State Emergency

To understand how the state emergency is approved, we have to understand two articles and some powers of the president of India and the governor of a state first. Firstly, according to Article 355, the centre must ensure that the state is protected from three things; internal disturbance or external and respect the constitutional provisions. Secondly, according to article 356, if the president is not satisfied with the states’ governance, and a report is conveyed to the president that the governing body is not respecting the spirit of the constitution and is making unconstitutional actions, the president, now in respect of the state along with the article 356, has complete power (as stated in article 365) to call it a situation of emergency by stating that the accused government body is not functioning properly and taking extreme unconstitutional actions. After the suspension of the state government, President’s rule takes over, where the centre gets the power to directly rule the concerned state and the Governor becomes the constitutional head. 

First State Emergency of India (National Emergency)

Date: 26 October 1962

Declared by: Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru

Cause for the declaration: External aggression (Indo-China war)

Synopsis: After one month from the date of the declaration of the emergency, things started to get normal, but the emergency was still active. Nehru decided not to revoke the emergency and was still active during the Indo-Pak war in the year 1965. The emergency was finally removed on 10 January 1968, two years after the Tashkent Agreement (January 11, 1966).

Record of National Emergencies in India 

To date, a state of emergency has been declared by independent India three times. 

The First State of Emergency-The first state of emergency in India was called on 26 October 1962 by Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru as he announced that the nation is in a state of emergency against external aggression (Indo-China war). This state of emergency remained active for a long time even after one month from the date of the declaration of the emergency when it seemed that things started to get normal. Then prime minister Jawaharlal Nehru decided not to revoke the emergency and was still active during the Indo-Pak war in the year 1965. The emergency was finally removed on 10 January 1968, two years after the Tashkent Agreement (January 11, 1966).

Second State of Emergency-The second state of emergency was called by prime minister Indira Gandhi on December 3, 1971, when the Bangladesh Liberation War finally broke out. Prime minister Indira Gandhi declared the state of emergency by stating the war as a threat to India because of external aggression and supported Sheikh Mujib-Ur Rehman and Bangladesh and played a pivotal role in their victory over Pakistan.

Third State of Emergency-The last instance of state emergency of India was declared by Indira Gandhi again on June 25, 1975, when the second emergency was still active. At a time when the tide seemed more and more to be going against her after her 1971 election was challenged in court. If she lost the case, her reign as the prime minister of India would end, so she played her trump card and on the morning of June 26, she addressed the state of emergency via All India Radio after proclaiming it on the day before and getting a reprieve from the Supreme Court on June 24. This emergency lasted for 21 months, when both the second and third proclamation were finally revoked.

Conclusion

A state of emergency always comes from a bad place. It is in the best interest of the nation that such declarations are not needed at all. The activation of a state of emergency also jeopardized the fundamental rights of the common people deeply and thus, democracy and the practice of democracy takes a major setback.