Question

In what ways was the emergency period a set back to the Indian democracy?

Answer 1

Common people suffered during this period.  Sanjay Gandhi demolished the slums near Turkman Gate Area in Delhi. It created riots and gunshots were fired.  The slum people were relocated to a different place.  

Sanjay Gandhi implemented Family Planning (vasectomies)  as a compulsory one because of which many men and women who were single and from a poor family background were forced to do this.  This created fear in the common people  

The judiciary and the press were affected badly.  “Indira Gandhi ensured that all proclamations and ordinances were not subjected to judicial review.”  She suspended all the Fundamental Rights of the citizens.

Freedom of Press was completely taken away and censorship was imposed.  No Newspaper daily defied that law.  Cheap news and pictures were allowed to be printed but no information on politics was allowed to be printed.  

It lasted for 11 months.  During this period, many suffered, many were arrested and even politicians were arrested.  It is known as the darkest period in Indian democracy.

Answer 2

Answer:

In India, "the Emergency" refers to an 18-month period from 1975 to 1977 when Prime Minister Indira Gandhi had a state of emergency declared across the country. Officially issued by President Fakhruddin Ali Ahmed under Article 352 of the Constitution because of the prevailing "internal disturbance", the Emergency was in effect from 26 June 1975 until its withdrawal in January 1977. The order bestowed upon the Prime Minister the authority to rule by decree, allowing elections to be suspended and civil liberties to be curbed. For much of the Emergency, most of Gandhi's political opponents were imprisoned and the press was censored. Several other human rights violations were reported from the time, including a forced mass-sterilization campaign spearheaded by Sanjay Gandhi, the Prime Minister's son. The Emergency is one of the most controversial periods of independent India's history.

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.[1][2]