[ad_1] New Delhi: Today is a witness to a big historical event i.e. March 21. On 21 March 1977, India was freed from Emergency. On this day, the then Prime Minister Indira Gandhi announced to end the emergency in the country. The Emergency was on 25 June 1975 and lasted for 21 months. Indira Gandhi imposed emergency under Article 352. During the Emergency, people's rights were taken away, leaders were jailed and forced sterilization works. Elections were held in 1977, in which the Congress lost and the Janata Party government was formed. After this, the Emergency was removed.When and why emergency?On 25 June 1975, Indira Gandhi decided to set up emergency in the country. At that time, the Allahabad High Court declared Indira Gandhi's election illegal. Due to this, his/her chair was in danger. After this, protests started taking place in many places in the country. The government imposed emergency to stop these demonstrations.What happened during Emergency?People suffered many problems during the Emergency. The fundamental rights of the people were taken away.Fundamental rights violation: Freedom of the press was banned, censorship was imposed on many newspapers.Arrest of opposition leaders: Many opposition leaders including Jayaprakash Narayan, Atal Bihari Vajpayee, Lal Krishna Advani were put in jail.Forced sterilization campaign: Under the leadership of Sanjay Gandhi, a forced family planning campaign was carried out, causing huge outrage in the public.Amendment to the Constitution: The government was given a lot of powers under the 42nd Constitutional Amendment.1977 general election and end of emergencyPeople's anger against Emergency was increasing. After this, on 18 January 1977, Indira Gandhi announced to hold elections. Elections were held in March 1977. The Congress party suffered a bad defeat. The Janata Party got the most votes and Morarji Desai became the Prime Minister. The Emergency was officially removed on 21 March 1977.Democracy restored againAfter the Emergency was over, democracy was restored again in the country. The restrictions on the media were removed. Politicians were released from jail. The new government made the 44th amendment to the Constitution. This made the rules of imposing emergency more strict, so that no government could easily impose emergency in future. Due to the Emergency, the popularity of the Congress party became very low. People were angry against the Congress.What did Emergency teach?The Emergency came to an end on 21 March 1977. This gave a new direction to Indian democracy. This incident proved that it is not easy to eliminate democratic values in India. Public strength is always at the top. Whatever happened during the Emergency is a black chapter in Indian history. But, it also taught us that we should protect our rights and keep democracy strong. [ad_2]
