Indira Years

CSB IAS - Umesh Reddy Muli

Indira years – Initial years
• Came to power with the help of syndicate
• Had to face elections in one year of attaining power
• 1967
Congress, under Prime Minister Indira Gandhi, retained
power but suffered setbacks in the first general elections
held after Nehru's death in 1964. It won 283 out of 520
seats.The Swatantra Party (44 seats), the BJS (35) and two
socialist groups with 46 seats emerged as the strongest
opposition groups in this election.
• Congress lost power in 8 state assemblies
• Most of the syndicate lost election – Kamraj, S k Patil, C
subramanyam
Political Challenges
• Challenges of Syndicate
• Forced cabinet on her with Morarji Desai as
Deputy PM
• Issue of election of V V Giri
• Split in Party – Congress (R) and Congress (O)-
1969
• Single party dominance to multiparty system
• Era of coalition governments and Political
defections
Economic Issues
• PL 480 scheme – Food for peace
• Drought of 1965-67 – near famine condition – Ship to mouth
existence
• Devaluation of rupee 1966- Aid politics of USA, IMF and WB –
57% devaluation
• 10 point programme of 1967 with a socialist tinge
• Direct confrontation of Poverty from 3rd plan
• Expansion of the public sector and Licence and permit raj
• Nationalization of 14 banks 1969
• Nationalisation of Insurance – 1972
• Extension of PDS system
• Abolition of Privy purses 1971
• Garibi Hatao Desh Bachao 1971
• 1971 elections – 352 /518 seats
Other issues
• Naxal Movement (1967 – Charu Majumdar and
Kanu Sanyal)
• Bangladeshi Refugee crisis – 1971 – 10 million
refugees
• Nagaland insurgency and Mizo insurgency
• Demand for separate state of Punjab
• Anti Cow slaughter movements
• Populist solutions to all complicated problems
• 1971 elections Congress (R) won 352/521 seats
Congress (O) 16, BJS 22 and CPI 25
Indo Pak war of 1971
Issues
1. Language based conflict
2. Urdu as sole official language
3. Demand for federation and autonomy
4. Elections Mujibur Rahman vs Zulfikar Ali Bhutto
5. Non recognition of elections and arrest of
Mujibur Rahman
6. Repression of East Paskistan - Operation search
light
7. Refugees in large number (10 million)
Indian Moves
1. Mukti Bahani
2. Government in exile
3. Settlement of refugees
4. 1971 verge of conflict
5. Formation of Pak-China-USA axis
6. UN general assembly resolution
7. India Treaty of peace and friendship with USSR
• Preemptive strikes by Pakistan - air force attack operation
Chengiz khan
• Counter attack by India
• 3000 casulaities on Indian side and 9000 casualities on
pakistani side and 93000 pakistani soldiers captured.
• Liberation of Bangladesh
• 14 day war brilliant sucess for India
• 3 million civilian population killed in Bangladesh
• USA UK attempt to declare India as aggressor – USSR
blocked this resolution
• USA sent its Navy to Indian Ocean but USSR took Counter
Measures.
Shimla Accord
• Removal of troops
• Return of POW’s
• Non interference in internal matters
• Relations should be conducted according to
UN charter
• Kashmir issue to be resolved bilaterally
• Cooperation in science and culture
• Restoration of Communication links – Postal
and telegraph
• Economic and Commercial links
• Cease fire line converted to LOC
• Territorial integrity and sovereignty should be
respected.
• Peaceful coexistence and force shoud not be
used to resolve the border dispute .
Criticism
Lost brilliant opportunity to resolve Kashmir issue
once and for all times to come
Kargil Intrusion a clear violation of the accord
Imposition of Emergency
Causes
• War Victory makes Indira Gandhi a powerful leader
• INC becoming Centralized and personality driven
• Centralisation in government too Committed
Bureaucracy
• Rising corruption and power politics
• Gets power back in the states it lost in 1967
• 1973 oil crisis, neglect in economy, challenges of
Unemployment, Poverty
• Nuclear tests – Operation smiling Buddha
• Tussle with Judiciary – Her emphasis on Directive principles and court on
Fundamental rights - Golaknath case non amendability of the
Constitution and then 24 and 25 th amendements were passed to nullify
the judgement abolition of privy purse through the 26th CAA – 1973 –
Keshvananda Bharati case
• Allahabad High court judgment in Raj Naraina case - her election became
null and void and she also banned her from contesting elections for 6
years.
