socialists — the Hindutva upper castes, and the Lohiaite agrarian and artisanal castes. The Janata government appointed the Mandal Commission to look into OBC quotas, which eventually propelled the rise of the OBCs in North India. The Emergency also gave India a crop of young leaders who would dominate politics for several decades — Lalu Prasad Yadav, George Fernandes, Arun Jaitley, Ram Vilas Paswan, and many others. Most importantly, the Emergency marked the beginning of the end of the Congress' one-party hold over the country. While the collapse of the Janata experiment in 1979 demonstrated the limits of anti-Congressism at the time, the Emergency set in motion political forces and processes, which in many ways culminated with the decimation of the Congress in 2014. Vikas Pathak is deputy associate editor with The Indian Express and writes on national politics. He has over 17 years of experience, and has worked earlier with The Hindustan Times and The Hindu, among other publications. He has covered the national BJP, some key central ministries and Parliament for years, and has covered the 2009 and 2019 Lok Sabha polls and many state assembly polls. He has interviewed many Union ministers and Chief Ministers. Vikas has taught as a full-time faculty member at Asian College of Journalism, Chennai; Symbiosis International University, Pune; Jio Institute, Navi Mumbai; and as a guest professor at Indian Institute of Mass Communication, New Delhi. Vikas has authored a book, Contesting Nationalisms: Hinduism, Secularism and Untouchability in Colonial Punjab (Primus, 2018), which has been widely reviewed by top academic journals and leading newspapers. He did his PhD, M Phil and MA from JNU, New Delhi, was Student of the Year (2005-06) at ACJ and gold medalist from University Rajasthan College in Jaipur in graduation. He has been invited to top academic institutions like JNU, St Stephen's College, Delhi, and IIT Delhi as a guest speaker/panellist. ... Read More
