his answer is both legal and political as law and politics played a major role before, during

and after the emergency. It will therefore get a little technical. If you have any questions, I
urge you to comment and ask.
Short answer The first thing you need to know about emergency is During emergency, Fundamental Rights are suspended. This means that the state
can take any action and people have no recourse. During emergency thousands of people
from the opposition were arrested and put behind bars without a trial. The press had
absolutely no freedom to report. There was extreme censorship. Extreme measures like
forced mass sterilization were conducted. The state policies were implemented completely.
This in short is what happened in Emergency.
Long answer Emergency was declared in India from 1975-1977. 21 months. Indira Gandhi was the Prime
Minister and Fakruddin Ali Ahmad was the President.
Background
From the beginning, there was a clash between the Legislature and the Judiciary in India.
Immediately after independence, the government in view of its socialist policy carried out
land reforms. Land was acquired by the government.
At that point of time, Right to property was still a Fundamental Right. A lot of amendments
were carried out including removal of Right to property from Part III (It is now a legal
right), creation of IXth schedule ( A schedule in the Constitution that gives immunity to
laws. If a law is put in the IXth schedule, it cannot be challenged on the grounds of violation
of Fundamental Rights).
The Supreme Court initially was very pro government as it saw these amendments as
necessary to carry out reforms. In the cases of Sajjan Singh and Shankari Prasad,therefore,
the Union of India won.
But 17 years after, the misuse of IXth schedule slowly came to light.
I.C. Golaknath v. State of Punjab
This was a landmark case in which the Petitioner won. This was a bench of 11 judges.

Constitutional validity of a bunch of amendments as well as land laws (which were included
in the IXth schedule were challenged).
The question was - Whether the Parliament has unlimited power to amend the Constitution
or not.
Article 13 of the Constitution lays down that the State shall not pass any law which violates
Fundamental Rights. The meaning of the word 'law' came up for interpretation. Did it
include Constitutional amendments? That was the second question.
If it did, then amendments could not be made to the Fundamental Rights. If it did not apply
to Constitutional amendments, then the Parliament could amend the Fundamental Rights
(even take them away) but could not pass a law that violated them (Ironically!).

The SC held by a majority of 6:5 that the word 'law' in article 13 included Constitutional
amendments.
Effect The effect of this judgment was that Parliament became powerless to amend,
alter any part of the Fundamental rights enshrined from 14-32.
This verdict (highly criticized) resulted in creating a major rift between the judiciary and the
legislature. It also resulted in a legal battle that continued through a series of cases and a lot
of Judicial transfers!
These landmark cases are - Privy purses case, Benett Coleman Case, Bank Nationalization
case, Kesavananda Bharti case, Minerva Mills case, etc.
Privy Purses case and Bank Nationalization case did not go as the government desired.
The Political storm
Meanwhile, a political storm was brewing which was owing a lot to the economic situation
in India. In hindsight everyone today would agree that India's socialism hasn't really helped
her, but at that point of time, it was highly in vogue.
1971 - Garibi Hatao (Eliminate poverty)
This was the catchy slogan used by Indira Gandhi to win a stunning victory in 1971.
Immediately after that, the government's top priority was to over rule Golaknath's case

along with Privy purses and Bank Nationalization cases. Consequently, Constitution was
amended. There was many vicious changes like the word 'compensation' was replaced with
'amount'.
So initially, if a person's land was acquired, the government as per law was required to pay
them compensation. Now, they were required to pay an 'amount' which could very well be
Rs. 1/-.
Meanwhile from 1973-75, there was huge unrest with strikes and lockouts in the country.
The government was highly criticized and it faced several no confidence motions in the
Parliament.
Indira Nehru Gandhi v. Raj Narayan
This case further added to Mrs. Gandhi's troubles. Raj Narayan who had contested against
Indira Gandhi and lost, filed cases of election malpractice against the sitting Prime
Minister!
Justice Jagmohan Sinha of the Allahabad High Court found the Prime Minister guilty of the
charges. Apparently, the judge's stenographer was forced to live in the judge's house with
his family as there were threats to his life! Indira Gandhi appealed and lost.
This case was like the final nail in the coffin!
Jayprakash Narayan was organizing rallies against the government and this was probably
the time Indira Gandhi would have thought of declaring emergency and seizing power. In
her biography, it is written that this was probably the most difficult time for her and she was
extremely insecure.
Emergency was declared on 25 June 1975 citing threats of national security and
bad economy.
There were widespread arrests without trials, violation of Human rights, police brutality,
mass sterilization, etc.
Aftermath The Emergency came to an end on 23 March 1977. Fresh Elections were called for and
Janata Party (opposition) won. Ironically, in 1980, Indira Gandhi again won majority owing
to ideological divides in the Janta government.
Current legal position as to amendability of the Constitution -

