B L Saraf
Undoubtedly, 25th, 1975 will go down as a ‘black day ‘in the political and constitutional annals of modern India. This day Indians lost every human right – including right to the life. Ironically, Indira Gandhi justified this anti democratic act as one aimed at protection of the democracy. In fact two events triggered her move. First, it was a pan India anti corruption movement launched by Jai Prakash Narayan (JP) against Indira Gandhi and second, was the 12th June order of Allahabad High Court, passed in an election petition of late Raj Narayan, which unseated her from the Rai Bareli Lok Sabha constituency. Events that unfolded showed that the declaration of emergency was meant to save Indira Gandhi’s chair and ensure perpetuation of her rule. This declaration gave enormous powers to the state to become ruthlessly dictatorial in functioning. Every limb of the state turned subservient to the PM and a collaborator in suppressing the dissent. Atrocities were committed on any one who was considered an opponent of the PM. Press was muzzled, all opposition leaders were put behind the bars – unmindful of their age, health condition and contribution to the freedom struggle.
Three things distinctly marked the face of ’emergency ‘- curbs on the civil liberties, censorships of the press, suppression of the dissent and the enforced sterilization. This face showed up everywhere in the mainland.
Our purpose here is to see how Government in Jammu and Kashmir responded to the situation. In those fateful days Sheikh Mohammad Abdullah was in charge of the administration as the Chief Minister. He had assumed charge pursuant to an understanding reached between him and Mrs. Gandhi. The dismemberment of Pakistan in December 1971 had caused a rethink in Sheikh’s mind. He discarded the slogan of plebiscite and negotiated with GOI to find a way to re enter the political mainstream. Towards this end, formal parleys started between Indira’s representative, G Parthasarthy and Mirza Afzal Beg, representing Sheikh Abdullah. The exercise resulted in Indira – Sheikh Accord where under the incumbent Chief Minster, Mir Qasim, gave up his post and in his place Sheikh Saheb was elected leader of the Congress Legislative Party and sworn as the J &K Chief minster, on 26th Feb 1975. It is in this background that we have to discuss things which happened in that tumultuous period. It is a different subject for the other day that soon after assuming charge the local Congress party made life difficult for Sheikh and one day pulled the rug from under his feet.
To appreciate how did people in J&K live the ’emergency’ period and CM Sheikh Abdullah negotiate the hostile turf, a look at what was happening in rest of the country becomes unavoidable. Indira Gandhi had imprisoned any leader seen opposing her. They included Morarji Desai Atal Behari Vajpayee, L K Advani ( Jan Sangh – now BJP ) Jyoti Basu, Surjeet Singh ( CPI M ) S S Branala ( Akali Dal ) George Fernades, Madhu Limayee ( SSP ) and many others. Censorship was imposed on the press. Artists who did not fall in line were banned from DD and AIR. Forced human sterilization in the name of family planning was at the peak.
There is no denying that J &K too did feel effect of the ’emergency ‘. Sheikh Abdullah has explained in his autobiography – ‘ Aatish e Chinar ” that being a part of the Union of India J & K, like other sister states, could not remain untouched by the effects of “Emergency “.But on the ground its severity was far less in comparison. Sheikh did not resort to censorship and the local news papers were free to express opinion. So much so that once the then Union Information and Broadcasting Minster, V C Shukla asked C M to manage the press but he did not oblige. ( Sheikh Abdullah in Aatish e Chinaar )
The best example of how state Government allowed freedom of expression even in those days is explained by the speech Shamim Ahmad Shamim delivered in Lok Sabha, in 1976, when Central Government introduced Bill to curb fundamental rights of the people. The speech was produced verbatim by Anil Maheswari in his column published in this paper of 24th June edition. Shamim Ahmad vehemently criticized the imposition of emergency and the arrests of leaders mentioned above. Indira Gandhi felt so irked by his speech that she thought of arresting him. Sheikh Abdullah says in his Aatish e Chinaar that on his intervention she dropped the idea. Shamim Ahmad was not a member of National Conference when he won Srinagar parliamentary seat, in 1971 National election defeating former Prime Minister ( as head of the J K administration was designated then ) Bakshi Gulam Mohammad. He was put up by Sheikh Saheb as a candidate to challenge Bakshi -his bete noire. While he himself was away in Delhi living as exile, Begum Sheikh Abdullah went whole hog to canvas for Shamim. So for all practical purposes Shamim was Sheikh’s man in the Lok Sabah.
Indira Gandhi went hard against RSS workers, CPI M Cadre, Jammait Islami and members of SS P and PSP. No doubt that in the GOI’s drive some of these workers were apprehended in J & K, too.But that happened as a consequence of promulgation of central laws like MISA etc, and not on invoking of any state.
Jammu and Kashmir didn’t follow forced sterilization policy
Sheikh Abdullah did a balancing act in that period. While as there was no love lost between him and the Indira Gandhi led Congress, he, as the CM, couldn’t afford to annoy PM beyond a point. His love for JP, M J Desai, Mridula Sarabai and so many leaders of the opposition was well known. Because many of them were sympathetic to him when he faced internment and exile. JP has in fact chaired All State People’s Conclave organized by Sheikh in 1969 to press his point of view. Though he wasn’t in a position to do much for them, nonetheless Sheikh Abdullah made his displeasure public. No wonder, then, many observers found Jammu Kashmir’s air refreshing to breath in as compared to other states where suffocating atmosphere pervaded.
Jammu and Kashmir had only a glimpse of the face which emergency showed, in its ugliness, to the people elsewhere in the mainland.
However, one regrettable thing Sheikh did in those was to allow application of Forty Second Amendment to the Union Constitution, to the state of J &K by virtue which life of the Lok Sabha and state Assemblies was extended by one year. He didn’t revert to the original position when Janata Party Government undid the amendment in 1977, after coming to the power in Delhi. The J &K Reorganization Act 2019 restored pre 1977 position so far as term of J K Assembly was concerned.
(The author is Former Principal Distract & Sessions Judge)
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