The emergency and constitutional change in India

Johal, Sarbjit Singh

doi:10.14288/1.0094143

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The emergency and constitutional change in India Johal, Sarbjit Singh 1977

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Title	The emergency and constitutional change in India
Creator	Johal, Sarbjit Singh
Date Issued	1977
Description	This study is concerned with the effect of India's state of emergency 1975-77, on the operation of the Indian Constitution. Although the state of emergency of June 26, 1975 was invoked under Article 352 of the Constitution, it represented an important break in India's constitutional and political development since 1947. Prior to 1975, India was referred to both at home and abroad as the "world's largest democracy." Her political and constitutional stability were often contrasted with other Asian and African countries where constitutional governments collapsed. During the state of emergency the government of Prime Minister Indira Gandhi proposed and passed certain amendments to the Indian Constitution. The purpose of this thesis is to examine the reasons for this constitutional revision and the nature of the amendments. The constitutional and political implications of the amendments are analyzed for political parties, government-opposition relations, executive, legislative and judicial powers, individual rights, economic and social reform and federalism. A detailed account is given of the constitutional revision debate within the Congress Party and between the government and opposition parties. In particular, the recommendations of the Swaran Singh Committee are analyzed. In examining the viability of constitutional government in India it is hypothesized that the Indian Constitution, as adopted on January 26, 1950, contained contradictions between its liberal democratic provisions and its emergency powers. These broad emergency powers proved antithetical to constitutional government. It is further hypothesized that the maintenance of constitutional government requires a consensus between the government and the opposition parties as to the rules of the constitutional and political system. In developing these hypotheses Kothari's model of one-party dominance and the Marxist model of class conflict are utilized. Finally, the hypotheses of the paper and the two models are reexamined in the light of the emergency period and of the constitutional and political changes that occurred under it.
Genre	Thesis/Dissertation
Type	Text
Language	eng
Date Available	2010-02-21
Provider	Vancouver : University of British Columbia Library
Rights	For non-commercial purposes only, such as research, private study and education. Additional conditions apply, see Terms of Use https://open.library.ubc.ca/terms_of_use.
DOI	10.14288/1.0094143
URI	http://hdl.handle.net/2429/20615
Degree	Master of Arts - MA
Program	Political Science
Affiliation	Arts, Faculty of Political Science, Department of
Degree Grantor	University of British Columbia
Campus	UBCV
Scholarly Level	Graduate
AggregatedSourceRepository	DSpace

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THE. EMERGENCY AND CONSTITUTIONAL CHANGE IN INDIA by SARBJIT SINGH JOHAL B.A. U n i v e r s i t y o f R e a d i n g , 1974 A THESIS SUBMITTED IN PARTIAL FULFILLMENT OF THE REQUIREMENTS FOR THE DEGREE OF MASTER OF ARTS i n THE FACULTY OF GRADUATE STUDIES Department of P o l i t i c a l S c i e n c e We a c c e p t t h i s t h e s i s as c o n f o r m i n g t o t h e r e q u i r e d s t a n d a r d THE UNIVERSITY OF BRITISH COLUMBIA Ju n e , 1977 © S a r b j i t S i n g h J o h a l , 1977 In p r e s e n t i n g t h i s t h e s i s in p a r t i a l f u l f i l m e n t o f the requ i rement s f o r an advanced degree at the U n i v e r s i t y o f B r i t i s h Co lumb ia , I a g ree that the L i b r a r y s h a l l make i t f r e e l y a v a i l a b l e f o r r e f e r e n c e and s tudy . I f u r t h e r agree t h a t p e r m i s s i o n f o r