• SC provided temperory relief and ordered that she can continue as PM
and participate in parliament but cannot vote.
• Student movement in Bihar and Gujarat (Nav Nirman Samiti)
• Reentry of JP and Sampoorna Kranti (Total revolution)
• All India railway strike led by George fernandez
• Call for Ghero and military support
• Lead to imposition of Emergency
• Railway strike of 1974
• Scheme for compulsory deposits
• MISA - Maintainance of Internal security act is a
preventive detention act
• COFEPOSA act
Immediate causes
• JP urged military
• Marathon March to parliament
• Electoral Reverses
• CDM in Ram leela grounds
Total Revolution
• Against one party dictatorship
• A comprehensive revolution affecting all aspects of
social life including Individual life
• A combination of seven revolutions – Social, Political,
Cultural, Ideological, Educational and Spiritual
3 main objectives
• Social change through peaceful means
• Social change through legal and administrative action
• Changing the entire social framework from within
and outside
4 objectives
• Eradication of Corruption
• Control High prices of Commodities
• Unemployment
• Change in education system
Issues
• Vague ideology
• Knit together disparate groups
• Extra constitutional and undemocratic
21 Months of Emergency
• 26th June of 1975
• 20 point programme of Indira Gandhi
• 5 Point programme of Sanjay Gandhi – Sterilization and slum
rehabilitation
• Curbs on Press, All opposition leaders put behind bars
• Federal principle lost relevance
• Centralisation of power
• Judiciary was forced to toe the line- Imposition of judges (A N
Ray and M H Beg) (1973 )- Power of Judicial Review taken
away and Parliaments absolute power to amend constitution
hh
• Lapse of Habeas Corpus Right to life also not guaranteed
during Emergency - AMS jabalpur case
• 20 point programme
• Frequent use of Preventive detention – MISA
• Postponing of Elections
• 42nd amendment – Mini Constitution
• Amendments to RPA which overturned Raj Narina
judgment
• Forced VAsectomy of 8.3 million people
• After 21 months General election
• Peoples verdict against Indira Gandhi
• Shah Commission appointed to review Emergency
• Recommends amendments to Constitution to make the
constitution foolproof against emergency 44th amendment
passed.
Post Emergency Janta Rule 28
months
• CFD (Jagjivan ram)+ Jan Sangh+ Congress (o) + Bharatiya Lok Dal
+ DMK + Akali Dal+ CPM
• Janata sweeped North India but Indira still strong in south
• 330 of 542 seats INC 154 seats
• 44 th amendment
• Restoration of Constitutional balance
• Stricter norms for imposition of emergency
• Article 20 and 21 cannot be suspended even during emergency
• 5 year election tenure
• Removal of Right to property
• Restoration of Judicial review
• Focus on Rural sector and Labour intensive industry
• Food for Work Programme
Shah Commission report
• Emergency is not justified
• Questioned excesses of Sanjay Gandhi
• Adverse report on Police and Bureaucratic excesses
Issues
Challenges of Coalition politics
Defections
Conflict between Charan Singh and Morarji Desai for PM post
No Common ideology
Caste conflicts in Rural India
Charan Singh – short rule
Return of Indira Gandhi
• Mid term elections in 1980 – 351/542 seats
• Return of Indira Gandhi
• Congress became organizationally weak
• Indira Gandhi was not very decisive as earlier
• Rise of Seperatism – Kashmir, Punjab and Assam
• Took control of Siachen Glacier – 1984
• Pro poor policies
• Vote bank politics – SC/ST/minority vote bank
Failures
• Institutional Decay
• Regionalism as a counter to over centralisation
• Excesses during emergency.
• Vote bank politics