The SC in partially over ruled Golaknath's case in the landmark case of Kesavananda
Bharti v. State of Kerala.
It has laid down that the Parliament has the power to amend any part of the Constitution as
long as it doesn't violate the Basic Structure of the Constitution.
Updated 14 Nov 2014 View Upvotes

Related QuestionsMore Answers Below

"Trains ran on time, no bribes in Govt offices, things worked in India".Did this really
happen when Indira Gandhi enforced emergency?

What are some of the good things that happened during "The Emergency"?

Can the President of India proclaim an emergency during any natural disaster or
epidemic?

What was the reason for declaring an emergency in India? What happens during an
emergency?

What really happened in India in the 1970s during the emergency?

Jay Vyas
4k Views

In India,"the Emergency" refers to a 21-month period in 197577 when Prime Minister

Indira Gandhi unilaterally had a state of emergency declared across the country. Officially
issued by President Fakhruddin Ali Ahmed under Article 352(1) of the Constitution for
"internal disturbance", the Emergency was in effect from 25 June 1975 until its withdrawal
on 21 March 1977. The order bestowed upon the prime minister the authority to rule by
decree,allowing elections to be suspended and civil liberties to be curbed. For much of the
Emergency, most of Gandhi's political opponents were imprisoned and the press was
censored. Several other atrocities were reported from the time,including a forced masssterilisation campaign spearheaded by Sanjay Gandhi,the Prime Minister's son. The
Emergency is one of the most controversial periods of independent India's history.
Reason behind it...
Raj Narain,who had been defeated in the 1971 parliamentary election by Indira
Gandhi,lodged cases of election fraud and use of state machinery for election purposes
against her in the Allahabad High Court. Shanti Bhushan fought the case for Narain. Indira
Gandhi was also cross-examined in the High Court which was the first such instance for an
Indian prime minister. On 12 June 1975, Justice Jagmohanlal Sinha of the Allahabad High

Court found the prime minister guiltyon the charge of misuse of government machinery for
her election campaign. Thecourt declared her election null and void and unseated her from
her seat in the Lok Sabha. The court also banned her from contesting any election for an
additional six years. Serious charges such as bribing voters and election malpractices were
dropped and she was held responsible for misusing government machinery, and found
guilty on charges such as using the state police to build a dais, availing the services of a
government officer, Yashpal Kapoor, during the elections before he had resigned from his
position, and use of electricity from the state electricity department.
Because the court unseated her on comparatively frivolous charges, while she was acquitted
on more serious charges, The Times described it as "firing the Prime Minister for a traffic
ticket". However, strikes in trade, student and government unions swept across the country.
Led by JP, Narain, Satyendra Narayan Sinha and Morarji Desai, protestors flooded the
streets of Delhi close to the Parliament building and the Prime Minister's residence. The
persistent efforts of Narain were praised worldwide as it took over four years for Justice
Sinha to pass judgement against the prime minister.
Indira Gandhi challenged the High Court's decision in the Supreme Court. Justice V.
R.Krishna Iyer, on 24 June 1975, upheld the High Court judgement and ordered all
privileges Gandhi received as an MP be stopped, and that she be debarred from voting.
However, she was allowed to continue as Prime Minister. The next day,JP organised a large
rally in Delhi, where he said that a police officer must reject the orders of government if the
order is immoral and unethical as this was Mahatma Gandhi's motto during the freedom
struggle. Such a statement was taken as a sign of inciting rebellion in the country. Later that
day, Indira Gandhi requested a compliant President to issue a proclamation of a state of
emergency. Within three hours, the electricity to all major newspapers was cut and the
political opposition arrested. The proposal was sent without discussion with the Union
Cabinet, who only learnt of it and ratified it the next morning.
Written 14 Apr View Upvotes

