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Tharoor's latest on Cong: Cites Sanjay Gandhi's excesses in ‘Emergency lessons’ article
Emergency imposed by Indira Gandhi should serve as reminder that democracy is not to be taken lightly, wrote Congress Working Committee member Shashi Tharoor
Congress MP Shashi Tharoor, in a new article that takes a critical look at the past, has written about lessons from the Emergency imposed by the then PM Indira Gandhi. Published around the 50th anniversary of the Emergency, Tharoor's article specifically cited how her son Sanjay Gandhi's actions were an example of cruelty in the name of discipline.
He mentioned “the forced vasectomy campaigns led by Gandhi’s son, Sanjay, and concentrated in poorer and rural areas, where coercion and violence were used to meet arbitrary targets”.
"Slum demolitions, carried out with ruthless efficiency in urban centers like New Delhi, rendered thousands homeless, with little to no concern for their welfare." the Thiruvananthapuram MP wrote in the Malayalam daily Deepika, PTI reported.
He put up a link to an English version of article on X too.
The Emergency should not be remembered merely as a dark chapter in India's history, but that its lessons must be fully understood, said Tharoor, who is a member of the Congress Working Committee, the party's top body.
Timing crucial
He has not been on the most cordial terms with his party for a while now for some of his actions. Among the most recent sticking points were his praise for PM Narendra Modi's global diplomacy and a measured answer on the RSS's view of the Indian Constitution.
The former global diplomat, who was a minister in Manmohan Singh's Congress-led UPA regime, was also chosen by the BJP-led NDA government to be a leader of Operation Sindoor outreach delegations sent to foreign countries to present India's position after cross-border hostilities with Pakistan.
The party had reservations about not being asked to nominate members instead.
Tharoor was the only candidate against Mallikarjun Kharge for the Congress presidentship in 2022, in which the party got its first non-Gandhi-family chief in over two decades after Sonia Gandhi and Rahul Gandhi's stints.
‘Let it be a reminder’
In his article on Thursday, Tharoor recalled the dark era of the Emergency that lasted from June 25, 1975, to March 21, 1977, followed by an election in which Indira Gandhi lost too, and the Janata Party came to power.
Sanjay Gandhi died in a plane crash some time later, and Indira's other son, Rajiv, became her successor but was assassinated. That brought his wife Sonia into politics, followed by son Rahul and daughter Priyanka.
Rahul Gandhi, and the Congress, have called the Emergency a mistake.
Tharoor wrote that it should “serve as a lasting reminder to people everywhere” that democracy is not something to be taken lightly, and it must be constantly nurtured and preserved.
'Stronger democracy now'
He stressed that today's India is not the India of 1975: “We are a more self-confident, more developed, and in many ways a more robust democracy. Yet the lessons of the Emergency remain alarmingly relevant."
He added, “The temptation to centralize power, to silence critics, and to bypass constitutional safeguards can emerge in many forms, often cloaked in the rhetoric of national interest or stability. In this sense, the Emergency should serve as a potent warning: democratic stalwarts must be eternally vigilant.”
