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Indian Express
a day ago
- Politics
- Indian Express
Gujarat students ‘showed the light', then it became a beacon
A year before the country witnessed the imposition of the Emergency and the fight against it under the leadership of Jayaprakash Narayan (universally known as JP), Morarji Desai and others, Gujarat witnessed a massive student-led movement – the Navnirman Andolan – against inflation and corruption in 1973-74. The movement, which eventually resulted in the resignation of then Congress Chief Minister Chimanbhai Patel and the dissolution of the Gujarat Assembly, proved an inspiration for the JP Movement and his call of 'Sampoorna Kranti (Total Revolution)'. Like the JP Movement did in Bihar, the Navnirman Andolan also saw the emergence of a new generation of leaders in Gujarat. Manishi Jani, a student leader who became one the prominent faces of the movement, recalls how price rise and scarcity of essential commodities had left the general public angry. 'Amidst this, in December 1973, the authorities increased the monthly mess fare of students at government colleges from Rs 70 to Rs 90. Students of Lalbhai Dalpatbhai College of Engineering in Ahmedabad objected. On December 20, they set the canteen on fire. A newspaper article highlighted how many students were eating only once a day to save money. Many ran into debt.' Ten days after the canteen was attacked at the Ahmedabad college, Jani says, 'There was a similar incident in Morbi (at Lukhdhirji Engineering College), where students protesting against poor food quality and price rise vandalised a laboratory.' Despite the protests, however, the authorities further hiked the mess charges. This led to a call by students of the Ahmedabad engineering college for a massive protest on January 2, 1974, where they clashed with police. 'Police entered the hostel and lathicharged them. About 200-225 students were taken into custody.' An informal forum of students called the Yuvak Lagni Samiti met at Gujarat University to plan what to do next. 'We decided to hold a big march to the Navrangpura Police Station, where the students were held. Eventually, they were released,' Jani says, adding that this was when the agitation began building up as a protest against the state government. 'We held various protests under the banner of the Yuvak Lagni Samiti. Our point was: The inflation was not natural, but manmade, the result of a nexus between traders, hoarders and big farmers.' Students accosted ministers in public, held gheraos of political leaders, gave shutdown calls for colleges and schools. Trade unions joined them, followed by non-Congress parties. A bandh held in Ahmedabad on January 10, 1974, proved so successful, Jani says, that 'even newspapers were not distributed' that day. CM Patel bore the brunt of the ire because of his own financial interests in the education sector and involvement in university politics. The influential Adhyapak Mandal, a university-level association of professors, also came out against the government. Soon, the agitation had spread across the state, getting spontaneous support from the public. The leaders of the agitation then decided that it was time to give it a formal structure, to ensure better coordination of events planned. This led to the formation of the Navnirman Yuvak Samiti, with office-bearers. The name 'Navnirman' was reportedly given by a journalist. Jani was named president of the Samiti's Executive Committee. Among the innovative protests rolled out by the Navnirman Samiti was the call for 'sarkar no mrutyughant (the death knell of the government)'. 'The idea was given by one of our supporters and leader of the Adhyapak Mandal, K S Shastri. We demanded that the Chimanbhai Patel government be removed and the Assembly be dissolved. We asked people to clank rolling pins on steel plates at night,' Jani says. Just over a year after that canteen protest over fare hike, the Navnirman Yuvak Samiti called for a Gujarat Bandh on January 25, 1974. Days to go, the Congress government began arresting the leaders and supporters of the movement en masse under the Maintenance of Internal Security Act (MISA), among other provisions. Jani says this was another miscalculation by the Patel government. 