The crisis Democratic order , Class: 12th

 

The crisis Democratic order 

• Class: 12th

• Subject: Social Science (Political Science)

• Topic: The crisis Democratic order

• Resources: Notes, Important Questions

  Class 12 Social Science (Political science ) -The crisis Democratic order Get notes here, questions for class 12th. Those candidates who are ambitious to pass class 12 with good marks, can check this article for notes, by practicing this resource, the candidates get to know that their weak areas and good for the exam How to prepare

The existence of democracy in India over the years has failed to solve the problem of illiteracy and democracy. A chain of events between 1973 and 1975 brought new challenges to India's democratic politics and the institutional balance sought by the Constitution. Such developments led to the imposition of state emergency in June 1975-77 across the country. The period of emergency is considered one of the most controversial period of independent India's history.

Background to Emergency

Since 1967 significant changes took place in Indian politics. Indira Gandhi emerged as a successful leader with huge popularity among the people. Party competition during this period became bitter and polarised. This period also witnessed tensions in the relationship between the government and the judiciary. The Supreme Court found many initiatives of the government to be violative of the Constitution. The Congress termed this stand of the court as against the principles of democracy and parliamentary supremacy. Congress also described court as a conservative institution which was becoming an obstacle in the implementation of programmes for pro-poor. The opposition felt that the politics had been personalised and government machinery was being used to implement Indira Gandhi's personal authority. The split in the Congress increased the division between Indira Gandhi and her opponents.

Economic Context

The social and economic conditions in the country didn't improve much despite the Congress had won the elections of 1971 on the slogan of garibi hatao. The following points highlight the economic condition in India in the post-emergency Congress rule The Bangladesh had worsened the conditions of Indian Economy. Almost eight million people crossed over the East Pakistan border in India. After the Bangladesh war, US Government stopped all aid to India. Oil Prices increased manifold which caused all round increase in prices of commodities during this period. Prices increased by 23 per cent and 30 per cent in 1973 and 1974 respectively. People had to suffer lots of hardship because of high level of inflation. Industrial growth was low and unemployment was very high particularly in the rural areas. The failure of monsoons in 1972-73 resulted in a rapid decline in agricultural productivity. Food grain production declined by 8 per cent. There was a general atmosphere of dissatisfaction with the prevailing economic conditions all over the country. this backdrop, non-Congress opposition parties were ab to mobilise the popular protests effectively.

The Marxist group also launched arms struggle to- overthrow the capitalist order and established political system. Maoist or Naxalites group were particularly strong in West Bengal, where the State Government took strict measures to suppress them.

Movements Before the Emergency

The Students' protests in Gujarat and Bihar states which were ruled by Congress had far reaching impact on the state as well as national politics. Gujarat Movement In January 1974, students in Gujarat started a protest against rising prices of food grain, cooking oil and other essential commodities as well as against corruption. Major opposition parties joined the student's protest and thus, it became widespread resulting into the imposition of President's rule in Gujarat. The opposition parties demanded fresh elections. Morarji Desai, a prominent leader of Congress (O) was the main rival of Indira Gandhi. He declared to go on an indefinite fast if fresh elections were not held in the state. Under intense pressure from opposition and political parties, assembly elections were held in Gujarat in June 1975 and Congress was defeated in this elections. Bihar Movement In March 1974 in Bihar, students came together to protest against the rising prices, food shortage, unemployment and corruption. They invited Jayaprakash Narayan (JP), who had given up active politics and was involved in social work. They requested him to lead the student movement. He accepted it on the condition that the movement will remain non-violent and will not confine itself to Bihar. Jayaprakash Narayan demanded the dismissal of Congress Government in Bihar. He called for Total Revolution in the social, economic and political spheres for establishing true democracy. He wanted to spread the Bihar movement to other parts of the country. In 1975, Jayaprakash led a peoples' march towards the Parliament. Alongside the agitation led by Jaya Prakash Narayan, a nationwide strike by all employees of the Railways was led by the George Fernandes. Bihar movement was one of the largest political rallies ever held in the capital. Jayaprakash Narayan was supported by the non-Congress opposition parties like the Bharatiya Jar Sangh, the Congress (O), the Bhartiya Lok Dal, Socialist Party and others. Thus, both Gujarat and Bihar agitations were seen as anti-Congress. They were seen as a protest against the leadership of Indira Gandhi; rather than the State Governments.

