Critically assess the Emergency imposed under article 352 during the year 1975.
Answers
Answer:
The final decision to impose an emergency was proposed by Indira Gandhi, agreed upon by the president of India, and thereafter ratified by the cabinet and the parliament (from July to August 1975), based on the rationale that there were imminent internal and external threats to the Indian state.
Emergency in India during 1975: Reasons for Declaring Emergency in India
Emergency was declared in the nation due to rising internal threats resulting from the mass agitations and demonstrations against the government due to failure in regulating price rise and fighting drought situations.
Published:June 26, 2015 12:13 PM IST
By India.com Education Desk
National Emergency in India was imposed during the period of 1975-77, when was the Prime Minister of India. She declared the state of emergency on June 25, 1975, which professed the elections suspended and major curbs in civil liberties were announced. . Emergency was imposed under Article 352(1) of the Constitution by the then President Fakhruddin Ali Ahmed, giving internal disturbance the reason to impose it over the country.
Reasons:
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During the period of 1973-75, political unrest against the Indira Gandhi led government was on its peak. During this period many of the party leaders within congress, demanded a system which works more like a presidential one, where there would be directly elected executives in the party. Nav Nirman movement in Gujarat, between December 1973 and March 1974 was one of the first movements which begun the strife in the nation. During this movement the central government was forced to dissolve the state legislature in Gujarat and chief minister Chimanbhai Patel had to resign, which resulted in President s rule over Gujarat.
There were other such activities and revolts against the government that were taking place during the period which included students, peasants, labor organizations, employees, unions and opposition parties.
Indira Gandhi was found guilty by the Allahabad High Court on several accounts and was charged for malpractice during the previous campaigns during her Lok Sabha seat election. Even within the parliament the government was undergoing much criticism from the opposition parties.
The government led by Indira Gandhi claimed that the recent war between India and Pakistan along with the oil crisis in 1973 has drastically affected the economy of the country that has resulted into price rise of consumer goods. Apart from these, there were challenges to fight with the effects of drought in the country and consequently there was a rise of internal threats from various parts of the country against the government due to elevation of starvation and debt issues.
Unemployment and increasing laboring population generated fume and outrage all over the nation. The government claimed that the regular strikes and protests by the citizens have paralyzed the government and its economy and there was anomaly on streets as well as political opposition prevailing in many part of the country.
On account of all the above she took advice from one of her allies, the Chief Minister of West Bengal Sidhartha Shankar Roy, who proposed her to declare internal emergency in the nation. Elections were on hold till 1977, when the emergency was lifted by the government.