'After that, the agitation got out of the government's control… On January 25, all of Gujarat remained shut except for Bhuj and some villages of Kutch. People formed Navnirman Samitis in every district on their own. We started the agitation, but now it became a 'lok andolan (people's movement)'.' Narhari Amin, one of the office-bearers of the Navnirman Yuvak Samiti and now a BJP Rajya Sabha MP, says that by early 1974, 'students had started holding meetings at the district level'. 'The government used excessive force in reply, resorting to lathicharge and police firing… More than 100 people died and public properties were set on fire. Thousands of people blocked railway tracks. The Army was called in to control the situation.' Alarmed at the rumblings in Gujarat which were already echoing across the country in Bihar – JP was called to address the protesters in Gujarat – the Congress high command sent then Union Law Minister H R Gokhale to hold discussions with the protesters. Eventually, Patel resigned as CM on February 9, 1974, following which President's Rule was imposed in Gujarat. However, the Navnirman Yuvak Samiti continued its agitation, maintaining their original demand that the Assembly be dissolved. On March 16, 1974, the Indira Gandhi government at the Centre finally agreed to the same, and fresh elections were announced in June that year. A coalition Janata Morcha government came to power after the polls, with Morarji Desai playing a crucial role in this. Amin says that, notwithstanding the role of national leaders like Desai and JP, the Navnirman Movement remained essentially an agitation of students and 'not about Desai or Narayan'. 'They strengthened us by giving (moral) support… Desai once sat on an indefinite hunger strike in support of student demands.' The meeting JP addressed as part of the Navnirman Andolan was at H L Commerce College in Ahmedabad, says Ashok Panjabi, who headed the CPI's Gujarat student wing then and was part of the agitation. 'JP also held a meeting with agitating students at the Senate Hall of Gujarat University,' Panjabi says, adding that JP did not return after that as he wanted the Gujarat agitation to remain essentially a student protest. Now a Gujarat Congress vice-president, Panjabi says: 'JP took inspiration from Navnirman Andolan and gave a call for dissolution of the Bihar Assembly when he launched the Bihar andolan.' That agitation would build into a nation-wide protest, leading to the declaration of the Emergency by the Indira Gandhi government that saw itself as besieged. Jani recalls JP once saying: 'Gujarat ke chhatron ne mujhe prakash dikhaya (the students of Gujarat showed me the light).'
News18
3 days ago
- Politics
- News18
50 Years Since Emergency: How The Israel-Arab War Shook Indira Gandhi's Hold On Power
Last Updated: During the Yom Kippur War, India's dependence on oil imports led to a severe economic crisis, triggering rampant inflation and a sharp rise in prices of essential commodities On June 25, 1975, India entered a controversial phase in its democratic journey as the government declared a state of Emergency, triggering sweeping changes to its political and constitutional framework. Fifty years later, the move remains a subject of debate and reflection. What led a democratically elected Prime Minister to impose such extraordinary measures on the country's institutions and civil liberties continues to prompt critical examination. According to political experts, the central figure in this period was then-Prime Minister Indira Gandhi, whose hold on power faced persistent challenges amid the political turbulence of the 1970s. Many political commentators believe the roots of the Emergency can be traced back to 1973, with the outbreak of the Yom Kippur War between Israel and the Arab nations. Although this conflict was geographically distant from India, its repercussions were felt deeply as oil prices surged globally. India, heavily reliant on oil imports, plunged into an economic crisis, causing rampant inflation and skyrocketing prices of essential commodities. Everyday items, including petrol, bus fares, and electricity rates, became unaffordable. Student Movements In Gujarat And Bihar Economic discontent first erupted in Gujarat with the 'Nav Nirman Movement' in January 1974, where students took to the streets of Ahmedabad protesting against inflation, corruption, and chaos. The movement gained momentum across the state, eventually leading to the resignation of Gujarat Chief Minister Chimanbhai Patel. Simultaneously, the