Railway Strike of 1974

The National Coordination Committee for Railwaymer's Struggle, Ind by George Fernandes, has called for a state wide strike by Taway employees to press their demands for bonuses and better working conditions. These demands were met with opposition from the. government. As a result, in May 1974, the employees of India's largest public sector undertaking went on strike. The railway workers strike heightened the mood of unrest in the workplace. It also raised concerns such as worker rights and whether or not employees of critical services should engage in strike action. The strike was considered illegal by the authorities. The strike had to be called off after twenty days without a settlement because the government refused to fulfil the striking employees' demands, jailed several of their leaders and deployed the territorial army to safeguard railway tracks.

Conflict with Judiciary Before Emergency

The Indian Government had many differences with the judiciary. There was a long drawn conflict between Parliament and judiciary over each other's roles. There were three issues which had emerged (i) The Supreme Court said that the Parliament could not abridge Fundamental Rights including right to, property. (ii) The court said that the Parliament could not amend. in such a way that rights got curtailed. (iii) The Parliament amended the Constitution on the ground that Fundamental Rights could be abridged for implementing directive principles. The Supreme Court rejected this proposition. All three factors strained the relations between the government and judiciary. Further tension was added between executive and judiciary. A vacancy of Chief Justice of India had arisen in 1973. As per practice, the senior most Judge of Supreme Court was appointed as the Chief Justice. But in 1973, AN Ray was appointed as the Chief Justice removing the seniority of three judges which generated a political controversy. Political ideology and constitutional interpretation got mixed up rapidly.

Declaration of Emergency

On 12th June, 1975 another issue was raised in which ruling of the Allahabad High Court declared Indira Gandhi's election invalid. This petition was filed by Raj Narain, a socialist challenging Indira Gandhi's election as invalid as she has used government machinery for election campaign. The High Court declared her election as invalid so legally she was no more an MP and therefore, could not remain the PM unless once again elected as an MP within six months.

Crisis and Response A political turmoil emerged after the Allahabad High Court decision. The opposition parties led by JP Narayan organised a massive demonstration in Ram Leela grounds on 25th- June, 1975 for resignation of Indira Gandhi. JP announced a nationwide Satyagraha for her resignation and asked the army, the police and government employees not to obey 'illegal immoral orders'. Indira Gandhi's government responded to this crisis by declaring a state of Emergency. On 25th June, 1975, the government argued that there was a threat of internal disturbances and therefore, she imposed Emergency under Article 352 of the Constitution. During the National Emergency, Indian Constitution provided it special powers to the government. These are Once an Emergency is proclaimed, the federal distribution of powers remains practically suspended and all the powers get concentrated in Union Government. Government also gets power to restrict all or any of the Fundamental Rights during the emergency. Emergency is seen as an extraordinary condition in which democratic politics cannot function normally. On the night of 25th June, 1975, the President Fakhruddin Ali Ahmed was recommended to impose Emergency by Indira Gandhi. He immediately issued proclamation which was observed implemented on next day. Very short question:

1. Congress described Court as the which was becoming an obstacle in the implementation of programmes for pro-poor. 2. When the students in Gujarat started a protest against rising prices of food grain, cooking oil and other essential commodities? 3. Who demanded the dismissal of Congress Government in Bihar? 4. (CPI-ML) was formed under the leadership of…………? 5. Indira Gandhi imposed Emergency under Article of the Constitution.

Consequences of Imposing Emergency

With imposition of Emergency, agitation and strikes were stopped and banned. Many opposition leaders and workers were put up in jail and the political atmosphere became quite but little tense as well. Government suspended the freedom of Press. Press Censorship was imposed on newspapers and they were asked to get prior approval for all content to be published This is known as press censorship. Due to fear of social and communal disharmony, government banned Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) and Jamait-e-Islami. Protests, strikes and public agitation were also disallowed.

