World Press Freedom Day: When India’s press was at its darkest during the emergency

*Paromita Das
“If freedom of the press means anything at all, it means freedom to criticise and oppose,” famous English novelist and critic Eric Arthur Blair, better known by his pen name George Orwell, said about the importance of press freedom.

In India, the media or press is regarded as the fourth pillar of democracy, holding the government accountable. However, the free press suffered a significant setback during Prime Minister Indira Gandhi’s regime, when she advised then-President Fakhruddin Ali Ahmed to declare a state of national emergency on June 25, 1975.

The 21-month emergency was imposed to control “internal disturbance” in India, after which Prime Minister Gandhi suspended constitutional rights and withdrew freedom of speech and press, laying press guidelines.

The then-Indian Prime Minister prohibited all domestic and international news, expelled several foreign journalists and correspondents, and revoked accreditation from over 40 Indian reporters.

Why did Indira Gandhi impose press restrictions?

Many historians believe Indira Gandhi imposed media restrictions because she was threatened by increasing criticisms of her government and feared that the press was supporting the Jayaprakash Narayan movement.

Indira, on the other hand, claimed that foreign powers were attempting to destabilise her government and weaken the country. In defending her decision, the former Prime Minister added that the JP movement puts the country’s security in jeopardy.

Indira Gandhi imposed press restrictions in what ways?

Article 19(1) (a) of the Indian Constitution guarantees all Indians the “Right to Freedom of Speech and Expression.” Article 19(2) of the Constitution, on the other hand, imposes some “reasonable restrictions” on this freedom. It states that “nothing in subclause (a) of clause (1) shall affect the operation of any existing law, or prevent the State from making any law, in so far as such law imposes reasonable restrictions on the exercise of the right conferred by the said subclause in the interests of India’s sovereignty and integrity, the security of the State, friendly relations with foreign States, public order, decency, or morality, or in relation to contempt of court, defamation, or imputation.”

This was used by the Indira Gandhi government to impose restrictions on the press and control it for more than a year and a half.

What limitations did the government impose?

During the emergency, the Indira Gandhi government established guidelines for the press to follow. Kalpana Sharma, former editor of Himmat, explained one of the rules, saying that media organizations were told “not to pay heed to rumours” and to publish a story only with permission from the Chief Press Advisor.

The position of Chief Press Advisor was created to censor the news.

“When the news is clearly dangerous, newspapers will help the Chief Press Adviser by suppressing it. If there are any doubts, the nearest press adviser should be consulted “according to Times Now, Sharma stated. Furthermore, the Indira Gandhi government manipulated the media, particularly newspapers, through the allocation of government advertising. At the time, Indian newspapers relied heavily on government advertising for revenue, making it difficult for them to operate.

Furthermore, the government threatened journalists as Prime Minister Gandhi continued her efforts to manipulate the media.

What was the reaction of the press to Prime Minister Gandhi’s restrictions?

After Prime Minister Gandhi imposed restrictions following the initial protests, most Indian media organizations gave up the fight. However, some organizations, including The Indian Express and The Statesman, continued to fight the 1975 emergency.
Most journalists at the time claimed that the media organization had no choice but to accept the government’s demands. NV Sankaran, also known as Gnani Sankaran, an Indian Express reporter, once stated that the Indira Gandhi government “wanted to kill newspapers by delaying approvals.”

Another well-known journalist at the time, Khushwant Singh, accepted the restrictions and supported the emergency. In an opinion piece for The Outlook, he explained why he supported the emergency and said that protests against Indira Gandhi’s government had turned violent, noting that the government had the right to suppress “any coercion or violence” by force if necessary.
“With my own eyes, I witnessed slogan-chanting procession down Bombay thoroughfares, smashing cars parked along the roadside and breaking shop windows as they went. Local police were unable to deal with them because they were too few and the protesters were too numerous “he contributed to The Outlook.

“Leaders of opposition parties stood by as the country descended into chaos, hoping that the mounting chaos would force Mrs Gandhi to resign,” he added.

How did the restrictions come to an end?

The restrictions were lifted when the emergency was lifted in January 1977. With the end of the emergency, India held new Lok Sabha elections, which the Janata Party, led by Jayaprakash Narayan, won. The Congress lost a Lok Sabha election for the first time in India’s history. The grand old party received only 154 seats, while the Janata Party and its allies received 330.

Media outlets and political pundits believe Prime Minister Gandhi was forced to cancel the emergency and call for new elections as a result of the growing public outpouring. Morarji Desai was later appointed as India’s Prime Minister, and he took several steps to restore the country’s press freedom.