The Darkest Hour
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If the Emergency was so terrible, why didn’t voters punish Indira Gandhi more severely?
In 1977, Congress got 34.5% of national vote (BJP got 31% in 2014). By 1980, voters had completely forgiven it for the Emergency.
Shoaib Daniyal
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In media's Emergency analyses, Indira stood as proxy for anxieties about Narendra Modi
Many commentators alluded to a very contemporary situation: the persistence of a personality cult that could perhaps be used to stamp out liberties.
Ajaz Ashraf
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First person: The story behind how Sanjay Gandhi slapped Indira six times at a dinner party
Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist Lewis M Simons recounts how he got the story and the reaction of Sonia and Rajiv Gandhi when he met them long after the Emergency had been lifted.
Ajaz Ashraf
Trending
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Transporters, traders call Bharat Bandh to protest fuel price rise, GST amendments
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Shortest completed Test match since 1935: Reactions to India's win after bizarre day in Motera
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Bengal is seeing a Sushant Rajput-style moral panic over BJP leader’s arrest with cocaine
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I was on the WHO team that went to Wuhan to study the origins of coronavirus. Here’s what we found
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More than cricket: Why did Narendra Modi dismiss Sardar Patel at Motera stadium?
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What drove Sanjay Gandhi and his coterie during the Emergency?
While the forcible sterilisation programmes appeared aimed at the poor population at large, Muslims were a special target.
John Dayal
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Five hilarious defences from people who insist: 'All India needs is a dictator'
Indian people, other than B-Tech graduates, don't know what's good for them.
Rohan Venkataramakrishnan
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Five reasons why the BJP loves the Emergency
The party looks back at the 21 months during which the Constitution was suspended with the sense of nostalgia many people have for their childhoods.
Vrinda Gopinath
Video
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Watch: Bison return to this Canadian territory for the first time in over a century
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Watch: Rahul Gandhi enjoys a swim with fishermen of Kerala
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Watch: Comedian Munawar Faruqui is back with a joke after spending over a month in prison
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Watch: Milan Fashion Week 2021 goes digital. Here’s how a fashion brand celebrated ‘normal life’
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Watch: Korean band BTS performs ‘Life Goes On’ on television show
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What if the Emergency hadn’t happened: would the Jan Sangh still be ‘political untouchables’?
The Emergency is a well known but little examined event. It is for this reason that the BJP claims itself as the winner of the episode in history.
Arvind Rajagopal
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The midnight knock of the Emergency: how Indira Gandhi arrested her opponents
All the arrests were to be made simultaneously so that there was an element of surprise, and those on the list could not be forewarned and thus evade arrest.
Coomi Kapoor
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BJP is mythicising its anti-Emergency role ‒ it did not face the brunt: academic DL Sheth
'This is the only thing they have to celebrate,' says the renowned political scientist. 'Behind its celebration they can hide their past'.
Ajaz Ashraf
The Reel
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‘The Good Traitor’ trailer: A diplomat turns his back on his country to fight the Nazis
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Watch: Animated film ‘What Is Your Brown Number?’ satirises our obsession with fair skin
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‘Time to Dance’ trailer: Starring Sooraj Pancholi and Isabelle Kaif
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Who was Gangubai Kathiawadi, played by Alia Bhatt in Sanjay Leela Bhansali’s movie?
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‘Pagglait’ teaser: Sanya Malhotra-led drama will be streamed on Netflix on March 26
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The Emergency at 40: you know the facts, now read the fiction
The finest novels about the darkest period for Indian democracy have all become modern classics.
Anu Kumar
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'Himmat' during the Emergency: When the Press crawled, some refused to even bend
When Indira Gandhi suspended the Constitution, some journalists maintained their independence despite State repression. Why can't today's journalists find ways to resist corporate control to tell readers the truth?
Kalpana Sharma
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How Sanjay Gandhi and his coterie implemented a programme of conveyor-belt sterilisations
Forty years ago this month, Indira Gandhi suspended the Constitution and declared an Emergency. This excerpt from 'For Reasons of State' recalls the programme of forced vasectomies and tubectomies that was instituted during the period.
John Dayal and Ajoy Bose
The Field
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Ex-US Olympics gymnastics coach Geddert kills self after abuse, trafficking charges
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Ind vs Eng: Many former players feel Motera pitch not ideal for Tests but Gavaskar doesn’t agree
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It has certainly been a challenging surface, a challenging two surfaces the last two games: Root
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Europa League: Arsenal, Man United, Rangers into last 16 as Leicester exit
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A tale of two gambles in Ahmedabad: England’s backfires, India would now do well to play it safer