🔹Fundamental Rights and right of citizen to move to the court for restoring their Fundamental Rights also had been suspended under the Emergency. 🔹The government made extensive use of preventive detention. Under preventive detention, people were arrested and detained not because they have committed offence but on the apprehension that they may commit an offence and moreover arrested persons were not informed about the reason of their arrest and also could not challenge their arrest through habeas corpus petitions. 🔹Many cases were brought by and on behalf of arrested individuals in the High Courts and Supreme Court, but the government contended that it was not even necessary to tell the arrested individuals of the reasons and grounds for Their arrest. Several High Courts have ruled that a writ of habeas corpus filed by a person challenging his or her detention can be heard even after the proclamation of emergency. 🔹The Supreme Court's constitution bench overruled the High Courts in April 1976 and approved the government's plea. It meant that the government may take away a citizen's right to life and liberty during an emergency.This judgment closed the doors of judiciary for the citizens and is regarded as one of the most controversial judgements of the Supreme Court. 🔹Many journalists were arrested for writing against the emergency. 🔹Kannada writer Shivarama Karnath awarded with Padma Bhushan and Hindi writer Fanishwaranath Renu awarded with Padma Shri returned their awards in protest against the suspension of democracy. 🔹Many political workers went underground and organised protest against the government. 🔹Newspapers like Indian express and Statesman protested against the censorship by resorting to leaving blank spaces of censored news. Magazines like Seminar and Mainstream closed down. 🔹An amendment was made in the background of ruling of Allahabad High Court that henceforth, nobody can challenge the elections of PM, President and Vice-President. 🔹The 42nd amendment was also passed during emergency which was considered as the most controversial amendment. It attempted to reduce the power of the Supreme Court and High Court 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 also called a mini-Constitution or the 'Constitution of Indira'. 🔹The government also passed certain amendments to Constitution curbing powers of judiciary and President. It even extended tenure of the Parliament from 5 to 6 years.

Lessons Learnt from the Emergency

The Emergency showed both the weaknesses and strengths of India's democracy. Many observers thought that India ceased to be democratic during the Emergency but normal democratic functioning resumed within a short span of time. The lessons learnt from Emergency are discussed below It was proved that no emergency can destroy the democratic spirit of India. It brought out the ambiguities related to emergency provisions in the Constitution. Internal emergency ean now be proclaimed only on the grounds of armed rebellion and any such advice to President must be written from the Council of Ministers. It made everyone aware of the importance of civil liberties. Courts also took an active role in restoring and protecting civil liberties of people. The most valuable lesson we learnt from emergency is that governments which are perceived to be anti-democratic are severely punished by the voters. Lastly we have learnt that governments which are unstable and quarrelsome are punished by voters.

Politics After Emergency

The experience of emergency was quite visible in 1977 Lok Sabha elections. The 1977 elections after emergency was decisive as opposition parties fought on the slogan of save democracy. All the leaders and activists were released from the jail.

Lok Sabha Elections, 1977

In January 1977, after eighteen months of Emergency, the government decided to hold elections. All leaders and activists were released from jails. Elections were held in March 1977, All the major opposition parties came together on the eve of elections and formed a new party known as 'Janata Party' under the leadership of Jayaprakash Narayan. Some leaders of the Congress who were opposed to the Emergency also became part of this new party. Some of the Congress leaders also came out and formed a separate party under the leadership of Jagjivan Ram named as Congress for democracy, but later it merged with Janata party. The Janata Party campaign was focused on the non-democratic character of the rule and on the various excesses that took place during the Emergency period. The formation of Janata Party also ensured that non-Congress votes would not be divided. The results took everyone by surprise as for the first time since Independence the Congress party got defeated in the Lok Sabha elections and was able to win only 154 seats and its shares of votes fell to less than 35%. The Janata Party and its allies won 330 seats out of 542 in the Lok Sabha and Janata party itself enjoyed a clear majority.

The Congress lost in every constituency in Bihar, Delhi, Haryana and Punjab and could win only one seat in Rajasthan and Madhya Pradesh and retained many seats in Maharashtra, Gujarat and Orissa and virtually swept through the Southern States. Indira Gandhi was defeated from Rae Bareli as was her son Sanjay Gandhi from Amethi. The middle class from North India were beginning to move away from the Congress and the Janata Party became a platform for many of the sections to come together.