student unrest spread to Bihar, where increased college fees and bus fares ignited existing frustrations with inflation. On March 18, 1974, thousands of students marched in Patna from Patna Science College to the Assembly, resulting in violent clashes and an atmosphere of tension. Was JP's 'Total Revolution' The Turning Point Before The Emergency? The public discontent found direction and leadership under Jayaprakash Narayan (JP), a senior freedom fighter, Gandhian thinker, and moral figure, who on June 5, 1974, called for a 'Total Revolution' from Patna's Gandhi Maidan. JP's movement transcended issues of inflation and corruption, becoming a significant socio-political campaign advocating for radical reforms in education, administration, and politics. This movement united youth, students, intellectuals, and opposition parties alike. Did The Court Verdict Push Indira Gandhi To Declare Emergency? The movement's impact resonated nationwide, and on June 12, 1975, the Allahabad High Court invalidated Indira Gandhi's election from Rae Bareilly, citing corrupt practices and disqualifying her from contesting elections for six years. This legal blow amplified opposition voices, jeopardising Indira Gandhi's political position. In response, JP urged the army and police to disobey unlawful orders, prompting Indira Gandhi to declare an Emergency on the night of June 25. According to political commentators, the Emergency was not merely a political manoeuvre but a consequence of the economic, social, and global upheavals of the period. Get breaking news, in-depth analysis, and expert perspectives on everything from politics to crime and society. Stay informed with the latest India news only on News18. Download the News18 App to stay updated!
Indian Express
3 days ago
- Politics
- Indian Express
Call for ‘sampoorna kranti' shook Indira govt: How a semi-retired Jayaprakash Narayan stirred student protests into a storm
The JAYAPRAKASH Narayan Movement which began 51 years ago this month left an indelible mark, shaping the course of not only Bihar but also national politics. In Bihar, the imprint of the movement led by the socialist icon, known better as JP, is illustrated by the fact that two of its products, Lalu Prasad and Nitish Kumar, have governed the state for 35 years, with only Jitan Ram Manjhi providing a brief break in between. As Bihar goes to the polls later this year, leaders in both the socialist and NDA camps moulded by the JP Movement continue to be at the thick of things in Bihar. The beginning While the defining moment of this important chapter of Indian political history was JP's 'Sampoorna Kranti (Total Revolution)' call from Patna's Gandhi Maidan on June 5, 1974, the seed was planted a few months earlier when, on March 18, students gheraoed the Bihar Assembly. The protests against the then Congress-led state government of Abdul Ghafoor were over high college fees, bus fares, and alleged mismanagement of university administration. They came at a time of high poverty, challenges on the economic front, and allegations of corruption and nepotism against the Indira Gandhi government, that had started mounting right after her win in 1971. The late Sushil Kumar Modi, former Deputy CM and another product of the JP Movement, once told this correspondent, 'When the 5-km protest march started from the Science College to the Vidhan Sabha, there were barely 30-odd people. But as we started walking, the crowd started building up… The government was caught unawares and the police had to open lathicharge.' There were incidents of arson — the printing presses of two newspapers were torched — and three students were killed. As the situation threatened to spiral out of control, some students and young leaders, including Modi and Shivanand Tiwari (later a Rajya Sabha MP), approached JP to request him to lead the movement. Though the veteran socialist had been away from active politics for over two decades, the month before, he had visited college students in Gujarat protesting over mess fee hikes. 