POST INDEPENDENCE CURRENT AFFAIRS 2017 ROLE OF INDIRA GANDHI Indira Gandhi was an Indian politician and the only female Prime Minister of the country. She was born on 19 th November, 1917. Born in the famous Nehru family, she was perhaps destined for an illustrious political career. She served as Prime Minister from 1966 to 1977 and from 1980 until her assassination in 1984. As Prime Minister, Indira was known for centralization of power and political ruthlessness. Her political career was littered with controversies as well as allegations of highhandedness, corruption and nepotism. She clamped a state of emergency in India from 1975 to 1977. She was also criticized for carrying out the Operation Blue-Star in Punjab that eventually scripted her assassination on 31 October 1984. Indira Gandhi left behind her a lasting political legacy and her family became one of the most prominent political names in India. ROLE OF INDIRA GANDHI BEFORE EMERGENCY EARLY ENTRY INTO POLITICS Since the Nehru family was the centre of national political activity, Indira Gandhi was exposed to politics from a young age. She also became a member of the Indian National Congress. INDIRA AS CONGRESS PRESIDENT In 1959, Indira Gandhi was elected as the President of the Indian National Congress Party. She was one of the political advisors of Jawaharlal Nehru. After the death of Jawaharlal Nehru on 27 May 1964, Indira Gandhi decided to contest elections and eventually got elected. She was appointed as in-charge of the Information and Broadcasting Ministry under Prime Minister Lal Bahadur Shastri. FIRST TERM AS PRIME MINISTER OF INDIA Following the death of Lal Bahadur Shastri on 11 January 1966, in Tashkent, Indira was chosen as the Prime Ministerial candidate by the Congress high command exclusively because they presumed that she could be easily manipulated. She contested and emerged victorious during the interim elections of 1966. Post-election, Mrs. Gandhi showed extraordinary political ability and elbowed the Congress stalwarts out of power. Some of the most notable achievements of her stint as Prime Minister were proposals for the abolition of Privy Purse to former rulers of the Princely states and the 1969 nationalization of the fourteen largest banks in India along with NEO IAS 0484-3190310, 9446331522, 9446334122 Page 1
four premium oil companies. Gandhi also brought social reforms by introducing clauses in the Indian Constitution related to wages - equal pay for equal work to both men and women. Under the administrative policy of Gandhi, Meghalaya, Manipur, Tripura, Haryana, Punjab and Himachal Pradesh were given statehood. As for Chandigarh and Arunachal Pradesh, both were declared a union territory. She took constructive steps towards food shortage of the country and led the country into the nuclear age with its first underground explosion in 1974. INDO-PAKISTAN WAR IN 1971 The 1971 Indo-Pakistan war was the direct after-effect of the Bangladesh Liberation War in East Pakistan, which was brought by the Awami League led by Mujibar Rahman against the military brutality launched by the Pakistan President Yahya Khan. The military specifically targeted the Hindu minority population and committed atrocious acts of torture throughout the country. As a result, about 10 million East Pakistani citizens fled the country and sought refuge in India. The irresistible refugee situation prompted Indira Gandhi to support Awami League s struggle for freedom against West Pakistan. India provided logistical support and also sent troops to fight against West Pakistan. The war concluded on 16 December 1971 in Dhaka, after the Eastern Command of the Pakistani Armed Forces signed the Instrument of Surrender and that marked the birth of the new nation of Bangladesh. India's victory in the war of 1971 against Pakistan enhanced the popularity of Indira Gandhi as a smart political leader. NEO IAS 0484-3190310, 9446331522, 9446334122 Page 2
DURING EMERGENCY IMPOSITION OF EMERGENCY In 1975, the Opposition parties and social activists staged regular demonstrations against the Indira Gandhi-led Central government over rising inflation, the poor state of economy and unchecked corruption. The same year, Allahabad High Court ruled that Indira Gandhi had used illegal practices during the last election and this added fuel to the existing political fire. The verdict ordered her to vacate her seat, immediately. The agitation and anger of the people intensified. Mrs. Gandhi instead of resigning declared "an emergency, due to the turbulent political situation in the country" on 26 June, 1975. During the state of emergency, all the fundamental rights were suspended, politicians were arrested and a heavy censorship was imposed on the media. The Gandhian socialist, Jayaprakash Narayan and his supporters sought to unify students, peasants and labour organizations in a 'Total non-violent Revolution' to transform Indian society. Narayan was later arrested and jailed. THE