nature and future of our democratic institutions and we should try to understand
their various dimensions. The maturity of our democracy depends upon how we
conduct these discussions.
Return of democracy after Emergency
The period between 1975 to 1985 was a testing time for Indian democracy. It
began with the state of Emergency in which basic democratic rights were denied
and ended with the historic electoral victory of the Congress led by Rajiv Gandhi.
Though it began and ended with the rule of the Congress party, it saw the emergence
of viable alternatives to the Congress at both the Centre and in the States. This
effectively prevented India from sliding into a ‘single party democracy’ as it
happened in many countries. The emergence of competitive alternatives ensured
that Indian voters could always exercise a reasonable choice. This also allowed
many different political viewpoints and sectional interests to become active in
state level as well as national politics. Political viewpoints of Socialists, Hindu
nationalists, Communists, as well as sectional interests like those of farmers, dalits,
backward castes, and regions among others now came to the fore and asserted
their claims. At the same time,
a number of non-political movements
like environmental movements,
feminist movement, civil liberties
movement, literacy movements and
so on also emerged and became
powerful motors of social change.
Let us examine some of these issues in greater detail.
1977 Elections and the End of Emergency
When elections were announced in January 1977, it took everyone by surprise.
No one had expected elections to be held. Indira Gandhi also released all political
prisoners, removed censorship as well as all other regulations in place which
restricted freedom of movement, campaigns and meetings. The major opposition
parties decided to come together to challenge the Congress. The Congress (O),
Swatantra Party, Bharatiya Jan Sangh, the Bharatiya Lok Dal and the Socialist party
decided to merge together and form the Janata (peoples) Party. Some important
Congress leaders like Jagjivan Ram quit the party to join the anti-Congress front.
The other major opposition parties like the DMK, the SAD and the CPI (M) chose
to maintain their separate identities but supported the Janata Party in a common
front against the Congress. Senior leaders like Jayaprakash Narayan and Acharya
JB Kriplani played an important role in bringing together all the anti-Congress and
anti-Emergency parties to fight the elections. It should be noted that some of these
parties had diametrically opposite viewpoints on social and political issues.