'Dissent is not just an intellectual luxury but a necessary catalytic agent to which society owes its revolution, its progress,' says a book on JP, quoting him According to former RSS ideologue K N Govindacharya, JP was angry over the violence, but calmed down when he was told that the students were not behind it. According to Govindacharya, on April 8, JP addressed a meeting of students in Patna and placed a few conditions before them, including that they wouldn't engage in violence. The students agreed and JP came to lead the movement. Mrs Gandhi was already alarmed and, at a public meeting in Bhubaneswar on April 1, labelled JP a 'fascist', and said he was walking on the path of 'violence'. At Gandhi Maidan Then came the Gandhi Maidan meeting and the 'Sampoorna Kranti' call, in which JP demanded changes on all fronts, from the economic and social to the political. Former MLC and socialist litterateur Prem Kumar Mani recalled: 'The Gandhi Maidan had not seen such a crowd before. There was no bridge over the Ganga those days, and yet, people arrived using whatever means of transport they could find. JP talked of 'Sampoorna Kranti', adding it was nothing but the 'sapta kranti (seven revolutions framework)' of Dr Ram Manohar Lohia.' JP also invoked Jawaharlal Nehru. 'I am not going to use angry language. But what I am going to say will contain the ideas of a revolutionary. It will not be easy to act upon them. You will have to make sacrifices, undergo sufferings… Friends, this is a revolution, a total revolution. This is not a movement, not merely for the dissolution of the Assembly. We have to go far, very far… Millions of countrymen filled the jails again and again to attain freedom, but after 27 years of that freedom, the people are groaning. Hunger, soaring prices and corruption stalk everywhere.' In their book The Dream of Revolution, Bimal Prasad and Sujata Prasad quote JP as saying, 'Dissent is not just an intellectual luxury but a necessary catalytic agent to which society owes its progress, its revolution, and its technological and scientific advances.' As the political situation continued to simmer, JP's call for another public meeting in Patna on November 4 made Mrs Gandhi open a communication channel with him, and three days before the rally, the two met in Delhi. While the PM requested him not to hold the rally, JP demanded the dismissal of the Ghafoor government in Bihar and drew her attention to the mishandling of democratic institutions. JP went ahead with the rally, and the Centre deployed paramilitary forces in Patna. During a lathicharge, JP narrowly escaped injury when Jana Sangh leader Nanaji Deshmukh shielded him. Chandra Shekhar, who later became PM, wrote in his weekly Young Indian, 'JP is not fighting for political power; he cannot be defeated by deploying State power.' 'We need to shake India' The situation in Gujarat took a sharp turn starting in March 1975 after Morarji Desai undertook hunger strikes in support of the Navnirman Movement of students and called for fresh elections in the state. Things came to a head on June 12, when the Allahabad High Court set aside Mrs Gandhi's election from Rae Bareli. This led to JP intensifying the movement and he met the national committees of the Akali Dal, the Congress (Organisation), and the Lok Dal, all of whom called on Mrs Gandhi to resign as PM. The non-Congress and non-Left parties held a meeting on June 12 at the Ramlila Maidan in Delhi, but JP could not attend it as his flight was diverted. He called another meeting at the same venue two days later. Mrs Gandhi's biographer Pupul Jayakar has written that on being confronted with the escalating situation, the PM told her key advisor and West Bengal CM Siddhartha Shankar Ray, 'Siddhartha, we cannot allow this… I feel that India is like a baby and just as one should sometimes take a child and shake it. I feel we need to shake India.' Within hours of Emergency being imposed on June 25, top Opposition leaders, including JP, Morarji Desai, Raj Narain, Chandra Shekhar, and L K Advani, were jailed. So were young leaders shaped in the cauldron of those turbulent times, such as Lalu, Nitish, Ram Vilas Paswan, Ravi Shankar Prasad, and many others. Santosh Singh is a Senior Assistant Editor with The Indian Express since June 2008. He covers Bihar with main focus on politics, society and governance. Investigative and explanatory stories are also his forte. Singh has 25 years of experience in print journalism covering Bihar, Delhi, Madhya Pradesh and Karnataka. ... Read More
Indian Express
3 days ago
- Politics
- Indian Express
How a semi-retired Jayaprakash Narayan stirred student protests into a storm