FORTY-SECOND AMENDMENT OF THE CONSTITUTION The Constitution (Forty-second amendment) Act, 1976, was enacted during the Emergency by the government headed by Indira Gandhi. The Amendment changed the description of India from a "sovereign democratic republic" to a "sovereign, socialist secular democratic republic", and also changed the words "unity of the nation" to "unity and integrity of the nation". The Amendment is regarded as the most controversial constitutional amendment in Indian history. It attempted to reduce the power of the Supreme Court and High Courts to pronounce upon the constitutional validity of laws. It laid down the Fundamental Duties of Indian citizens to the nation. This amendment brought about the most widespread changes to the Constitution in its history, and is sometimes called a "mini-constitution". FALL FROM POWER During the state of emergency, her younger son, Sanjay Gandhi, began to run the country with full-authority and ordered forceful removal of slum dwellings, and started a highly unpopular forced sterilization program, which was aimed at curbing India's growing population. In 1977, confident that she has snuffed the opposition, Indira Gandhi called for elections. She was beaten by the Janata Party, led by Morarji Desai and Jayaprakash Narayan. NEO IAS 0484-3190310, 9446331522, 9446334122 Page 3
AFTER EMERGENCY After the Emergency, Indira Gandhi faced severe criticism for her actions. The result of which showed in the 1977 Lok Sabha Elections where Janata Party under the leadership of Morarji Desai came to power. SECOND TERM AS PRIME MINISTER OF INDIA With so little in common among the allies of the Janata Party, the members were busy in internal conflict. In an effort to expel Indira Gandhi from the Parliament, the Janata government ordered to arrest her. However, the strategy failed disastrously and gained Indira Gandhi sympathy from the people who had considered her as an autocrat just two years back. In the 1980 elections, Congress returned to power with a landslide majority and Indira Gandhi returned as Prime Minister of India once again. Experts viewed the victory of the Congress as a result of inefficient and ineffective "Janata Party". OPERATION BLUE STAR In September 1981, a Sikh militant group demanding "Khalistan" entered into the premises of the Golden Temple, Amritsar. Despite the presence of thousands of civilians in the Temple complex, Indira Gandhi ordered the Army to charge into the holy shrine to carry out Operation Blue Star. The army resorted to heavy weaponry including tanks and cannons which although led to reducing of the militant threat, also claimed lives of innocent civilians. The act was viewed as an unparalleled tragedy in the Indian political history. The impact of the attack increased the communal tensions in the country. Many Sikhs resigned from the armed and civil administrative office and also returned their government awards in protest. Indira Gandhi s political image was tarnished heavily. ASSASSINATION On 31 st October 1984, Indira Gandhi's bodyguards, Satwant Singh and Beant Singh fired a total of 31 bullets on Indira Gandhi from their service weapons as a revenge of the Golden Temple assault at her residence. RELEVANCE Indira Gandhi was intensely aware of India s national interests and committed to maintaining its prestige among the community of nations. India under her leadership was one of the few countries to overcome the oil shock of the 1970s. The success of the Green Revolution made India self-sufficient in food grains and broke its dependence on food imports. NEO IAS 0484-3190310, 9446331522, 9446334122 Page 4
Indira Gandhi s major political asset was her empathy and affection for the poor, the underprivileged and the minorities, concern for their social condition and an unmatched capacity to communicate directly with them. The poor, in turn, almost throughout her political career, looked upon her as their savior and gave her immense love and thrust. The secular ideals of Indira Gandhi are more important in present day India when communalism is spreading its wings in the country. Indira Gandhi used to treat the minority community as her own children. Indira Gandhi was active in global affairs and her activism was aimed towards the consolidation of Indian interests by her access to the strong and weak nation-states. Her pragmatic foreign policy had involved the USSR in contributing to the Indian strength in global and regional politics; she had equally respected the NAM and even confronted the big powers when the need arose with sheer intrinsic strength. Her rejection of the NPT as a discriminatory policy and the nuclear explosion of May 18, 1974 are noteworthy proof of her principled defiance of global injustice. Thus, like other leaders in post-independence era, Indira Gandhi's tenure also marked some successes and some failures, yet she had been iron lady of India. NEO IAS 0484-3190310, 9446331522, 9446334122 Page 5