e x t e n s i v e c o p y i n g o f t h i s t h e s i s f o r s c h o l a r l y purposes may be g r a n t e d by the Head o f my Department o r by h i s r e p r e s e n t a t i v e s . It i s u n d e r s t o o d that c o p y i n g o r p u b l i c a t i o n o f t h i s t h e s i s f o r f i n a n c i a l g a i n s h a l l not be a l l o w e d w i thout my w r i t t e n p e r m i s s i o n . Department o f PcrUM^oJ Suh^Csj The U n i v e r s i t y o f B r i t i s h Co lumbia 2075 W e s b r o o k P l a c e V a n c o u v e r , C a n a d a V6T 1W5 Date v A O y ' '97? ABSTRACT T h i s s t u d y i s c o n c e r n e d w i t h t h e e f f e c t o f I n d i a ' s s t a t e o f emergency 1975-77, on t h e o p e r a t i o n o f t h e I n d i a n C o n s t i t u t i o n . A l -though t h e s t a t e o f emergency o f June 26, 1975 was i n v o k e d u n d e r A r t i c l e 352 o f the C o n s t i t u t i o n , i t r e p r e s e n t e d an i m p o r t a n t b r e a k i n I n d i a ' s c o n s t i t u t i o n a l and p o l i t i c a l development s i n c e 1947. P r i o r t o 1975, I n d i a was r e f e r r e d t o b o t h a t home and abroad as t h e " w o r l d ' s l a r g e s t democracy." Her p o l i t i c a l and c o n s t i t u t i o n a l s t a b i l i t y were o f t e n c o n t r a s t e d w i t h o t h e r A s i a n and A f r i c a n c o u n t r i e s where c o n s t i t u -t i o n a l governments c o l l a p s e d . D u r i n g the s t a t e o f emergency t h e government o f P r i m e M i n i s t e r I n d i r a Gandhi p r o p o s e d and p a s s e d c e r t a i n amendments t o t h e I n d i a n C o n s t i t u t i o n . The p u r p o s e o f t h i s t h e s i s i s t o examine t h e r e a s o n s f o r t h i s c o n s t i t u t i o n a l r e v i s i o n and t h e n a t u r e o f t h e amendments. The c o n s t i t u t i o n a l and p o l i t i c a l i m p l i c a t i o n s o f the amendments a r e a n a l y z e d f o r p o l i t i c a l p a r t i e s , g o v e r n m e n t - o p p o s i t i o n r e l a t i o n s , e x-e c u t i v e , l e g i s l a t i v e and j u d i c i a l powers, i n d i v i d u a l r i g h t s , economic and s o c i a l r e f o r m and f e d e r a l i s m . A d e t a i l e d a c c o u n t i s g i v e n o f t h e c o n s t i t u t i o n a l r e v i s i o n d ebate w i t h i n t h e Co n g r e s s P a r t y and between the government and o p p o s i t i o n p a r t i e s . I n p a r t i c u l a r , t h e recommenda-t i o n s o f t h e Swaran S i n g h Committee a r e a n a l y z e d . I n e x a m i n i n g t h e v i a b i l i t y o f c o n s t i t u t i o n a l government i n I n d i a i t i s h y p o t h e s i z e d t h a t t h e I n d i a n C o n s t i t u t i o n , as ado p t e d on J a n u a r y 26, 1950, c o n t a i n e d c o n t r a d i c t i o n s between i t s l i b e r a l d e m o c r a t i c p r o v i s i o n s and i t s . emergency powers. These b r o a d emergency powers p r o v e d a n t i t h e t i c a l t o c o n s t i t u t i o n a l government. I t i s f u r t h e r h y p o t h e s i z e d t h a t t h e maintenance o f c o n s t i t u t i o n a l government r e q u i r e s a consensus between t h e government and t h e o p p o s i t i o n p a r t i e s as t o t h e r u l e s o f the c o n s t i t u t i o n a l and p o l i t i c a l s ystem. I n d e v e l o p i n g t h e s e h y p o t h e s e s K o t h a r l ' s model o f o n e - p a r t y dominance and t h e M a r x i s t model o f c l a s s c o n f l i c t a r e u t i l i z e d . F i n a l l y , the h y p o t h e s e s o f t h e paper and t h e two models a r e reexamined i n t h e l i g h t o f t h e emergency p e r i o d and o f t h e c o n s t i t u t i o n a l and p o l i t i c a l changes t h a t o c c u r r e d under i t . i i i TABLE OF CONTENTS Page T i t l e Page . . . i A b s t r a c t i i T a b l e o f C o n t e n t s i v Acknowledgments v C h a p t e r I INTRODUCTION 1 Scope and P u r p o s e Methods I I THE INDIAN CONSTITUTION, 1950-1975 . 