Constitutional Crisis

The Emergency and the period around it can be described as a period of constitutional crisis because it had its origins in the constitutional battle over the jurisdiction of the Parliament and the judiciary. On the other hand, it was also a period of political crisis. The party in power had absolute majority and yet, its leadership decided to suspend the democratic process. The makers of India's Constitution trusted that all political parties would basically abide by the democratic norm. Even during the Emergency, when the government, would use extraordinary powers, its use would be within the norms of the rule of law. This expectation led to the wide and open ended powers given to the government in times of Emergency. These were abused during the Emergency. This political crisis was more serious than the constitutional crisis. Another critical issue that emerged during this period was the role and extent of mass protests in a parliamentary democracy. There was clearly a tension between institution-based democracy and democracy based on spontaneous popular participation. This tension may be attributed to the inability of the party system to incorporate the aspirations of the people.

Janta Government

. After the election of 1977 there was stiff competition among three leaders for the post of Prime Minister Morarji Desai, Charan Singh and Jagjivan Ram. Finally Morarji Desai become the Prime Minister. Lad The Janta Party Split and the government which was led by Morarji Desai lost its majority in less than one and half years. Fresh Lok Sabha lelections were held in 1980 in which the Janta Party suffered a comprehensive defeat and Congress Party come back in power.

Legacy

1970s the Congress Party identified itself with a particular ideology, claiming to be the only socialist and pro-poor party. 7 In an indirect manner the issue of welfare of the back castes aslo began to dominate politics since 1977. The issue of reservation for 'OBC' became very controversial is Bihar and following this, the Mandal Commission was appointed by the Janta Party government at Centre.

Democratic Upsurges

Increasing participation of the people in the democratic politics of the country is broadly characterised as democratic upsurge. Based on this principle, social scientists have characterised three democratic upsurges in post-independence history of India. The First Democratic Upsurge could be attributed from the 1950s till 1970s which was based on the participation of Indian adult voters to the democratic politics both at the centre and in stafes. Falsifying the Western myth that the success of democracy requires modernisation, urbanisation, education and access to media, the successful holding of elections to both Lok Sabha and legislative assemblies all across states on the principle of parliamentary democracy were the testimony of India's first democratic upsurge. During the 1980's, the increasing political participation of the lower classes of the society such as SCs, STs and OBCs has been interpreted as Second Democratic Upsurge by political experts. This participation has made Indian politics more accommodative and accessible for these classes. Although this upsurge has not made any major change in the standard of living of these classes, especially Dalits, the participation of these classes into the organisational and political platforms gave them the opportunity to strengthen their self-respect and ensure empowerment in the democratic politics of the country. The era of Liberalisation, Privatisation and Globalisation from the early 1990s is attributed to the emergence of a competitive market society encompassing all important sectors of economy, society and polity thus paving way for the Third Democratic Upsurge. The third democratic Upsurge represents a competitive electoral market which is based not on the principle of survival of the best but rather the survival of the ablest. It underlines three shifts in India's electoral market: from State to Market, from Government to Governance, from State as Controller to State as Facilitator. Moreover, the third democratic upsurge seeks to promote the participation of the youth who constitute a significant chunk of Indian society and have emerged as the real game changers in view of their increasing electoral preference for both development and governance in India's contemporary democratic politics.

Famous Personalities and Their Theories

Jayprakash Narayan and Total Revolution

Jayaprakash Narayan, popularly referred to as JP or Lok Nayak (The People's Leader), was an Indian independence activist, theorist, socialist and political leader. Jayaprakash Narayan is known for three key contributions (i) Fight Against Corruption. (ii) Principle of Communitarian Socialism. (ii) Championing of 'Total Revolution'. He was the first leader in post-independence India who undertook a tirade against corruption through the participation of youth, particularly in Gujarat and Bihar. He advocated the office of Lokpal against corruption. His principle of Communitarian Socialism views Indią as a society of communities encompassing three key layers, viz., community, region and rashtra- all combine together as an example of true federation. Based on the above principles, Jayaprakash Narayan advocated transformation of individual, society and state through his call for ‘Total Revolution'. His call for total revolution sought to encompass moral, cultural, economic, political, educational and ecological transformations. His political transformation included the right tore call, the importance of village/mohalla samities in democratic politics and his call for Upper Ke Log to join political struggle for a clean politics in the country. The essence for transformation according to Jayaprakash Narayan revolves around 'Man' who could be the real catalyst of change in India.