Chinmay Joshi
10.9k Views

According to my knowledge, what actually happened was Indira Gandhi was accused for
doing some non legal action for the promotion of Congress party during elections. Now,
after the election and after Indira Gandhi's win Raj Narayan from Rai Bareli filed a case in
Allahabad High Court. The result for this was proven to be against Indira Gandhi. The
Result was totally unexpected and Indira Gandhi was banned form competing in elections
for next 6 yrs. Then this went to Supreme Court. On 24th June Justice Iyer was vacation
judge and he gave decision for this. In his decision, Indira Gandhi's voting rights were
snashed. And on the Other hand Jaiprakesh Narayan was continuously asking Indira

Gandhi to her seat from Bihar. And because of all this Indira Gandhi was very annoyed and
on 25th June Emergency was declared. But it is said that before declaring emergency you
need to have cabinet meeting and they all need to decide and take a unanimous decision.
But this did not happen, hardly before 2 to 3 hours cabinet ministers were informed about
it and the next day it was implemented. As soon as the emergency was declared all the
ministers who were against Congress were put behind the bars. Jaiprakesh Narayan,
Advani, Murarji Desai, and many more were arrested. This emergency was near about for 19
months which is considered to be a turning point in Indian history..
Updated 5 Sep 2014 View Upvotes

Nagarajan Srinivas, History repeats itself: first as tragedy, and then as greater tragedy ;)
9.3k Views Most Viewed Writer in Indian Emergency (26 June 1975 21 March 1977)

Tejasvita Apte has given an excellent account of the legal aspects of the controversial
Emergency imposed by the then prime minister Indira Gandhi. Now, let us try to have a
politico-historical perspective of the same phenomenon.
Imposition of a state of internal emergency, and the reasons for imposing the same, and the
impact of emergency and its aftermath on Indian polity are quite complex, and indeed stuff
worthy of a racy political thriller.The Emergency was thrust as much on a hapless prime
minister by a scheming polity, as it was thrust on a hapless polity by a scheming Prime
Minister. In fact, Emergency was not imposed overnight as it is commonly made out to be,
but was only a culminating flash point in a long drawn out cat and mouse gameinvolving
various vested interests over a period of time.
I would refer you to my earlier answer on this topic for an in depth analysis of the events
leading to the emergency, its impact and aftermath on the history of Indian political scene.
Nagarajan Srinivas' answer to Why is the National Emergency of 1975 seen as one of the
most controversial times in the History of India??
Written 29 Mar 2015 View Upvotes

Koti Ravi Kiran Chalasani, Can contact me at: ravi_kiran13@yahoo.com

2k Views

This is a very vague question. As a short answer, in one sentence, all civil and fundamental
rights guaranteed in the constitution were in suspension. It meant emasculation of the
citizen and complete dictatorship.

The provision in the constitution for emergency was in place as an extreme measure when
the constitution and nation were on death bed usually by external aggression. Not to be
used by stupid politicians for their petty personal gains. Imposition of democracy in India,
then furthered the cause of dynastic politics and smothered the fledgling democratic spirit
of the fledgling democratic society.
Go stay in North Korea, to understand what emergency is in India

Indian Constitution when adopted by Constituent Assembly in 1949 had 395 articles and 22
parts. Many other articles and three other parts were added to it by subsequent
constitutional amendments. As of now Indian constitution contains more than 444 articles in
25 parts. In this post. lets check out the must know articles of Indian Constitution.

Must Know Articles of Indian Constitution

Article

Importance

Article 12
35

Specify the Fundamental Rights available

Article 36-50

Specify the Directive Principles of state policy

Article 51A

Specifies the Fundamental Duties of every citizen

Article 80

Specifies the number of seats for the Rajya Sabha

Article 81

Specifies the number of seats for the Lok Sabha

Article 343

Hindi as official language

Article 356

Imposition of Presidents Rule in states

Article 370

Special status to Kashmir

Repeals India Independence Act and Government of India Act,

Article 395

1935

PS : Its not expected from a UPSC aspirant to by-heart all articles in Indian
Constitution. But he/she is expected to have a fair idea about the nature and
salient features of Indian Constitution like Federalism, Separation of Powers,
Fundamental Rights etc.