7 I I I KOTHARI 1s MODEL OF ONE-PARTY DOMINANCE AND THE MARXIST MODEL OF CLASS CONFLICT . . . . . . 18 IV THE EMERGENCY, 1975 36 V THE REVISION OF THE CONSTITUTION 65 Reasons f o r R e v i s i o n The Swaran S i n g h Committee The C o n s t i t u t i o n a l and P o l i t i c a l I m p l i c a t i o n s o f t h e 42nd Amendment V I CONCLUSION 83 The Emergency and c o n t i n u i t i e s and d i f f e r e n c e s i n c o n s t i t u t i o n a l development The model o f o n e - p a r t y dominance and t h e M a r x i s t model r e a s s e s s e d F o o t n o t e s 92 S e l e c t B i b l i o g r a p h y 98 i v ACKNOWLEDGMENTS I wo u l d l i k e t o acknowledge my t h a n k s and a p p r e c i a t i o n t o Dr. J o h n R. Wood, my t h e s i s s u p e r v i s o r , t o whom I am i n d e b t e d i n more ways t h a n one, b u t e s p e c i a l l y f o r h i s h e l p f u l c r i t i c i s m s and s u g g e s t i o n s , and t o P r o f e s s o r s R o b e r t H. J a c k s o n and F r a n k C. Langdon f o r t h e i r h e l p f u l s u g g e s t i o n s . I would a l s o l i k e t o thank N i t i s h K. D u t t and Muhammad G. K a b i r f o r r e a d i n g t h e m a n u s c r i p t and commenting on t h e same. L a s t l y , I w i s h t o t h a n k M r s . E. McDonald f o r d o i n g an e x c e l l e n t j o b t y p i n g t h e m a n u s c r i p t . v 1 CHAPTER I INTRODUCTION 1a On June 26, 1975 t h e P r e s i d e n t o f I n d i a , a c t i n g on t h e a d v i c e o f P r i m e M i n i s t e r I n d i r a G a n d h i , d e c l a r e d I n d i a ' s f i r s t s t a t e o f n a t i o n a l emergency f o r r e a s o n s o f i n t e r n a l i n s t a b i l i t y . O p p o s i t i o n l e a d e r s were a r r e s t e d , p r e s s c e n s o r s h i p imposed, c e r t a i n extreme l e f t and r i g h t w i n g o r g a n i z a t i o n s banned and c i v i l l i b e r t i e s c u r t a i l e d . A t t h e t i m e o f i t s i m p o s i t i o n , the q u e s t i o n a r o s e o f whether t h e emergency r u l e was a temporary s u s p e n s i o n o f t h e c o n s t i t u t i o n o r t h e b e g i n n i n g o f permanent a u t h o r i t a r i a n r u l e . From June 1975 t o t h e l i f t i n g o f t h e emergency a f t e r t h e March 1977 g e n e r a l ' e l e c t i o n , i t a p p e a r e d t h a t t h e p e r i o d o f c o n s t i t u t i o n a l government between 1950 and 1975 had been o n l y an i n t e r l u d e i n I n d i a ' s l o n g h i s t o r y o f a b s o l u t e forms o f government, and t h a t I n d i a was j o i n i n g t h e l i s t o f A f r i c a n and A s i a n c o u n t r i e s w h i c h had succumbed t o d i c t a t o r -s h i p . Thus, i n any a n a l y s i s o f t h e emergency p e r i o d , 1975-77, i t i s n e c e s s a r y t o compare and c o n t r a s t i t w i t h t h e p e r i o d 1950-75 t o see whether t h e d e c l a r a t i o n o f emergency was an a b e r r a t i o n o r t h e c u l m i -n a t i o n o f economic, s o c i a l and p o l i t i c a l t r e n d s s i n c e i n d e p e n d e n c e . I n t h e y e a r s f o l l o w i n g I n d i a ' s independence i n August 1947, many o b s e r v e r s and s o c i a l s c i e n t i s t s drew a t t e n t i o n t o I n d i a ' s p o l i t i c a l s t a b i l i t y . Such s t a b i l i t y was a l l t h e more marked b e c a u s e t h e c i r c u m -s t a n c e s i n w h i c h I n d i a g a i n e d independence seemed t o make t h e f u t u r e s u r v i v a l o f I n d i a as a n a t i o n p r o b l e m a t i c . These c i r c u m s t a n c e s i n c l u d e d : communal s t r i f e between H i n d u s , S i k h s and Moslems; r e f u g e e p r o b l e m s ; d i s l o c a t i o n s caused by t h e d i v i s i o n o f t h e a d m i n i s t r a t i v e and m i l i t a r y 2 s t r u c t u r e s o f t h e f o r m e r B r i t i s h E m p i r e ; t h e u r g e n t need t o d e v e l o p a new p o l i t i c a l framework i n t e g r a t i n g t h e v a r i o u s s t a t e s and r e g i o n s o f I n d