Emergency: the darkest moment in India's democratic journey and irresponsible opposition
Saturday, August 13, 2022
  • Circulation
  • Advertise
  • About Us
  • Contact Us
Organiser
  • ‌
  • Bharat
  • World
  • Editorial
  • Analysis
  • Opinion
  • Defence
  • Sports
  • Business
  • More
    • RSS in News
    • Special Report
    • Culture
    • Sci & Tech
    • Entertainment
    • Education
    • Books
    • Interviews
    • Travel
    • Health
    • Obituary
SUBSCRIBE
No Result
View All Result
Organiser
  • ‌
  • Bharat
  • World
  • Editorial
  • Analysis
  • Opinion
  • Defence
  • Sports
  • Business
  • More
    • RSS in News
    • Special Report
    • Culture
    • Sci & Tech
    • Entertainment
    • Education
    • Books
    • Interviews
    • Travel
    • Health
    • Obituary
No Result
View All Result
Organiser
No Result
View All Result
  • Home
  • Bharat
  • World
  • Editorial
  • Opinion
  • Analysis
  • Culture
  • Defence
  • RSS in News
  • Subscribe
Home Bharat

Emergency: the darkest moment in India’s democratic journey and irresponsible opposition

WEB DESK by WEB DESK
Jun 25, 2021, 05:53 am IST
in Bharat
Share on FacebookShare on TwitterTelegramEmail

Our great nation has had its fair share of ups, and downs in its 70 plus years' democratic journey. The optimism of Independence and fervour of nation-building eventually ran its course over time; one family running the nation for decades first met resistance in 1966 over the issue of succeeding the late Lal Bahadur Shastri as the Prime Minister. Moraji Desai resisted, but Indira Gandhi got her way. She became the nation's darling after the liberation of Bangladesh following victory in the 1971 war against our noisy neighbors. What got overshadowed amidst the patriotic tsunami post-war was the huge underlying issues that were on the verge of crippling the entire nation. Huge military expenditure and its subsequent impact on other issues, surging poverty, nationwide law, and order situation slowly going out of hand, autocratic functioning of the government, Sanjay's rising influence sans any sort of accountability. Those who applauded the mother-son duo were rewarded. Those who spoke out against their reckless abuse of power and authority were reprimanded or marginalized.

 

 

Download Organiser App

As with all things in life, everything has a shelf life. In the same manner, Indira's popularity had run its course by the end of 1974. All leaders accept/learn to accept ups and downs in their political journeys. Indira's problem was that she believed in her hype and once leaders believe in their hype, what follows is usually dark. By 1975, the issues facing the nation had finally outgrown her popularity. What followed remains perhaps the darkest chapter in our country's post Independence journey.

 

The rising protests(led by JP) and opposition criticism reached their peak by mid-1975. The Raj Narain Verdict (which declared her election to the Lok Sabha null and void) was the tipping point. Fearing she was losing grip over her unchecked power and authority, she hastily declared a state of emergency, citing "internal disturbance" under Article 352 of the Indian constitution. The mother-son duo practically ran the nation; they were judge, jury, and executioner.

 

The emergency revealed the true nature and intentions of the mother and son

 

Many of the opposition leaders of the time were imprisoned, including Vajpayee, Advani, Jaitley, Desai, and others. To avoid being arrested, our present Prime Minister went into hiding. The government banned organizations like RSS. Amidst the doom and gloom, the heroic defiance of our party's leaders stood out. They could not just stand by and watch the values and principles (on which our great nation was founded), being ridiculed by an individual who had lost touch with reality.

 

Unimaginable things happened during this dark chapter; Sanjay's forced sterilization programs, outright abuse, disregard of Human rights, forced arrests of individuals without charges, arrests, and torture of political prisoners, destruction of low-income housing in the national capital.

 

The defiance of our leaders and their subsequent victory in the elections after the emergency is a testament to the lessons learned by the people of India i.e. it is paramount for the common man to remind leaders of their duties and boundaries in a democracy.

 

After a night comes the dawn

 

The emergency era and the subsequent struggles taught our BJP and its leaders' important lessons; which they followed in their actions and vision post the founding of our party in 1980. Our party kept growing over time and, by 1996, it became the single largest party in parliament and, the rest is history.

 

Reckless, irresponsible opposition

 

What the emergency has taught us, and what the years preceding up to it have taught us, is that the so-called "great old party" has always thrived and continues to thrive on exploiting several crises to mask their shortcomings and deceive the public. The Congress party's behavior since the pandemic reached India is a classic example of that.

