Ch- 6 DEMOCRATIC RESURGENCE Introduction After independence India adopted Parliamentary model of democracy. However the existence of democracy over the years has failed to solve the problem of illiteracy and democracy. To maintain the integrity Indira Gandhi in 1969 called on the need to make bureaucracy and judiciary committed. The Backdrop to Emergency Since 1967 significant changes took place in Indian politics. Indira Gandhi emerged as towering leader with a charismatic personality. Party competition during this period became bitter and polarised. There were even tensions between executive and judicial wings of the government • Congress described court as a conservative institution which was becoming an obstacle in the implementation of programmes for pro-poor. • The opposition felt that the politics had been personalised and government machinery was being used to implement Indira Gandhi’s personal authority. • In 1975 Indira Gandhi imposed national emergency on the ground of maintaining national integrity. Economic Situation • In 1971 elections, Congress gave the slogan of ‘Garibi Hatao’, however the social and economic conditions of the country did not improve. • Bangladesh crisis had put a heavy strain on the Indian economy. • Infiltration of about 8 million refugees from Bangladesh to India, war with Pakistan, stoppage of US aid to India led to increase in prices of products by 23% and in 1973 to 30% in 1974. • Slow growth rate and unemployment in rural areas. • In order to reduce government expenditure the government froze the salaries of its employees. • Failure of monsoon in 1972–73 led to decline in food productivity by 8%. • Non-Congress parties organised mass movements to protest against the worsening situation. • Marxist-Leninist groups known as Naxalites became dominant in states of Bengal and Andhra Pradesh. Student movements in Bihar and Gujarat • Bihar movement was started by students in Bihar in 1974 which was led by veteran socialist Jayaprakash Narayan against the corrupt and inefficient regime of Bihar, rising prices of essential commodities, unemployment. • Jayaprakash Narayan called upon people of Bihar to launch a total or comprehensive movement to change not only the government but also the society and the individual. • The movement aimed for a new evolution. • He accepted it on the condition that the movement will remain non-violent and will not limit itself to Bihar. • A series of bandhs, gehraos hours and strikes were organised in protest against the Bihar government but the government refused to resign. Gujarat movement • In 1974 students in Gujarat started an agitation against rising prices of food grains, cooking oil, and other essential, commodities and against corruption in high places. • The students were joined by major opposition parties and became widespread leading to imposition of President’s rule in the state. • The opposition parties demanded fresh elections and specially Morarji Desai who was the leader of Congress (O) threatened the government to go on indefinite hunger strike if fresh elections were not held. So under immense pressure from students, supported by the opposition parties assembly elections were held in Gujarat in June 1975 where in Congress was defeated. The Naxalite movement • In 1967 a peasant uprising took place in the Naxalbari police station area of Darjeeling Hills district in West Bengal under the leadership of the local cadres of the Communist party of India (Marxist). Beginning from the Naxalbari police station, the peasant movement spread to several states of India and came to be referred broadly as the Naxalite movement. • In 1969, they broke of the CPI (M) and a new party, Communist Party (Marxist-Leninist) (CPI- ML) was formed under the leadership of Charu Majumdar. • It argued that democracy in India was a sham and decided to adopt a strategy of protracted guerrilla warfare in order to lead to a revolution. Methods used by Naxalites • The Naxalite movement has used force to snatch land from the rich landowners and give it to the poor and the landless. • Its supporters advocate the use of violent means to achieve their political goals. • The Naxalite movement has been a splintered into various parties and organisations. Some of these parties, like the CPI-ML (Liberation) participated in open, democratic politics. • Currently about 75 districts in nine states (Odisha, Bihar, Jharkhand, Chhattisgarh, Andhra Pradesh) are affected by Naxalite violence. Most of these are very backward areas inhabited by adivasis. Why Naxalites are fighting? • In these areas the sharecroppers, under-tenants and small cultivators are denied their basic rights with regard to security of tenure or their share in produce, payment of fair wages etc. • Forced labour, expropriation of resources by outsiders and exploitation by money lenders are also common in these areas. These conditions lead to the growth of Naxalite movement. Conflict with Judiciary • The Indian government strangely had many differences with the judiciary. • There was a long drawn conflict between Parliament and judiciary over each other’s roles. There were three issues: 1. The Supreme Court said that the Parliament could not abridge fundamental rights including right to property. 2. The court said that the Parliament could not amend in such a way that rights got curtailed. 3. The Parliament amended the Constitution on the ground that fundamental rights could be abridged for implementing directive principles. The Supreme Court rejected this proposition. • All the three factors created a controversy between government and judiciary. • Further tension was added between executive and judiciary due to two reasons: 1. A vacancy of Chief Justice of India had arisen in 1973. As the convention says senior most judge of Supreme Court should have been appointed but seniority of three judges was superseded and A.N. Ray was appointed as the Chief Justice which generated political controversy. Political ideology and constitutional interpretation got mixed and people close to Indira Gandhi talked of committed judiciary and executive to implement division of people’s representation. 2. The climax was of course the ruling of the Allahabad High Court declaring Indira Gandhi’s election invalid. This petition was filed by Raj Narain, a socialist challenging Indira Gandhi’s election as invalid as she has used government machinery for election campaign. The High Court declared her election as invalid so legally she was no more an MP and therefore, could not remain the PM unless once again elected as an MP within six months Imposition of Emergency • The stage was set for a political turmoil. Opposition parties led by J.P. Narayana organised a massive demonstration in Ram Leela grounds on 25 June 1975 for resignation of Indira Gandhi. • Jaypee announced a nationwide satyagraha for her resignation and asked the army, the police and government employees not to obey “illegal immoral orders “. • The response of the government was to declare a state of emergency. • Emergency was then invoked under article 352 whose provisions are that the government can declare a state of emergency on grounds of external threat or a threat of internal disturbances. • Article 356 provides that if the President, on receipt of a report from the government of a state or otherwise, is satisfied that a situation has arisen in which the government of the state cannot be carried on by the provisions of the Constitution, the President may issue a proclamation. • Article 360 states that if the President is satisfied that a situation-anything whereby the final stability or the credit of India or any part thereof is threatened, President may declare a state of financial emergency. • Once the emergency is proclaimed the federal distribution of powers remain practically suspended and all powers are concentrated in the hands of the Union government. • Secondly, the government also gets the power to curtail or restrict all or any of the fundamental rights during emergency. • On the night of 25 June 1975, the PM recommended the imposition of emergency to President Fakhruddin Ali Ahmed without consulting or informing the Cabinet ministers. • After midnight the electricity to all major newspaper offices was disconnected and early morning she informed her cabinet about imposition of emergency. Consequences 1. Agitations were brought to an abrupt stop. Strikes were banned and many opposition leaders were put in jail. 2. Government suspended all the freedom of press thereby newspapers were asked to take prior approval before publishing any article. This is called press censorship. 3. Due to fear of social and communal disharmony, the government banned parties like RSS and Jamaat-e-Islami. Protests and strikes were disallowed. 4. Fundamental rights of people were suspended and people even did not have the right to move to courts for protection of their fundamental rights. 5. Under preventive detention, people were arrested and detained not because they have committed offence but on the apprehension that they may commit an offence and moreover arrested persons were not informed about the reason of their arrest and also could not challenge their arrest through habeas corpus. 6. Many journalists were arrested for writing against the emergency. 7. Kannada writer Shivarama Karnath awarded with Padma Bhushan and Hindi writer Fanishwaranath Renu awarded with Padma Shri returned their awards in protest against the suspension of democracy. 8. Many political workers went underground