Important Articles of Indian Constitution

Part 1 Art. 1 to art. 4

Article 1- Name and territory of the union.

Article 2 Admission and Establishment of the new state.

Article 3 Formation of new states and alteration of areas,

boundaries, and name of existing states.
Part 2 Art. 5 to art. 11

Article 5 Citizenship at the commencement of the

constitution.

Article 6- Rights of citizenship of certain person who have

migrated to India from Pakistan.

Article 10- continuance of rights of citizenship.

Article 11- Parliament to regulate the right of citizenship by

law.

Part 3 Art.12 to art.35

Article 12- Definition of the state

Article 13 Laws inconsistent with or in derogation of the

fundamental rights.

Originally, constitution provided for 7 basic fundamental rights,

now there is only six rights, one Right to property U/A 31 was
deleted from the list of fundamental rights by 44 amendment
act 1978. It made a legal right U/A 300-A in Part XII of the
constitution.
th

Some important Fundamental Rights are as:

Right to Equality: Art. 14 to Art. 18

Article 14- Equality before the law.

Article 15- Prohibition of discrimination on the grounds of
religion, race, caste, sex. Or place of birth.

Article 16- Equality of opportunity in matters of public

employment.

Article 17- Abolition of the un-touchability.

Article 18- Abolition of titles

Right to Freedom: Art. 19 to art. 22

Art.19 guarantees to all the citizens the six rights

1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.

(a) Right to freedom of speech and expression.

(b) Right to assemble peacefully and without arms.
(c) Right to form associations or unions.
(d) Right to move freely throughout the territory of India.
(e) Right to reside and settle in any part of the territory of
India.
(f) Right to practice any profession or to carry on any
occupation, trade, and business.
Article 20- Protection in respect of conviction for offences.
Article 21-Protection of life and personal liberty.

Article 22- Protection against arrest and detention in certain

cases.

Right against Exploitation: Art.23 & art. 24

Article 23- Prohibition of traffic in human beings and forced

labour.

Article 24- Prohibition of employment of children in factories

and mines. Under age of 14.

Right to Freedom of Religion: Art.25 to art. 28

Article 25- Freedom of conscience and free profession , practice

and propagation of religion.

Article 26- Freedom to manage religious affairs.

Article 27- Freedom as to pay taxes for promotion of any

particular religion.

Article 28- Freedom from attending religious instruction.

Cultural and Educational Rights:Art.29 & art. 30

Article 29- Protection of interest of minorities.

Article 30- Right of minorities to establish and administer

educational institutions.

Article 32- Remedies for enforcement of Fundamental Rights.

Part.4 Directive Principal of states Policy: Art 36 to art. 51

Article 36- Definition

Article 37- Application of DPSP

Article 39A- Equal justice and free legal aid

Article 40- Organisation of village panchayat

Article 41- Right to work , to education, and to public assistance in certain

cases

Article 43- Living Wages, etc. for Workers.

Article 43A- Participation of workers in management of industries.

Article 44- Uniform civil code.( applicable in Goa only)

Article 45- Provision for free and compulsory education for children.

Article 46- Promotion of educational and economic interest of scheduled

castes, ST,and OBC.

Article 47-Duty of the state to raise the level of nutrition and the standard
of living and to improve public heath.

Article 48-Organisation of agriculture and animal husbandry.

Article 49- Protection of monuments and places and objects of natural

importance.

Article 50- Separation of judiciary from executive.

Article 51- Promotion of international peace and security.

Also read: Comptroller and Auditor-General of India : CAG (Articles 148151)

Fundamental Duties: Part IV-A- Art 51A

It contains, originally 10 duties, now it contains 11 duties by
86 amendments act 2002.
th

Part 5 Union ( 52-151)

Article 52- The President of India

Article 53- Executive Power of the union.

Article 54- Election of President

Article 61- Procedure for Impeachment of the President.

Article 63- The Vice-president of India.

Article 64- The Vice-President to be ex-officio chairman the

council of States.

Article 66-Election of Vice-president.

Article 72-Pardoning powers of President.

Article 74- Council of minister to aid and advice President.

Article 76- Attorney-General for India.

Article 79- Constitution of Parliament

Article 80- Composition of Rajya Sabha.