 

The exposure of their toolkits, constant criticism of those fighting the battle against the pandemic, creating confusion amongst the public over vaccines, etc have again brought out their true colors to the public domain. It just reaffirms what we have always known i.e. the Congress will go to any lengths, use any situation (regardless of the consequences) for political mileage. Now, it is a political party desperate to stay relevant through any means. But the sad thing is that in this desperation, they have forgotten that national duty and being loyal to the nation's cause comes above anything else. In hindsight, such reckless behavior from Congressmen is hardly surprising as it is the only political party that sees a 51-year-old "prince" as a youth icon. The hysteria they have manufactured over the indigenous vaccines (something we as Indians ought to be proud of) and the central role they have played in the attempts to portray India as a failed state amidst a humanitarian crisis shows the level of thought process they operate on now. Nothing can be more anti-India than this.

Indians might forgive, but they will never forget. History won't be kind to those who played politics while the rest of the nation was fighting a global pandemic.

 

Forty-Six years ago, India entered its darkest phase because of one family's inability to accept reality. It taught us many lessons.

 

Similarly, a global pandemic has taught us many lessons. It has taught us that Congress still believes in its hype and will go to any lengths to preserve that delusion.

 

(M. Asnikumar Singh is a former State General Secretary, Vice President, and presently a Spokesperson of BJP, Manipur Pradesh.)

 

ShareTweetSendShareSend
Previous News

A piece on how the Indira Gandhi Government was shaken after a review of the film

Next News

28-Year-Old Second Wife Accuses 65-Year-Old Husband Maulana Shabbir of Forcing Her

Related News

India-UK Free Trade Agreement, fifth round of talk successfully concluded

India-UK Free Trade Agreement, fifth round of talk successfully concluded

Luxembourg and ISRO discuss collaboration opportunities in space sector

Luxembourg and ISRO discuss collaboration opportunities in space sector

Udaipur beheading: NIA arrests 9th accused named Muslim Khan for his active role in the conspiracy

Udaipur beheading: NIA arrests 9th accused named Muslim Khan for his active role in the conspiracy

India-Bangladesh strengthen defence ties at the Tri Service Talks

India-Bangladesh strengthen defence ties at the Tri Service Talks

Tibet’s resistance to decades of coercion and colonial suppression of China

Tibet’s resistance to decades of coercion and colonial suppression of China

SC order puts Mosque built on temple land in a spot of bother

SC order puts Mosque built on temple land in a spot of bother

Comments

The comments posted here/below/in the given space are not on behalf of Organiser. The person posting the comment will be in sole ownership of its responsibility. According to the central government's IT rules, obscene or offensive statement made against a person, religion, community or nation is a punishable offense, and legal action would be taken against people who indulge in such activities.

Latest News

India-UK Free Trade Agreement, fifth round of talk successfully concluded

India-UK Free Trade Agreement, fifth round of talk successfully concluded

Luxembourg and ISRO discuss collaboration opportunities in space sector

Luxembourg and ISRO discuss collaboration opportunities in space sector

Udaipur beheading: NIA arrests 9th accused named Muslim Khan for his active role in the conspiracy

Udaipur beheading: NIA arrests 9th accused named Muslim Khan for his active role in the conspiracy

India-Bangladesh strengthen defence ties at the Tri Service Talks

India-Bangladesh strengthen defence ties at the Tri Service Talks

Tibet’s resistance to decades of coercion and colonial suppression of China

Tibet’s resistance to decades of coercion and colonial suppression of China

SC order puts Mosque built on temple land in a spot of bother

SC order puts Mosque built on temple land in a spot of bother

Malayalam film promo ‘Nna Thaan Case Kodu’ about ‘potholed roads’ in Kerala sparks controversy

Malayalam film promo ‘Nna Thaan Case Kodu’ about ‘potholed roads’ in Kerala sparks controversy

Rs 10k Crore escalation for Mumbai Metro 3 project! Who’s responsible?

Rs 10k Crore escalation for Mumbai Metro 3 project! Who’s responsible?

Kerala: Medical reports of Endosulfan victims buried for seven years

Kerala: Medical reports of Endosulfan victims buried for seven years

J-K: Tiranga Shikara rally held at Dal Lake in Srinagar

J-K: Tiranga Shikara rally held at Dal Lake in Srinagar

  • Privacy
  • Terms
  • Cookie Policy
  • Refund and Cancellation
  • Delivery and Shipping Policy

© Bharat Prakashan (Delhi) Limited.
Tech-enabled by Ananthapuri Technologies

No Result
View All Result
  • Home
  • Bharat
  • World
  • Editorial
  • Analysis
  • Opinion
  • Defence
  • Culture
  • Sports
  • Business
  • RSS in News
  • Special Report
  • Sci & Tech
  • Entertainment
  • Education
  • Books
  • Interviews
  • Travel
  • Health
  • Obituary
  • Subscribe
  • Advertise
  • Circulation
  • About Us
  • Contact Us
  • Privacy Policy
  • Cookie Policy
  • Terms of Use
  • Refund and Cancellation

© Bharat Prakashan (Delhi) Limited.
Tech-enabled by Ananthapuri Technologies