Emergency in India

What we see in Pakistan now, uncertainty, repeated coups, weak democracy and medieval outlook, might have been there in India had JP movement not been tackled properly and had the emergency not been proclaimed.

Emergency has always been discussed one sided. Why? Firstly, the whole media, opposition and a major section of the society were opposed to it, which also reflected in elections after that. Secondly, after three years rule by opposition parties the country was in such a bad shape, there was no scope for talks about the emergency, focus was on the future not on the past.

I understand there are not many who support the emergency in India. But, emergency was the need of hour at that time.

Once event is over, we join the dots, and that can be done in many ways. Therefore, there can be many point of views. Unlike Pakistan, Afghanistan or Bangladesh, Indian Army has always been disciplined and efficient, and never wanted to come out of the barracks. Country should be thankful to Army.

Emergency had to be proclaimed, when JP and other leaders started appealing Armed forces and officials to not to obey the orders of the government which they consider unlawful… so long government is in place, and if military official / police disobey the orders then the condition may escalate. It was not the possibility that the whole of the forces / police defy orders. But what if a microscopic minority of officials does so, and walkout out with arms, and join JP? In the charges environment of a mass movement like JP’s, it was quite possible. And finally it would have escalated to any extant.

If we look around the events at that time, the era was full of uncertainties, very vulnerable, and fluid. In many countries there had been coups, some of the examples are: Egypt in 1952, Turkey in 1960 (and 1971 and 1980), Indonesia 1966, Greece in 1967, Libya in 1969, Oman 1970, Philippines 1972, Chile in 1973, Portugal in 1974, Bangladesh 1975, and Pakistan 1977. If we see African region and beyond, there are innumerable examples.

India was just three decades old at that time. Before that it was being ruled by force for ages, whether by the kings or by the British, so the instinct of revolt and coup was quite alive at time as always in the past in Indian subcontinent.