A film on 1975 Emergency: Lessons to learn in a Democracy
Abracadabra By K. B. Ganapathy, Columns, Top Stories

A film on 1975 Emergency: Lessons to learn in a Democracy

January 19, 2025

When India, with Indira Gandhi as Prime Minister, liberated East Pakistan from West Pakistan in 1971, Atal Bihari Vajpayee, Leader of the Opposition (LoP) in the Lok Sabha hailed Indira Gandhi as Durga, the Goddess of destruction. And Indira Gandhi, according to journalist Kuldip Nayar “acknowledged the compliment with a smile, behaving in the manner of a Roman Emperor returning after triumphal war.”

That was Bangladesh War which heightened Indira Gandhi’s stature no end. She began to think like Julius Caesar who told his Senators, “Rome? I am Rome.” In fact the then Congress President Dev Kant Barooah had declared that “India is Indira and Indira is India.” This reminds one again of what Julius Caesar said: “Rome is where Caesar is.” And to prove Atal Bihari Vajpayee and Dev Kant Barooah right, the well-known artist M.F. Husain painted his infamous portrait of Indira Gandhi as Durga riding a tiger during the Emergency. That was the height of sycophancy.

Well, sycophancy was the soul of power-hungry Indira Gandhi so also flattery, which is the food of persons obsessed with power. No wonder Shakespeare had said about Julius Caesar in his play of the same title that Caesar would be most flattered when told he could not be flattered. Such was the mental state of Indira Gandhi after her victory in the Bangladesh War. In the end, it became impossible for Indira Gandhi NOT to become what others like Atal Bihari Vajpayee, D.K. Barooah and M.F. Husain believed her to be one — Durga!

With this prelude, let me now indulge in a critique of the film ‘Emergency’ that I saw last Friday at DRC Cinemas. Rarely, nay never, have I rushed to a cinema theatre in such a hurry, as soon as the film was released. But about this film I was impatient, wanting to see it even as I was reading about the controversy it had roused amongst some. Of course, a film like this would have to surmount many hurdles in our country for one reason or the other. We have seen this with many earlier films. Wonder if it is released after cuts and re-shoots. If it is so, so be it. The film is worth seeing.

The title of the film is eponymous — it is about the Emergency declared by Indira Gandhi in 1975 in order to remain in power as Prime Minister despite the Court order. The role played by politicians, highest judiciary (Supreme Court)  and the manner our Constitution was circumscribed to subserve one person, Indira Gandhi, to remain as Prime Minister are well-known except for those born after 1980 when she became Prime Minister again after the Emergency.

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This 1980 Parliamentary election victory enabled Congress party and Indira Gandhi to erase the persecution of innocent citizens and the memory of incarceration and death of many without trial during the Emergency to a great extent. It is only after BJP came to power the stark truth about Emergency began to be told. The film ‘Emergency’ produced by the BJP MP Kangana Ranaut is an effort in recalling the Emergency days.

The opening scene of the film is all about “SATTA” — office, power, power, power. And that was what Motilal Nehru, grandfather of Indira Gandhi, rubs into her young mind. Power first, Nation next. And when that young girl grew up she had a taste of power and pursued it till the end of her life. I was reminded of what Hermann Hesse, the German Author and Nobel Laureate said: “The man of power is ruined by power.” She was assassinated as we know.

I was a witness to the years of Emergency — from 1975 to 1977. After Indira Gandhi became “India” and “Durga”, there followed many government lapses which the fragmented Opposition political parties could not question or challenge. Jayaprakash Narayan (JP) was the only leader whose voice caught the attention, says Kuldip Nayar in his autobiography. Corruption was all pervasive and people were silent, helpless. JP spoke against the authoritarian misrule of Indira Gandhi. This ignited what was known as JP Movement in 1973.

The film takes the viewers to the period of pre-Emergency early days of Indira Gandhi. Nehru’s death, Lal Bahadur Shastri’s death and the rise of Indira Gandhi as Prime Minister. Her triumph in 1971 Bangladesh War, declaration of Emergency in 1975, defeat in the 1977 Parliamentary election, her arrest and time in jail during the Janata Government and her dramatic elephant ride to remote Belchhi village in Bihar to console the poor villagers in distress. This signalled her political resurrection in the ensuing 1980 Parliamentary election.

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The subtle way she was distancing herself from her son after her 1980 victory were shown in chronological sequence till her assassination following “Operation Blue Star” to quell the Khalistan Movement. All these events are shown on the screen at a roller-coaster speed. Yet for a senior citizen it is a walk through the memory lane of those times.

However, the film’s focus is on the role played by Indira Gandhi’s son Sanjay Gandhi, a role well enacted by Vishak Nair — Sanjay’s arrogance, notorious Nasbandi (Vasectomy), slum clearance drive etc., including his death in a self-piloted light aircraft. The viewer gets the impression that the real villain of the ‘Emergency’ days was Sanjay Gandhi, rather than Indira Gandhi who is depicted rather sympathetically in the film. Her short-comings in dealing with Pakistan during the Shimla Agreement was not forgotten.

Kangana Ranaut as Indira Gandhi with her prosthetic nose has acquitted herself well playing that difficult, emotional role. However, casting of some of the characters seems far removed from the real characters. Having seen JP, I can say that Anupam Kher is a total misfit for the role. So also the character of Jagjivan Ram. Satish Kaushik has played the role well, but he certainly needed a prosthetic nose.

For senior citizens this is a recall of the years of Indira Gandhi for which they were witness and for youngsters of post-Rajiv Gandhi era, it is a lesson to learn in politics and in choosing their MLAs and MPs. Small wonder, the film has succeeded in packing into its length all the important events in Indira Gandhi’s political life.

The moral one can learn from the film is important — Do not allow political power to corrupt you and respect the Constitutional institutions in a Democracy. India First. Make India Great, not its leaders. Everyone who has a VOTe must see this film.

POST-SCRIPT: The film conveys the impression that Indira Gandhi lifted the Emergency, despite her son Sanjay Gandhi’s opposition, after her meeting with the world-renowned philosopher Jiddu Krishnamurti and gentle persuasion by her close friend and confidante known as cultural czarina of India, Pupul Jayakar, a close disciple of Jiddu Krishnamurti.

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