i a ; and, f i n a l l y , economic and s o c i a l u nderdevelopment. Y e t a decade a f t e r independence I n d i a had succeeded i n f o r m u l a t -i n g and a d o p t i n g a w o r k i n g C o n s t i t u t i o n i n w h i c h , f o r example, i n d i v i d u a l r i g h t s were g u a r a n t e e d and the j u d i c i a r y i n d e p e n d e n t . The p r i n c i p l e o f c i v i l i a n r u l e became an e s t a b l i s h e d f e a t u r e o f t h e I n d i a n p o l i t i c a l s y stem. M o r e o v e r , t h e p r i n c e l y s t a t e s were i n t e g r a t e d i n t o t h e r e p u b l i c , most o f the s t a t e s were r e o r g a n i z e d a l o n g l i n g u i s t i c l i n e s , two g e n e r a l e l e c t i o n s were h e l d , and the I n d i a n government had i n i t i a t e d economic p l a n n i n g and had s e t g o a l s f o r s o c i a l development. I n d i a came t o be r e f e r r e d t o as the ' w o r l d ' s l a r g e s t democracy' and as a s i g n i f i c a n t example f o r t h e r e s t o f A s i a and A f r i c a where numerous governments were b e i n g r e p l a c e d by m i l i t a r y d i c t a t o r s h i p s o r o n e - p a r t y r e g i m e s . T h i s i s n o t t o s u g g e s t , however, t h a t I n d i a ' s c o n s t i t u t i o n a l and p o l i t i c a l development i n t h e p e r i o d 1947-75 t o o k p l a c e a g a i n s t a b ackground o f economic, s o c i a l and p o l i t i c a l s t a b i l i t y . I n t e r n a l l y , I n d i a f a c e d l a n g u a g e r i o t s i n t h e 1950s and 1960s o v e r s t a t e s r e o r g a -n i z a t i o n ; communal r i o t i n g and u n r e s t i n e ach o f t h e d e c a d e s ; s p o r a d i c r i o t s and d e m o n s t r a t i o n s i n u r b a n a r e a s ; a t t a c k s on ' H a r i j a n s ' and o t h e r c a s t e c o n f l i c t s ; s e c e s s i o n i s t movements i n N a g a l a n d , Mizoram and Madras (now T a m i l Nadu); and a g r a r i a n u n r e s t i n t h e l a t e 1960s as shown by the N a x a l i t e movement. P o l i t i c a l i n s t a b i l i t y was p a r t i -c u l a r l y marked i n s e v e r a l s t a t e s a f t e r t h e 1967 g e n e r a l e l e c t i o n when s e v e r a l s t a t e governments f e l l a f t e r d e f e c t i o n s o f M.L.A.s. These 3 m a n i f e s t a t i o n s , o f t h e v a r i o u s c o n f l i c t s i n I n d i a n s o c i e t y had t o be met by t h e c e n t r a l government w i t h , t h e i m p o s i t i o n o f P r e s i d e n t ' s R u l e i n s e v e r a l s t a t e s and by t h e use o f emergency r e g u l a t i o n s such, as t h e De f e n s e o f I n d i a R u l e s , the P r e v e n t i v e D e t e n t i o n A c t o f 1950 and i t s s u c c e s s o r t h e M a i n t e n a n c e o f I n t e r n a l S e c u r i t y A c t (M.I.S.A.) o f 1971. The c e n t r a l government expanded and u t i l i z e d c e n t r a l p o l i c e and s p e c i a l p a r a m i l i t a r y f o r c e s s u c h as t h e C e n t r a l R e s e r v e P o l i c e and the B o r d e r S e c u r i t y F o r c e . A l a r g e number o f p o l i c e f i r i n g s r e s u l t e d i n s e v e r a l d e a t h s and woundings each year.''" G i v e n t h i s c a t a l o g u e o f i n s t a b i l i t y , one may w e l l be j u s t i f i e d i n a s k i n g whether I n d i a ' s s t a b i l i t y between 1947 and 1975 was more ap p a r e n t t h a n r e a l . N e v e r t h e l e s s , t h e r e a r e a number o f r e a s o n s f o r a r g u i n g t h a t t h e p o l i t i c a l s y s t e m was s t a b l e . I n t h e f i r s t p l a c e , economic and s o c i a l c o n f l i c t s d i d n o t a l w a y s r e a c h t h e p o l i t i c a l p l a n e . Many o f t h e s e were spasmodic m a n i f e s t a t i o n s o f u r b a n and r u r a l anomie. I n d i a ' s f e d e r a l system a l s o tended t o i s o l a t e economic, s o c i a l and 2 p o l i t i c a l c o n f l i c t s f r o m s t a t e t o s t a t e . S e c o n d l y , a