Concept of Total Revolution

He defined Total Revolution as a combination of seven revolutions (i) Social Revolution (Establishing equality and brotherhood in the society). (ii) Economic Revolution (Decentralisation of economy and making efforts to bring about economic equality by taking village as the unit of development). (iii) Political Revolution (Ending political corruption, decentralisation of politics and making public partner by giving them more rights). (iv) Cultural Revolution (Defending Indian culture and regeneration of cultural values in common man). (v) Educational Revolution (Making education occupation based and changing of education system). (v) Spiritual Revolution (Developing moral and spiritual values and turning materialism towards spirituality). (vi) Thought Revolution (Revolution in the way of thinking). (vii) Ideological or intellectual (to bring change in society in time with ideas of Sarvodaya.

Ram Manohar Lohia and Socialism

Ram Manohar Lohia was a socialist leader and thinker, freedom fighter and among the founders of the Congress Socialist Party, after the split in the parent party, the leader of the Socialist Party and later Samyukta Socialist Party member. He was one of the proponents of socialism in India. He championed the idea of 'Democratic Socialism while associating with democracy. Lohia considered both capitalism and communism equally irrelevant for Indian society. His principle of Democratic Socialism has two objectives The economic objective in the form of food and housing. The non-economic objective in the form of democracy and freedom. Lohia advocated Chouburja Rajneeti in which he opines four pillars of politics as well as socialism: Centre, Region, District and Village - all are linked with each other. Giving consideration to affirmative action, Lohia argued that the policy of affirmative action should not only be for the downtrodden but also for the women and the non-religious minorities. Based on the premise of Democratic Socialism and Chouburja Rajneeti, Lohia supported a 'Party of Socialism' as an attempt of merging all political parties. The Party of Socialism according to Lohia should have three symbols, viz., Spade [prepared to make efforts], Vote [power of voting] and Prison [Willingness to make sacrifices].

Deendayal Upadhyaya and Integral Humanism

Deendayal Upadhyaya was a philosopher, sociologist, economist and politician. He presented the philosophy which is known as 'Integral Humanism' which was intended to present an 'indigenous socio-economic model in which human being remains at the centre of development. The aim of Integral Humanism is to ensure dignified life for every human being while balancing the needs of the individual and society. It supports sustainable consumption of natural resources so that those resources can be replenished. Integral Humanism enhances not only political but also economic and social democracy and freedom. As it seeks to promote diversity, it is best suited for a country as diverse as India. The Philosophy of Integral Humanism is based on the following three principles (i) Primacy of whole, not part (ii) Supremacy of Dharma (iii) Autonomy of Society Pandit Deendayal Upadhyaya opposed both Western 'Capitalist Individualism' and 'Marxist Socialism.

According to him, capitalist and socialist ideologies only consider the needs of the human body and mind, so they are based on materialistic purpose whereas spiritual development is equally considered important for the complete development of human being which is missing in both capitalism and socialism. His philosophy was based on the internal conscience, pure human soul to be called Chhitti, Deendayal Upadhyaya envisaged a classless, casteless and conflict-free social system. He advocated Indianisation of Democracy, particularly with a focus on Economic Democracy. For him, decentralisation and Swadeshi are the foundation of Economic Democracy. His philosophy broadly revolved around the principle of Arthayaam which states that both the absence and prominence of arths lead to the destruction and denigration of Dharma which is central to Integral Humanism. Very short questions : 1. Which amendment was passed by the government during the Emergency? 2. Newspapers like ……and ……….protested against the censorship by resorting to leaving blank spaces of censored news. 3. After Emergency, the opposition parties fought the Lok Sabha elections on the slogan of………. ? 4. Which party emerged as a platform for many sections after the 1977 Lok Sabha elections? 5. the first Democratic Upsurge could be attributed to………..?