In India, "the emergency" refers to a period of 21 months from 1975 to 1977, when Prime Minister Indira Gandhi had a state of emergency declared throughout the country. Officially issued by President Fakhruddin Ali Ahmed under Article 352 (1) of the Constitution because of the prevailing "internal disturbance", the Emergency was in force from 25 June 1975 until its withdrawal on 21 March 1977. The order gave the Prime Minister the authority to govern by decree, allowing to suspend the elections and to curb the civil liberties. During much of the Emergency, most of Gandhi's political opponents were imprisoned and the press was censored. Several other human rights violations were reported at the time, including a forced mass sterilization campaign led by Sanjay Gandhi, the prime minister's son. The emergency is one of the most controversial periods in the independent history of India. Documents that have appeared in recent years indicate that Indira Gandhi had planned to impose the emergency only temporarily for some time until the violence that was erupting in the country had subsided.
The government cited threats to national security, as a war with Pakistan had recently been concluded. Due to the war and additional challenges of the drought and the oil crisis of 1973, the economy was in poor condition. The government stated that the strikes and protests had paralyzed the government and greatly damaged the country's economy. Faced with mass political opposition, desertion and disorder throughout the country and the party, Gandhi followed the advice of a few loyal and his younger son Sanjay Gandhi, whose own power had grown considerably in recent years to become an "extra -constitutional authority. " Siddhartha Shankar Ray, the prime minister of West Bengal, proposed to the prime minister to impose an "internal emergency." He wrote a letter for the President to issue the proclamation on the basis of the information that Indira had received that "there is an imminent danger to the security of India threatened by internal disturbances." It showed how democratic freedom could be suspended while remaining within the scope of the Constitution.
After a quick question on a procedural issue, President Fakhruddin Ali Ahmed declared an internal state of emergency on the prime minister's council the night of June 25, 1975, a few minutes before the clock struck midnight. As required by the Constitution, Ms. Gandhi advised and President Ahmed approved the continuation of the Emergency every six months until his decision to hold elections in 1977.