Indira Gandhi, the "Emergency", and Indian Democracy

by P.N. Dhar

As head of the prime minister's secretariat under Indira Gandhi, P. N. Dhar witnessed and participated in some of the major decisions made by Mrs. Gandhi, most notably the controversial 'Emergency', the merger of Sikkim with India, the Bangladesh war of 1971, and the Simla Agreement between
India and Pakistan. Exceptionally well written, this book combines an insider's account of these years and a compelling analysis of the changing contours of India democracy.

Genres: History, India, Nonfiction, Politics

440 pages, Paperback

First published August 10, 2000

Reviews

[Megha Kaveri · Rating 3 out of 5]

Indira Gandhi is remembered for the Emergency than anything else. This book, written by P.N.Dhar, who spent almost seven years working under her, tries to give the backstory and details about the event. A lot is written about the East Pakistan crisis, the denial of the economic aid, her relationships with the leaders of the neighbouring countries, the emergency, her equations with Indian leaders, her relationship with Sanjay Gandhi and the Simla Agreement.

I read this book out of curiosity and I must confess that I was not entirely disappointed. Though I would say that about 40% of the book is filled with assumptions which aim to validate or justify Mrs.Gandhi's actions.

The emergency was a very dark period in the Indian history, there are no two ways about it. The way the author has tried to take a softer stand regarding that era made me a little uncomfortable.

Her perception and apprehension about her own son, Sanjay Gandhi is also covered quite in detail, especially his tyranny and waywardness. That portion is very interesting to read, to be honest.

I found this book to be heavily biased in favour of Mrs.Gandhi and her rule. Something that I had expected, but this was a bit over my imagination.

[Shashi Bhushan · Rating 3 out of 5]

P.N Dhar’s book is a mixture of personal experience, historical analysis and political understanding. It is a work of an insider who believes in systematic and constitutional changes. The content of the book is fascinating, he tells us about his time with Indira Gandhi and starts with Bangladesh crisis and Sikkim episode, but the core subject of the book is Emergency.

Dhar insists that those who seeks a serious understanding of the Emergency cannot find comfort in tracing it back to the simply villainy of its central plotter, Indira Gandhi. Dhar talks about the nature of popular agitations that were happening all over the country and says ‘these protests brought together a dangerous melange of characters including Maoists and disaffected Leftists, Peasant leaders and extremely right-wing Hindu jingoists’. The greatest beneficiary of this new atmosphere has been the Hindu far right, which hitherto had been carefully kept out of national politics. But at the same time Dhar’s sympathetic representation of the actions not only of Indira Gandhi but also of JP so this account is misleading sometimes.

According to him the cause was a systematic failure of the democratic system. Dhar suggests that JP movement or the agitations against ruling establishment was not as widespread as the media had made out. He writes ‘After the arrest of JP and other opposition leaders the movement simply collapsed. The political situation quickly stabilized and subversive activities suddenly came to an end. The New York Times wondered how the movement could just melt away, the Guardian of London wrote ‘India’s state of Emergency is almost three months old now and rapidly becoming the mystery of missing opposition

[Reader · Rating 4 out of 5]

I read this book in high school for a history term paper. The book covers a lot of political history in India, the period of the emergency and then the beginning of coalitions.
It also covers macro economic issues such as post war migrant management,managing green revolution/ agricultural modernization , taking a stand for nuclear foreign policy, managing foreign aid and handling devaluation of the currency , problems with calamities and displacement and the implementation of public health schemes.
The book does reveal blots of problems with nepotism , problems with the distribution of justice, an overall lack of transparency and the problematic bureaucracy in India at the time but also shows the many crisis at the time.

[Akshi · Rating 4 out of 5]

A term paper on the National Emergency of 1975 led me to this book and so far, it has been a very engaging experience. Any text on the issue comes with the risk of being labelled as 'biased' but my reading so far (which has been confined only to select portions) has created an impression that this is a valuable perspective and needs to be read to gain a comprehensive understanding of what happened to our democratic system in the Summer of 1975.

[Anubhav · Rating 2 out of 5]

More like an autobiography of P.N. Dhar. And at times he takes a very partisan view in favor of Indira Gandhi and against JP and his associates.
No mention of the negative role played by Haksar and himself in imposition of Emergency.

[Sachin · Rating 3 out of 5]

A well written and informative book. But seems to be biased towards Mrs. Gandhi and against her ` enemies'.

[Abhishek SR]

This is endorsed by "The Hindu" as the most authoritative account of the Indian emergency.