Proclamation of Emergency (New Delhi, June 1975) INDIRA GANDHI (1917–1984)

Proclamation of Emergency (New Delhi, June 1975)
INDIRA GANDHI (1917–1984)

June 12, 1975, as the historian Ramachandra Guha has noted, was a bad
day for Indira Gandhi. Early in the morning, she was informed that her old
associate D.P. Dhar had died. Later in the morning came the news that
Congress was taking a beating in the polls in Gujarat. And then came the
judgment from the Allahabad High Court declaring her 1971 election to
the Lok Sabha from Rae Bareli null and void for misuse of government
machinery for election purposes. Many senior Congressmen felt that she
should step down as Prime Minister following the verdict. But she chose to
heed the advice of her youngest son, Sanjay Gandhi and the Chief Minister
of West Bengal, Siddhartha Sankar Ray. On June 25, Ray helped her draft
an ordinance declaring a state of internal emergency. e President,
Fakhruddin Ali Ahmed signed it without any protest. Armed with the
ordinance, Indira Gandhi switched off the power supply to all Delhi’s
newspaper offices so that there would be no issue the next day. At six o’clock
in the morning of June 26, a meeting of the Union Cabinet was summoned,
the members informed of the Emergency and their formal consent
obtained. Indira Gandhi proceeded to the studio of the All India Radio to
announce the state of Emergency to the nation.

MAIN SPEECH

The President has proclaimed the Emergency.

is is nothing to panic about. I am sure you are all conscious of the deep

and widespread conspiracy, which has been brewing ever since I began to

introduce certain progressive measures of benefit to the common man and

woman of India. In the name of democracy, it has been sought to negate the

very functioning of democracy. Duly elected governments have not been

ll d f d f h b d l

allowed to function and in some cases, force has been used to compel

members to resign in order to dissolve lawfully elected assemblies.

Agitations have surcharged the atmosphere, leading to violent incidents.

e whole country was shocked at the brutal murder of my cabinet

colleague, Shri L.N. Mishra. We also deeply deplore the dastardly attack on

the Chief Justice of India.

Certain persons have gone to the length of inciting our armed forces to

mutiny and our police to rebel. e fact that our defence forces and the

police are disciplined and deeply patriotic and, therefore, will not be taken

in, does not mitigate the seriousness of the provocation.

e forces of disintegration are in full play and communal passions are

being aroused, threatening our unity.

All manners of false allegations have been hurled at me. e Indian people

have known me since my childhood. All my life has been in the service of

our people. is is not a personal matter. It is not important whether I

remain Prime Minister or not. However, the institution of the Prime

Minister is important and the deliberate political attempts to denigrate it is

not in the interest of democracy or of the nation.

We have watched these developments with utmost patience for long. Now

we learn of a new programme challenging law and order throughout the

country with a view to disrupting normal functioning. How can any

government worth the name stand by and allow the country’s stability to be

imperilled? e actions of a few are endangering the rights of the vast

majority. Any situation, which weakens the capacity of the national

government to act decisively inside the country, is bound to encourage

dangers from outside. It is our paramount duty to safeguard unity and

stability. e nation’s integrity demands firm action.

e threat to internal stability also affects production and prospects of

economic improvement. In the last few months the determined action we

have taken has succeeded in largely checking the price rise. We have been

actively considering further measures to strengthen the economy and to

relieve the hardship of various sections, particularly the poor and vulnerable,

and those with fixed incomes. I shall announce them soon.

I should like to assure you that the new Emergency proclamation will in no

way affect the rights of law-abiding citizens. I am sure that internal

conditions will speedily improve to enable us to dispense with this

l bl I h b h l d b h

proclamation as soon as possible. I have been overwhelmed by the messages

of goodwill from all parts of India and all sections of the people. May I

appeal for your continued co-operation and trust in the days ahead