The JAYAPRAKASH Narayan Movement which began 51 years ago this month left an indelible mark, shaping the course of not only Bihar but also national politics. In Bihar, the imprint of the movement led by the socialist icon, known better as JP, is illustrated by the fact that two of its products, Lalu Prasad and Nitish Kumar, have governed the state for 35 years, with only Jitan Ram Manjhi providing a brief break in between. As Bihar goes to the polls later this year, leaders in both the socialist and NDA camps moulded by the JP Movement continue to be at the thick of things in Bihar. The beginning While the defining moment of this important chapter of Indian political history was JP's 'Sampoorna Kranti (Total Revolution)' call from Patna's Gandhi Maidan on June 5, 1974, the seed was planted a few months earlier when, on March 18, students gheraoed the Bihar Assembly. The protests against the then Congress-led state government of Abdul Ghafoor were over high college fees, bus fares, and alleged mismanagement of university administration. They came at a time of high poverty, challenges on the economic front, and allegations of corruption and nepotism against the Indira Gandhi government, that had started mounting right after her win in 1971. The late Sushil Kumar Modi, former Deputy CM and another product of the JP Movement, once told this correspondent, 'When the 5-km protest march started from the Science College to the Vidhan Sabha, there were barely 30-odd people. But as we started walking, the crowd started building up… The government was caught unawares and the police had to open lathicharge.' There were incidents of arson — the printing presses of two newspapers were torched — and three students were killed. As the situation threatened to spiral out of control, some students and young leaders, including Modi and Shivanand Tiwari (later a Rajya Sabha MP), approached JP to request him to lead the movement. Though the veteran socialist had been away from active politics for over two decades, the month before, he had visited college students in Gujarat protesting over mess fee hikes. 'Dissent is not just an intellectual luxury but a necessary catalytic agent to which society owes its revolution, its progress,' says a book on JP, quoting him According to former RSS ideologue K N Govindacharya, JP was angry over the violence, but calmed down when he was told that the students were not behind it. According to Govindacharya, on April 8, JP addressed a meeting of students in Patna and placed a few conditions before them, including that they wouldn't engage in violence. The students agreed and JP came to lead the movement. Mrs Gandhi was already alarmed and, at a public meeting in Bhubaneswar on April 1, labelled JP a 'fascist', and said he was walking on the path of 'violence'. At Gandhi Maidan Then came the Gandhi Maidan meeting and the 'Sampoorna Kranti' call, in which JP demanded changes on all fronts, from the economic and social to the political. Former MLC and socialist litterateur Prem Kumar Mani recalled: 'The Gandhi Maidan had not seen such a crowd before. There was no bridge over the Ganga those days, and yet, people arrived using whatever means of transport they could find. JP talked of 'Sampoorna Kranti', adding it was nothing but the 'sapta kranti (seven revolutions framework)' of Dr Ram Manohar Lohia.' JP also invoked Jawaharlal Nehru. 'I am not going to use angry language. But what I am going to say will contain the ideas of a revolutionary. It will not be easy to act upon them. You will have to make sacrifices, undergo sufferings… Friends, this is a revolution, a total revolution. This is not a movement, not merely for the dissolution of the Assembly. We have to go far, very far… Millions of countrymen filled the jails again and again to attain freedom, but after 27 years of that freedom, the people are groaning. Hunger, soaring prices and corruption stalk everywhere.' In their book The Dream of Revolution, Bimal Prasad and Sujata Prasad quote JP as saying, 'Dissent is not just an intellectual luxury but a necessary catalytic agent to which society owes its progress, its revolution, and its technological and scientific advances.' As the political situation continued to simmer, JP's call for another public meeting in Patna on November 4 made Mrs Gandhi open a communication channel with him, and three days before the rally, the two met in Delhi. While the PM requested him not to hold the rally, JP demanded the dismissal of the Ghafoor government in Bihar and drew her attention to the mishandling of democratic institutions. JP went ahead with the rally, and the Centre deployed paramilitary forces in Patna. During a lathicharge, JP narrowly escaped injury when Jana Sangh leader Nanaji Deshmukh shielded him. Chandra Shekhar, who later became PM, wrote in his weekly Young Indian, 'JP is not fighting for political power; he cannot be defeated by deploying State power.' 