Author: Aurobindo Ghosh

At midnight on 25 June 1975, Prime Minister Indira Gandhi proclaimed a national Emergency under Article 352 of the Constitution. The immediate trigger was the Allahabad High Court’s judgment invalidating her election to Parliament, threatening both her position and the stability of her government. The Emergency not only enabled her to retain office but also fundamentally altered India’s democratic framework. Judicial oversight was curtailed, press censorship was imposed, civil liberties were suspended, and sweeping constitutional amendments were enacted. Hundreds of opposition leaders and thousands of political activists were imprisoned, while coercive policies, including forced sterilisation, became defining features of the…