On June 25, 1975, under Article 352 of the Indian Constitution, Prime Minister Indira Gandhi declared a state of Emergency in India, which lasted until March 21, 1977. During this period, civil liberties, press freedom, and judicial independence were suspended. As we mark the 50th anniversary of the Emergency, it remains one of the most controversial chapters in India’s democratic history.
The Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) and its political arm, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), continue to allege that Indira Gandhi imposed the Emergency to evade a court ruling that invalidated her Lok Sabha election and to imprison her political opponents.
Recently, transcripts of Indira Gandhi’s Lok Sabha speeches during the Emergency, archived by the Press Information Bureau, have become available. These reveal that the RSS played a central role in creating the conditions that necessitated the Emergency. According to her speeches, the Emergency was imposed to counter the threat to India’s democracy posed by the RSS-led Jana Morcha movement.
1. Circumstances Leading to the Emergency
The 1971 India-Pakistan War plunged the country into an economic recession. The 1973 global oil crisis worsened the situation. In 1974, a railway workers’ strike paralyzed India’s transportation system. That same year, the student-led “Navnirman Andolan” in Gujarat turned violent, necessitating President’s Rule, yet protests continued under Morarji Desai’s leadership.
In 1974, Jayaprakash Narayan launched the “Sampoorna Kranti” (Total Revolution) in Bihar, calling for the overthrow of the Congress government. This movement turned violent, resulting in the destruction of public property. Indira Gandhi described these agitations as destabilizing and a threat to internal security. Hundreds of protesters lost their lives in these clashes.
Indira Gandhi identified the RSS as the orchestrator behind these events, warning that the nation risked falling into the hands of anarchic forces. Amid this turmoil, the Allahabad High Court delivered a pivotal ruling in 1975.
In 1971, Indira Gandhi was elected to the Lok Sabha from Raebareli. Her opponents challenged the election in court, alleging misuse of government machinery and vehicles for campaigning, excessive election spending, and the use of a religiously symbolic “cow and calf” as her party’s emblem. On June 12, 1975, the Allahabad High Court invalidated her election and barred her from contesting elections for six years. While the Supreme Court granted a stay allowing her to continue as Prime Minister, it did not overturn the ruling.
On June 25, 1975, Jayaprakash Narayan, leading the Janata Party, Jana Sangh (the precursor to the BJP), Socialist Party, and Bharatiya Lok Dal, organized a massive rally at Delhi’s Ramlila Maidan. The rally called on the army and police to disobey Indira Gandhi’s orders. Fearing that such actions could plunge the country into anarchy, Indira Gandhi declared the Emergency on the night of June 25, 1975, to safeguard democracy.
2. Indira Gandhi’s Argument
On July 22, 1975, Indira Gandhi delivered a detailed speech in the Lok Sabha, explaining the reasons for imposing the Emergency. Titled Preserving Our Democratic Structure: Prime Minister Explains Reason for Emergency, the speech is available in the PIB archives. In it, she emphasized that the Emergency was necessary to protect the nation from the RSS. Key excerpts include:
- “I condemn the training given to youth in RSS shakhas and the violence they promote.”
- “The RSS and Jana Sangh’s primary weapon is spreading lies.”
- “Fascism is not just oppression; it involves creating and widely propagating falsehoods.”
- “This is not our (Congress) approach. We do not believe in lies or falsehoods.”
- Quoting RSS leader Golwalkar: “Germans expelled Jews to preserve their racial and cultural purity. India must learn from this.”
- An inquiry report on the 1969 Allahabad riots found that Jana Sangh-led attacks targeted Muslims and their properties.
- An inquiry into the 1971 Tellicherry riots noted the RSS’s role in inciting hatred against Muslims.
- The RSS stated: “Christians may seem harmless, but they are not only religious traitors but also anti-national.”
- The RSS publication Organiser called women’s voting rights “unnecessary and wasteful.”
- Quoting Sardar Patel’s September 11, 1948, letter: “RSS speeches are filled with communal venom. There is no need to spread poison to unite Hindus. Organizing them does not require vengeance against innocent, helpless women, men, and children. These actions led to Gandhi’s sacrifice.”
- “Everyone knows who (the RSS) creates lies, spreads violence, and instills fear while aligning with the Jana Morcha.” (The Jana Morcha, an anti-Indira coalition, later became the Janata Party, including leaders like Jayaprakash Narayan, Morarji Desai, Nijalingappa, Vajpayee, Advani, George Fernandes, and Charan Singh.)
- “Can anyone name a leader or country enduring such lies, violence, and slander?”
