Journal-5

National Emergency !!

I was a senior member of the editorial staff in Indian express when internal emergency was imposed.

Express was known for its hostile stand and did suffer a lot.

The pages would be held up and released around dawn.

This naturally led to dip in circulation.

No criticism of government was allowed .

So it was more like propaganda sheets of government.

In karnataka the worst torture was inflicted on George Fernandez family and his family friend Snehalata Reddy.

Poor Snehalata died soon after.

Louis Fernandez was almost incapacitated .

When elections were announced and censorship was removed Express came out with all these excesses.

The results were apparent, the Congress under Indira leadership lost . so did Sanjay.

And the Janata party government took over.

There were inherent contradictions in the team headed by Morarji Desai and it lasted less than a year and half.

Then followed a short spell under Charan Singh, perhaps the only Prime Minister who did not face parliament.

The government lasted less than a month.

In the elections that followed Indira and congress were back.

Indira in the second spell was almost adrift. The Punjab cauldron was allowed to boil and the Operation Bluestar was successful in flushing Sant Bhindranwale out from the golden temple but also bringing forth the wrath of the sikhs.

It is a fact that the Prime Minister was cautioned about the risks in employing sikh bodyguards at her residence but she ignored it.

It is a fact that she met a saint and expressed her apprehensions but he was not helpful.

Quit politics or get shot was the curt response.

When Indira fell to the assassins’  bullets she or what remained of her was removed to All India  Institute of Medical Sciences.

Till Rajiv reached Delhi the death was not announced.

The Delhi riots were a sad chapter when mobs ransacked sikh homes.

This alienated the  sikhs no end .

Rajiv anyway went for a fresh mandate and won by a margin which astounded everyone.

But what happened later ?

He had contempt for the old guard, cultivated the Doon school mates and landed in controversies.

He also faced the Bofors gun controversy .

In the elections that followed the national front headed by V.P.Singh romped home.

Here again , in an effort to retain power V.P.Singh revived a report gathering dust and tried to implement it.

I am referring to Mandal commission.

Thus started Mandal versus mandir which got resolved only recently when Ayodhya was restored to its pristine purity .

Then came on the scene Chandra Sekhar who was promised   help from outside  but was denied it seven months later.

Back to the hustings.

P.V.Narasimha Rao managed to get enough seats to form a government after Rajiv’s assassination at Sriperumbudur  .

but he had to rely on a few outsiders too.

The scandal was that a few members were bought over . the joke was that they were compensated by cheques and they had them deposited in Parliament street branch of a bank.

Asked for his comment at the end of his five years term which saw India released from the thralldom of licence permit Raj, Rao  remarked, I will go down in history as the only Prime Minister from the non-dynasty who completed the full term.

The late 1990s saw a succession of Prime Ministers.

A.B.Vajpayee—13 days

H.D.Devegowda—one year

I.K.Gujral- one year

Vajpayee again- 19 months

and then Vajpayee leading the  NDA.

Followed by the UPA led by the Congress from 2004 to 2014.

The people had enough of this tamasha and Narendra Modi 

Happened.

I have found out that the first term for a party is beneficial. In the second term the direction would change . And depending on our viewpoint we will leave Modi alone for now.

Change is always painful . one hopes the changes made would bring lasting benefits to the Nation.

#Indira Gandhi #NationalEmergency 

#Indianexpress #Modi #Vajpayee