Two democracies are resembling tyranny in their governance structures.

India’s Democratic Backsliding and the Impact of Indira Gandhi’s Emergency

Understanding the American Declaration of Independence

• The Declaration of Independence emphasized the right to live under laws and a government accountable to the people.

• Judge J. Michael Luttig warned against the erosion of these ideals.

India’s Democratic Backsliding 50 Years Ago

• India’s Emergency under Prime Minister Indira Gandhi in 1975 resulted in the suspension of civil liberties, press censorship, imprisonment of over 1,00,000 citizens, and reduced Parliament and courts to shadows.

• Indira Gandhi claimed she was saving democracy, but in reality, she was suffocating it.

The Tragic Effect of Indira Gandhi’s Emergency

• Judges, Ministers, civil servants, and journalists chose loyalty over law during the Emergency.

• The Supreme Court ruled that even the right to life could be suspended during the Emergency.

Impact of Indira Gandhi’s Emergency

• Dissenters were detained under the Maintenance of Internal Security Act (MISA), police abducted students in broad daylight, and Sanjay Gandhi operated a parallel state.

• After the Emergency ended in 1977, India voted Indira Gandhi out in a landslide.

• The Janata government passed the 44th Amendment to prevent such abuses from recurring.

U.S. and India’s Similar Dynamics

• U.S. President Donald Trump’s actions are legal and have led to failed institutions meant to stop Trump.

• Similar dynamics in India have led to failed institutions meant to stop Trump.

• Democracy is not just a system of rules; it is a culture of restraint, limits, and humility before power.