- In 1967, Jayaprakash Narayan called for military rule, stating, “The army must take control of the country.” Yet today, these same leaders lecture us on democracy. “The fact that opposition leaders are speaking in Parliament instead of languishing in jails shows democracy is functioning.”
- If the RSS-led opposition had succeeded in its destructive plans, democracy would have been destroyed.
- “How justified is it for the opposition to entrust its propaganda to the RSS, synonymous with violence and communal hatred? Is it democratic for Naxalites to call for armed revolution?”
Indira Gandhi further stated: “We know the RSS’s history—how it grew and incited hatred among people. They have no faith in democracy. They claim to be democrats but deny equal rights to Muslims and Christians. Our (Congress) democracy ensures equal rights for all citizens.”
She recounted: “As Congress President, when I proposed a Muslim as Chief Minister for a state, many objected, saying a Muslim couldn’t lead a Hindu-majority state. We did it anyway. Can anyone object now? Similarly, objections arose when Dr. Zakir Hussain was made President, but we succeeded. Can anyone now say a Muslim cannot be President? Still, minorities haven’t received their fair share. We opened doors deemed impossible, and we did it.”
“While Dalits still don’t receive their due, their opportunities have improved significantly compared to the past.”
3. Document of Surrender
Immediately after the Emergency was declared, Indira Gandhi ordered the arrest of numerous ABVP and RSS members. Many evaded capture. RSS chief Balasaheb Deoras was arrested in Nagpur on June 30, 1975. On July 4, 1975, the government banned the RSS, marking its second ban since independence (the first was in 1948 after Gandhi’s assassination, when Sardar Patel banned the RSS and jailed 25,000 activists).
Indira Gandhi’s government arrested approximately 44,000 RSS activists, of whom around 80 died in custody. From Yerwada Jail, Balasaheb Deoras wrote a letter of apology to Indira Gandhi, seeking release, but she ignored it. Deoras also wrote to Vinoba Bhave, requesting him to urge Indira to lift the ban and release RSS members. He attempted negotiations through Maharashtra Chief Minister S.B. Chavan. In Bengaluru, Advani and Atal Bihari Vajpayee were arrested. Vajpayee, citing health reasons, was released on parole and remained free until the Emergency ended.
In November 1976, over 30 RSS leaders, including Madhavrao Muley, Dattopant Thengadi, and Moropant Pingle, wrote to Indira Gandhi, promising support for the Emergency if all RSS activists were released. The government issued a “Document of Surrender” for voluntary submissions, stating: “If released, I will not engage in activities that disrupt internal security or public peace, nor participate in any illegal activities against the Emergency…” Many detained RSS members signed this document and were released.
4. Conclusion
Today, the RSS and its affiliates claim they heroically fought the Emergency, portraying it as a dark period for democracy. However, Indira Gandhi’s argument was that the Emergency was imposed to curb the RSS’s disruptive actions. Many RSS leaders secured their release by submitting “Document of Surrender” letters.
Since its inception, the RSS has aimed to unite Hindus and transform India into a Hindu Rashtra, a goal it has never shied away from declaring. The organization faced bans twice in history—1948 and 1975—both times when it came close to achieving its objectives. In 1948, post-Gandhi’s assassination, the RSS sought to marginalize Nehru, stoke anti-Muslim sentiment, and push for a Hindu state, but Nehru’s secular vision and commitment to unity thwarted this. Through Patel, the RSS was banned, and thousands were jailed, cementing “unity in diversity” as India’s ethos.
By 1975, with Indira’s election invalidated, the RSS, through Jayaprakash Narayan, likely attempted to oust her and seize power via the military to establish a Hindu state. The RSS ban and the inclusion of “socialist” and “secular” in the Constitution during the Emergency support this view. The word “secular” is particularly significant, as altering it is essential for declaring India a Hindu state—hence the RSS’s “Char Sau Baar” (400 seats) slogan. Indira Gandhi was not only a formidable leader but also a visionary who foresaw this threat.
Today, BJP-ruled states provide a monthly pension of ₹10,000 to RSS activists jailed during the Emergency, despite their surrender letters, reflecting efforts to rewrite history by erasing one narrative and imposing another. The RSS is now closer to its century-long goal than ever. This is not the era of Nehru or Indira. Will India become a monolithic society with one god (often North Indian Vaishnavism), one worship style, one culture, one food, and one language? Or will it remain a harmonious society with diverse deities, cultures, languages, and practices? The choice lies with each citizen.
By Bolloju Baba
References
The following sources were used to write this article:
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