'We need to shake India' The situation in Gujarat took a sharp turn starting in March 1975 after Morarji Desai undertook hunger strikes in support of the Navnirman Movement of students and called for fresh elections in the state. Things came to a head on June 12, when the Allahabad High Court set aside Mrs Gandhi's election from Rae Bareli. This led to JP intensifying the movement and he met the national committees of the Akali Dal, the Congress (Organisation), and the Lok Dal, all of whom called on Mrs Gandhi to resign as PM. The non-Congress and non-Left parties held a meeting on June 12 at the Ramlila Maidan in Delhi, but JP could not attend it as his flight was diverted. He called another meeting at the same venue two days later. Mrs Gandhi's biographer Pupul Jayakar has written that on being confronted with the escalating situation, the PM told her key advisor and West Bengal CM Siddhartha Shankar Ray, 'Siddhartha, we cannot allow this… I feel that India is like a baby and just as one should sometimes take a child and shake it. I feel we need to shake India.' Within hours of Emergency being imposed on June 25, top Opposition leaders, including JP, Morarji Desai, Raj Narain, Chandra Shekhar, and L K Advani, were jailed. So were young leaders shaped in the cauldron of those turbulent times, such as Lalu, Nitish, Ram Vilas Paswan, Ravi Shankar Prasad, and many others.
NDTV
4 days ago
- Politics
- NDTV
50 Years Since Emergency: What Really Fuelled Indira Gandhi's Insecurity
On the eve of the 50th anniversary of June 25, the day in 1975 when, setting aside all norms, the Emergency was imposed, it may be worthwhile to recapitulate the events in the fortnight preceding that day as well as the events of the two years that preceded it. Gujarat's Navnirman Movement (December 1973-April 1974) was spurred by high mess bills in college hostels. This inspired the Bihar movement (from March 1974), which ultimately was led by Jayaprakash Narayan (JP) on the plank of 'Total Revolution', seeking change in polity. An all-India strike by railwaymen in April-May 1974, led by George Fernandes, the head of the National Coordination Committee of Railwaymen's Struggle (NCCRS), added to the chaos preceding June 1975. In January 1975, Railway Minister Lalit Narain Mishra was killed in a bomb blast on the platform of the Samastipur railway station in Bihar. This case is yet to be solved - a petition filed by his grandson, Vaibhav Mishra, seeking the reopening of the investigation by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI), was admitted by the Delhi High Court recently. Poverty, food shortages and unemployment fanned these tensions and shook the Indira Gandhi regime, which till 1972 had been basking in the glory of victory over Pakistan in the Bangladesh Liberation War of 1971. The roots of the political crisis that led to Emergency lay in the factional politics of Congress. In 1964, the political ambitions of Morarji Desai and Jagjivan Ram to succeed Jawaharlal Nehru were thwarted by the popularity of Lal Bahadur Shastri, whom Nehru had covertly groomed. Shastri made Gandhi a minister as he wanted to have the tag of 'Nehru legitimacy'(initially, Gandhi had been reluctant, but faced with the prospect of Shastri opting for her aunt, Vijayalaxmi Pandit, instead, she agreed). When Shastri passed away in Tashkent in January 1966, the choice fell upon Gandhi. Morarji lost out yet again. He challenged her again after the 1967 general election, which saw the Congress retain the Lok Sabha by a slender majority and lose power in the entire Indo-Gangetic plains to Opposition coalitions. Yet again, Gandhi prevailed. Morarji was a pivot of the Navnirman Movement and a prominent face of the JP agitation. He replaced Gandhi as Prime Minister in March 1977. The Congress split in 1969 began with her dropping Desai from her cabinet. The internal bickering in the Grand Old Party led to its split in 1969. A veneer of ideology was sought to be put on the split, but the intrinsic