The Emergency Manual: Deconstructing India’s Darkest Chapter

As India approaches the solemn observance of Samvidhan Hatya Diwas, let us reflect on the period from 25 June 1975 to 21 March 1977 – a deeply challenging chapter in the history of independent India. The Indian Emergency of 1975–77 was not a series of chaotic missteps; it was a playbook for dismantling a democracy, executed with chilling precision.

To understand the depth of this constitutional betrayal, one must deconstruct the method behind the madness. This was not just a crackdown; it was a step-by-step guide on how to turn a republic into a regime, authored in real time by Prime Minister Indira Gandhi's government.

As we mark the 50th anniversary of India’s darkest chapter of democracy as Samvidhan Hatya Diwas, let us analyse the playbook that brought India to its knees.

Step 1: Fabricate the Crisis, Personalise the Power

The first move was to frame an act of political self-preservation as a matter of national security. Facing disqualification from her seat by the Allahabad High Court, Indira Gandhi did not resign. Instead, she had President Fakhruddin Ali Ahmed declare a National Emergency.

In 2010, an RTI application brought to light a startling fact: the Indian government possessed no documents bearing Indira Gandhi's signature on the Emergency orders. The only signature present on these orders was that of President Fakhruddin Ali Ahmed.

The only official document available was the typed copy of the Prime Minister’s letter recommending emergency on the grounds that the Prime Minister had information of imminent danger to the security of India due to internal disturbance. However, the file had not a single shred of information or report backing such a threat.

This unilateral decision, made without Cabinet consultation, immediately concentrated all state power in her office, creating a crisis only she could supposedly solve.

Step 2: Dismantle the Checks, Neuter the Courts

With absolute power, the next step was to remove all legal obstacles. The 39th Amendment was rushed through a captive Parliament, making the Prime Minister's election immune to judicial review — a law created solely to legitimise an illegitimate hold on power.

The Emergency period ushered in an Ordinance Raj, by hastily passing the 38th Amendment Act, where laws were promulgated at the drop of a hat, bypassing parliamentary procedure and democratic debate. These ordinances, no matter how arbitrary or irrational, were immune to judicial review.

This effectively stripped Parliament of its legislative authority and reduced the law-making process to the whims of the Gandhi family.

The judiciary’s spirit was broken in the infamous ADM Jabalpur case, where the Supreme Court ruled that the state could suspend all fundamental rights during an Emergency. Justice H.R. Khanna, the sole dissenter, was punished by being superseded for the post of Chief Justice.

At least 21 High Court judges, who heard or granted relief to innocent citizens against arbitrary arrests and brutalities, were transferred without consent.

Chillingly, even before the Emergency was imposed, Justice Jagmohan Sinha, who authored the judgment disqualifying Indira Gandhi from the Prime Ministership, was hounded by the local MP of Prayagraj and was forced to disappear for ten days just to write his verdict in peace. Even a special CID task force hunted for Justice Jagmohan Sinha's judgment, threatening his secretary late at night. The message was clear: allegiance to the regime trumped allegiance to the Constitution.

Step 3: Eliminate the Opposition, Control the Narrative

A captive state requires a captive audience. Over 100,000 political opponents, from seasoned parliamentarians like Atal Bihari Vajpayee and Jayaprakash Narayan to student activists, were jailed under the draconian Maintenance of Internal Security Act (MISA).

The chilling anecdote of Defence Minister Rajnath Singh, denied parole to attend his mother's last rites while incarcerated for 18 months, underscores the brutal human cost.

Simultaneously, the press was gagged. In a now-infamous move, the electricity to Delhi's newspaper offices was cut on the first night. What followed was a regime of total censorship, where every word was screened.

Step 4: Institutionalise Brutality, Make Fear Routine

The final and most devastating step was to ensure the state's power was felt not just in laws, but in daily life.

Imagine: Article 21, that foundational bedrock of human existence, rendered utterly meaningless. Citizens could be snatched, held indefinitely, brutally tortured, or even extinguished – all without a single shred of recourse to the courts.

Villages like Narkadih witnessed massacres when residents dared to resist this barbaric invasion of their bodies and fundamental rights.

Legislation like the Maintenance of Internal Security Act (MISA), the Defence of India Act, etc, were exploited by the Indira regime to intimidate and detain anyone who questioned or stood against the government.

The Following Instances Offer a Glimpse into the Draconian Reality of the Emergency

Five Faces of Draconian Rule (1975–77)

The ‘Rolling’ Torture of Rajan: Engineering student P. Rajan was arrested in Kerala on suspicion of being a Naxalite and was never seen again. He was subjected to a horrific police torture method known as uruttal (rolling a heavy wooden log over the victim's body), which led to his death. His father's desperate, lifelong search for justice exposed the state's capacity for brutal, unrecorded murder.

The Baroda Dynamite Conspiracy: To crush all opposition, the government fabricated the "Baroda Dynamite Case," accusing George Fernandes and others of treason. To locate Fernandes, his brother Lawrence was arrested and brutally tortured, his body beaten and his foot crushed, leaving him permanently disabled. This showcased the regime's willingness to destroy families to silence dissent.

Sterilisation Quotas for Teachers: The forced sterilisation campaign saw government officials given quotas. In states like Uttar Pradesh, school teachers were threatened with having their salaries withheld unless they "motivated" a certain number of people to undergo sterilisation. This turned public servants into agents of a brutal policy that violated the bodily autonomy of millions.

The Turkman Gate Massacre: Under the banner of "city beautification," the government began demolishing slums in a Muslim-majority area near Delhi's Turkman Gate. When residents protested the destruction of their homes and the accompanying forced sterilisations, police responded by opening fire on the crowd, killing an unconfirmed number of people. It was a stark example of state violence against the urban poor. (Scroll)

Arbitrary Indefinite Detentions: Thousands of innocent citizens were left at the mercy of the Indira regime without due judicial recourse, marking one of the most brutal sides of the Emergency. At one instance, the court intentionally clubbed petitions from family members like Madhu and Pramila Dadavate so they could have a fleeting, agonising glimpse of their imprisoned loved ones. (SCC Online)

The Ghost That Still Haunts

The ghosts of 1975 have never left the Indian National Congress. That 21-month period became the party's original sin, a historical burden that continues to haunt its political fate. The Emergency fundamentally altered public perception, replacing the image of Congress as the steward of India's freedom with that of a party willing to sacrifice democracy for dynastic power.

But its most tangible political consequence was the unintentional creation of a unified opposition. The prisons of the Emergency became an unlikely political crucible, forcing leaders from vastly different ideologies – socialists, Hindu nationalists, and regional satraps – to find common cause.

This jail-forged unity gave birth to the Janata Party, a coalition that, for the first time, defeated the Congress in 1977. Though short-lived, it shattered the myth of Congress's invincibility.

It passed the 44th Amendment Act, which reversed the ultra vires provisions of the draconian 42nd Amendment Act passed during the Emergency.

Every accusation of authoritarianism and every debate on dynastic succession can be traced back to this chapter.

The "darkest chapter" was indeed overcome by the very people whose rights were crushed. Thus, recognising 25 June as Samvidhan Hatya Diwas is not merely justified; it is an unyielding testament to the day the Constitution's soul was not just violated, but brutally murdered.