Shocking Truths You Need to Know About How Congress Crushed Media Freedom During the Emergency

Introduction

The Emergency imposed in India from June 25, 1975, to March 21, 1977, by Prime Minister Indira Gandhi was a period of unprecedented constitutional and human rights violations. Declared under Article 352 of the Constitution, citing “internal disturbance,” the Emergency resulted in the suspension of civil liberties, massive censorship, brutal suppression of dissent, arbitrary arrests, and forced sterilization campaigns. India’s democratic institutions, particularly the judiciary, media, and opposition, were systematically dismantled, and the voice of the common man was silenced through fear and state-sponsored terror. This document highlights key facts and state-specific data that reflect how the Indian people suffered during this dark chapter.

How People Suffered During the Emergency (1975–1977)

1. Nationwide Suspension of Fundamental Rights

• The Right to Constitutional Remedies (Article 32) was suspended.
• Habeas corpus petitions were rejected by the Supreme Court, especially in ADM Jabalpur v. Shivkant Shukla (1976), legitimizing illegal detentions.
• Civil liberties like freedom of speech, assembly, and movement were curtailed across the country.

2. Mass Arbitrary Arrests & Torture

• Over 1,40,000 individuals detained under the MISA (Maintenance of Internal Security Act) and the DIR (Defence of India Rules).
• Political leaders, students, journalists, lawyers, trade unionists, and social activists were arrested without trial.
• Tihar Jail (Delhi), Yerwada Jail (Pune), and Bangalore Central Jail reported extreme overcrowding and custodial torture.

Timeline of Key Events During Emergency (1975–1977)

• January 1966 – Indira Gandhi becomes Prime Minister of India.
• November 1969 – Congress splits after Gandhi is expelled for indiscipline.
• 1971 – Raj Narain files an election petition against Indira Gandhi for corrupt practices.
• June 12, 1975 – Allahabad High Court finds Indira Gandhi guilty and invalidates her 1971 election.
• June 24, 1975 – Supreme Court allows Gandhi to remain PM but bars her from voting as MP.
• June 25, 1975 – President Fakhruddin Ali Ahmed proclaims Emergency on Indira Gandhi’s advice.
• June 26, 1975 – Indira Gandhi addresses the nation on All India Radio, defending the Emergency.
• July–August 1975 – Arrests of opposition leaders, censorship of the press, and political parties banned.
• September 1976 – Sanjay Gandhi begins large-scale forced sterilization drives in Delhi.
• January 18, 1977 – Indira Gandhi unexpectedly announces general elections.
• March 16–20, 1977 – Nationwide elections are conducted.
• March 21, 1977 – The Emergency is officially withdrawn.
• March 23, 1977 – Janata Party comes to power; Indira Gandhi is defeated in Rae Bareli.

3. Brutal Suppression in States

1. Uttar Pradesh

• One of the worst-hit states, with tens of thousands detained under MISA.
• Over 6,000 forced sterilizations were reported in a single day in parts of Eastern UP.
• Crackdowns in cities like Allahabad, Lucknow, Kanpur, and rural districts led to large-scale public resentment.

2. Bihar

• The home state of Jayaprakash Narayan (JP Movement).
• Widespread student protests led to brutal police repression in Patna, Gaya, and Muzaffarpur.
• The entire opposition leadership, including Lalu Prasad Yadav, was jailed.

3. Delhi

• Sanjay Gandhi-led forced sterilization and slum demolition drives displaced thousands.
• The Turkman Gate incident saw police firing on protestors resisting demolitions, many were killed and injured.

4. West Bengal

• The CPI(M) and Naxalite activists were heavily persecuted.
• Dissenting voices in Kolkata’s student circles were arrested.
• Cases of torture in jails like Alipore Central Jail have been reported.

5. Punjab & Haryana

• Farmers and Sikh activists protesting land laws and authoritarianism were arrested.
• Media censorship intensified in cities like Amritsar and Chandigarh.
• Emergency-era censorship was used to suppress religious and agrarian dissent.

6. Maharashtra

• Arrests of Shiv Sena leaders, opposition members, and writers in Mumbai.
• Press in Mumbai (like Free Press Journal and Indian Express) faced daily censorship.
• Students from Pune and Nagpur led underground anti-Emergency resistance.

7. Tamil Nadu & Karnataka

• DMK government in Tamil Nadu was dissolved.
• Karunanidhi and several DMK leaders were jailed.
• Students in Chennai and Bangalore led resistance through wall posters and underground literature.

