The dark days of Emergency and its lessons

50 years since India's Emergency, the dark chapter highlights the struggle for democracy against authoritarianism and the resilience of its people.

It has been 50 years since democracy in India was given a serious blow with the imposition of the internal Emergency, for the first time, on June 25, 1975. It is crucial to recognise the background of this dark chapter in the history of free India. Under the leadership of Jayaprakash Narayan, a legendry freedom fighter who never sought any office, students and young people in India were agitating for democratic, economic, and political reforms. The movement began in Bihar,

Indira Gandhi, the then Prime Minister, had become unpopular due to bad governance, corruption, and the economic downturn. (HT Archives)