Article 81- Composition of Lok Sabha.

Article 83- Duration of Houses of Parliament.
Article 93- The speakers and Deputy speakers of the house of
the people.
Article 105- Powers, Privileges,etc of the House of Parliament.
Article 109- Special procedure in respects of money bills
Article 110- Definition of Money Bills.
Article 112- Annual Financial Budget.
Article 114-Appropriation Bills.
Article 123- Powers of the President to promulgate Ordinances
during recess of parliament.
Article 124- Establishment of Supreme Court.
Article 125- Salaries of Judges.
Article 126- Appointment of acting Chief justice.
Article 127- Appointment of ad-hoc judges.
Article 128-Attendance of retired judge at sitting of the
Supreme Court.
Article 129- Supreme court to be court of Record.
Article 130- Seat of the Supreme court.
Article 136- Special leaves for appeal to the Supreme Court.
Article 137- Review of judgement or orders by the Supreme
court.
Article 141-Decision of the Supreme Court binding on all the
courts.
Article 148- Comptroller and Auditor- General of India
Article 149- Duties and Powers of CAG.

Part 6 States ( 152-237)

Article
Article
Article
Article
Article
Article
Article

153154161165213214215-

Governors of State
Executive Powers of Governor.
Pardoning powers of the Governor.
Advocate-General of the State.
Power of Governor to promulgate ordinances.
High Courts for states.
High Courts to be court of record.

Article 226- Power of High Courts to issue certain writs.

Article 233- Appointment of District judges.
Article 235- Control over Sub-ordinate Courts.

Part 7 238 Repealed

Part 8 239-242 Union Territories
Part 9 243-243 O Panchayats

Article 243A- Gram Sabha

Article 243B- Constitution of Panchayats

Part 9A 243 P-243 ZG Municipalities

Part 10 : Scheduled and Tribal Areas -244
Part 11 : Center- State Relations 245 263
Part 12 : Finance, Property, Contracts and Suits (264 300A)

Article 266- Consolidated Fund and Public Accounts Fund

Article 267- Contingency Fund of India

Article 280- Finance Commission

Article 300-A- Right to property.

Part 13 : Trade, Commerce and Intercourse within the territories of India (301-307)

Article 301-Freedom to trade, commerce, and intercourse.

Article 302- Power of Parliament to impose restrictions on

trade, commerce, and intercourse.

Part 14 : Services Under Center and State (308-323)

Article 312- All- India-Service.

Article 315- Public service commissions for the union and for
the states

Article 320- Functions of Public Service Commission.

Part 14A : Tribunals (323 A 323 B)

Article 323A- Administrative Tribunals

Part 15 : Elections (324 329)

Article 324-Superintendence, direction and control of Elections

to be vested in an Election Commission.

Article 325- No person to be ineligible for inclusion in or to

claim to be included in a special, electoral roll on grounds of
religion, race, caste, or sex.

Article 326- Elections to the house of the people and to the

legislative assemblies of states to be on the basis of adult
suffrage.

Part 16 : Special Provisions to SC, ST, OBC, Minorities etc (330 -342)

Article 338- National Commission for the SC, & ST.

Article 340- Appointment of a commission to investigate the

conditions of backward classes.

Part 17 : Official Language (343- 351)

Article 343- Official languages of the Union.

Article 345- Official languages or languages of a states.

Article 348- Languages to be used in the Supreme Court and in

the High Courts.

Article 351-Directive for development of the Hindi languages.

Part 18 : Emergency (352-360)

Article 352- Proclamation of emergency ( National Emergency).

Article 356- State Emergency (Presidents Rule)
Article 360- Financial Emergency

Part 19 : Miscellaneous (361-367)

Article 361- Protection of President and Governors

Part 20 : Amendment of Constitution (368)

Article 368- Powers of Parliaments to amend the constitution.

Part 21 : Special, Transitional and Temporary Provisions (369 392)

Article 370 Special provision of J&K.

Article 371A Special provision with respect to the State of Nagaland

Article 371-J: Special Status for Hyderabad-Karnataka region

Also read: Functions of an IAS Officer

Part 22 : Short Text, Commencement, Authoritative Text in Hindi and Repeals (392 395)

Article 393 Short title This Constitution may be called the

Constitution of India.