4. Suppression of the Judiciary and Rule of Law

• Judges transferred or forced into submission (e.g., Justice H.R. Khanna was superseded).
• Emergency was used to manipulate the judiciary into toeing the government’s line.
• Courts refused to provide relief to detained individuals.

5. Media Censorship & Propaganda

• All newspapers were required to get news pre-censored by government officers.
• Over 300 journalists were arrested; newspapers like Indian Express and The Statesman left their editorial columns blank in protest.
• All India Radio and Doordarshan were used as tools for government propaganda.

6. Forced Sterilization & Medical Atrocities

• Under Sanjay Gandhi’s coercion, millions were forcibly sterilized.
• Uttar Pradesh, Haryana, Rajasthan, Bihar, and Delhi were the worst affected.
• Incentives turned into threats: people were denied rations, pensions, and employment unless sterilized.
• The medical infrastructure collapsed, leading to deaths from botched procedures.

7. Slum Demolitions and Urban Repression

• Entire colonies in Delhi’s Jama Masjid, Turkman Gate, and Connaught Place areas were razed to the ground.
• Thousands were rendered homeless in Mumbai, Bangalore, and Kolkata in similar urban “clean-up” drives.
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8. Psychological and Social Trauma

• Sexual assaults, custodial violence, and psychological torment of detainees are reported.
• Families were torn apart as people were detained without communication.
• Trauma was particularly high among women detainees, young political workers, and tribal groups.

9. Economic Disruption & Public Fear

• Fear of government interference discouraged foreign investment.
• Economic slowdown in agriculture, small businesses, and import/export sectors.
• The public feared telephone tapping, informants, and police surveillance.

10. Resilience and Resistance

• Movements led by Jayaprakash Narayan, Atal Bihari Vajpayee, Morarji Desai, and L.K. Advani.
• Underground press, student protests, and mass civil disobedience erupted nationwide.
• Gujarat’s Nav Nirman Andolan and Bihar’s Total Revolution became powerful resistance symbols.

11. 1977 General Elections – Democratic Comeback

• Despite repression, the public voted overwhelmingly against the Congress in 1977.
• Indira Gandhi lost her own seat in Rae Bareli.
• The Janata Party government, led by Morarji Desai, took over.
• A Commission of Inquiry under Justice Shah later exposed the extent of Emergency-era violations.

ALSO READ: “All You Need to Know About How RSS Fought Indira’s Emergency and Continues to Help India in Every Disaster”

Institutions Turned Propaganda Tools During Emergency

Here’s how major Indian media houses became instruments for state propaganda under Indira Gandhi’s Emergency:

 1. Press Crawled Under State Pressure

• L.K. Advani famously said, “When Indira Gandhi commanded the media to bend, it crawled.” The Indian Express and The Statesman were rare exceptions; the rest readily yielded.
• Around 253 journalists were arrested, foreign correspondents banned or expelled, and editions of leading newspapers halted for two days (June 26–28, 1975).

2. Content Control and Censorship

• Pre-censorship was enforced: jokes, cartoons, quotes, even light content, were censored, irrespective of political relevance.
• Newspapers had to submit issues for approval: pages were cut or delayed, effectively preventing timely publication.
• Electricity to printing presses was cut selectively to suppress critical publications; the government merged news agencies into the single state-run Samachar to consolidate control.

3. Economic Coercion via Advertising

• The Directorate of Audio Visual Publicity (DAVP) categorized newspapers as friendly, neutral, or hostile; only “friendly” outlets received government advertisements.
• Editors who resisted faced withdrawal of advertising revenue, seizure threats, increased newsprint deposits, and targeted actions, curbing dissent through economic coercion.

4. Rewarding Compliant Media Leadership

• Industrialist K.K. Birla removed Hindustan Times editor B.G. Verghese to please the regime; The Times of India and The Hindu also aligned editorially.
• Khushwant Singh from Illustrated Weekly supported the Emergency, reflecting a broader media conformity.

5. Marginal Resistance: Indian Express & Statesman

• The Indian Express, Statesman, and a few weeklies defied censorship with blank editorials and legal pushback; they also reproduced foreign press reports unaltered.
• Underground publications like Satyavani emerged to circumvent suppression, fueling alternate networks of dissent.

During the Emergency, state control over the media became alarmingly effective. Major newspapers abandoned independence, crawling, not just bending, under political, legal, and economic duress. Only a few stalwarts resisted or embedded subtle civil disobedience within wartime-like conditions.