reason was a clash of personal ambitions. A section of the party wanted to throw off the Nehru yoke. The 1969 split made Gandhi lose the majority in the Lok Sabha, though she survived, thanks to the support extended by DMK and CPI leaders. To overcome this handicap, Gandhi called for elections one year before they were due, in 1971. Opposition united in what came to be known as the 'Grand Alliance' to challenge her. But the Congress, which had a slender majority in 1967, returned with over 350 seats in 1971. Irrepressible socialist leader Raj Narain, who had later defeated Gandhi in 1977, lost to her at Rae Bareli in 1971. He challenged the result in a petition before the Allahabad High Court on the grounds that Gandhi had used unfair practices to win. Raj Narain was represented by Shanti Bhushan, while Gandhi was defended by eminent jurist Nani Palkhivala. The latter had to take the witness stand in this case, which she lost on June 12, 1975. Palkhivala quit the case in protest when the Emergency was imposed as a consequence. Judge Jagmohan Lal Sinha dismissed charges of bribery but held that Gandhi had misused official machinery as her aide, Yashpal Kapoor's resignation had not been formally accepted when he began campaigning (Kapoor had resigned before leaving Delhi, but the formality of acceptance was pending). Justice Sinha gave the Congress 20 days to elect someone to discharge Gandhi's duties. Her resignation was demanded overtly by the opposition parties, but there were murmurs within the Congress as well. Initially, Gandhi toyed with the idea that Sardar Swaran Singh, who had been a minister since Nehru's days in 1952, be sworn in as Prime Minister while she stepped down and got herself cleared by the Supreme Court. Babu Jagjivan Ram, who was minister since his induction in the Interim Government of 1946, felt he should be chosen instead, though Gandhi was not confident that he would step aside when she won her case. This despite the fact that in 1969, she had relied upon Jagjivan Ram to head her faction of the Congress. The Election Commission's 1971 results record two Congress parties - the Indira faction's overwhelming 350+ results are credited to Congress (Jagjivan Ram), and 16 seats are credited to Congress (Organization). After the Emergency was imposed, on July 5, Jagjivan Ram moved the official resolution in Parliament for its approval. And after Gandhi relaxed Emergency on January 20, 1977, to hold elections, Jagjivan Ram on February 2 walked out of the Congress to form Congress for Democracy (CFD), which became an ally of the Opposition combine that ousted the Indira regime in March 1977. Apart from Jagjivan Ram, the then Congress President, Dev Kanta Barooah, who later was to be remembered for his 'India is Indira' slogan, raised Gandhi's suspicion by suggesting that till she is cleared by courts, she could swap places with him, making him the Prime Minister with she heading the party. This suggestion apparently had gained currency at a meeting of MPs held at 12 Safdarjung Road, the residence of Minister Chandrajit Yadav. Indira Gandhi's Principal Secretary, Prof PN Dhar, has recorded in his memoirs that the then Intelligence Bureau (IB) Director, Atma Jayram, had submitted a report suggesting that not more than 159 of the 350 party MPs would support Gandhi if there were to be a show of strength. The rest of the MPs' loyalties were divided - with Yashwant Rao Chavan heading the list with 17 supporters, and others having even less. In 1972, in the Shimla session of Congress, 'Young Turk' Chandrashekhar created history by getting elected to the Congress Working Committee despite Gandhi's opposition. The IB's report to Dhar stated that Young Turks had the biggest block - of 25 MPs - opposed to Gandhi's continuation. Chandra Shekhar was arrested as Emergency was imposed. When the Janata Party was launched on May 1, 1977, he became its President. He also briefly served as Prime Minister in 1990-91 after the fall of the VP Singh government. Thus, it was not merely JP's call to the army, police and government servants on June 25 from the Ramlila Ground - ' Aap roti ke tukdo par bikey nahin hain,aapne imaan nahin bech diya hai ' - which prompted the Emergency, as was cited by Home Ministry documents placed before Parliament on July 21, 1977, to justify the action. Internal threat to her leadership from within the Congress also played a part.