t t h e c e n t r a l l e v e l t h e I n d i a n N a t i o n a l C ongress s e r v e d c o n t i n u o u s l y as t h e m a j o r i t y p a r t y f r o m 1947 t o 1969 and a g a i n f r o m 1971 t o 1975. The Congress P a r t y ' s base o f s u p p o r t c o v e r e d most s e c t i o n s o f I n d i a n s o c i e t y and a wide s e c t i o n o f t h e i d e o l o g i c a l s p ectrum. Where Congress governments were f a c e d w i t h economic, s o c i a l and p o l i t i c a l c o n f l i c t t h e y met t h e s e t h r e a t s by t h e o u t r i g h t u s e of c o e r -c i o n , as mentioned above, o r by t h e m e d i a t i o n o f t h e s e c o n f l i c t s and the b l u n t i n g o f c l e a v a g e s and a n t a g o n i s m s . As a r e s u l t , t h e p r o v i s i o n s 4 of the Co n s t i t u t i o n operated uninterruptedly from 1950 to 1975 even though, the Constitution remained remote and u n i n t e l l i g i b l e to the majority of the Indian population. However, following the Congress s p l i t of 1969 and the 1971 gen-e r a l e l e c t i o n the consensus c h a r a c t e r i z i n g India's p o l i t i c a l system, p a r t i c u l a r l y i n government-opposition r e l a t i o n s , broke down. Of the factors that have contributed to t h i s breakdown and to the subsequent dec l a r a t i o n of the state of emergency one can mention the economic c r i s i s , c e n t r a l i z a t i o n of power of Mrs. Gandhi i n the Congress Party and govern-ment and the r o l e of extraparliamentary a g i t a t i o n s which r a i s e d demands f o r c o n s t i t u t i o n a l , p o l i t i c a l , economic and s o c i a l reform. The de c l a r a t i o n of the state of emergency i n June 1975 has had important and far—reaching consequences for the operation of the Indian p o l i t i c a l and c o n s t i t u t i o n a l system. Following the de c l a r a t i o n of emergency, the government of Prime M i n i s t e r I n d i r a Gandhi f e l t i t necessary to propose c e r t a i n changes to the Indian C o n s t i t u t i o n . These proposals were formally approved by the Lok Sabha (India's lower house of Parliament) on November 2, 1976 as the forty-second c o n s t i t u -t i o n a l amendment. The purpose of t h i s study i s to examine the process of c o n s t i t u -t i o n a l change under the emergency and the c o n s t i t u t i o n a l r e v i s i o n debate within the r u l i n g Congress Party and between Congress and the Opposition p a r t i e s . In p a r t i c u l a r , the following questions w i l l be looked at: What were the provisions of the c o n s t i t u t i o n a l amendments? Why were the c o n s t i t u t i o n a l amendments proposed and passed? Were they 5 d e s i g n e d t o l e g i t i m i z e the Congress P a r t y ' s emergency r u l e ? Or were t h e y , as t h e government c l a i m e d , d e s i g n e d t o make t h e C o n s t i t u t i o n a more p e r f e c t i n s t r u m e n t f o r economic and s o c i a l p r o g r e s s ? And, f i n a l l y , what were t h e consequences o f t h e s e c o n s t i t u t i o n a l changes f o r I n d i a ' s c o n s t i t u t i o n a l and p o l i t i c a l system? I n t h e c o u r s e o f t h i s s t u d y t h e f o l l o w i n g h y p o t h e s e s about t h e f r a g i l i t y o f c o n s t i t u t i o n a l government i n I n d i a w i l l be examined: (a) The C o n s t i t u t i o n had i n s u f f i c i e n t s a f e g u a r d s a g a i n s t t h e development o f a u t h o r i t a r i a n r u l e . I t c o n t a i n e d c o n t r a d i c t i o n s b e -tween i t s l i b e r a l d e m o c r a t i c p r o v i s i o n s and t h e p r o v i s i o n s r e l a t i n g t o t h e D i r e c t i v e P r i n c i p l e s o f S t a t e P o l i c y and t h e emergency powers of t h e s t a t e . The b r o a d emergency powers of t h e C o n s t i t u t i o n e n a b l e d Mrs, G a n d h i t o impose a u t h o r i t a r i a n r u l e w i t h o u t o v e r t h r o w i n g t h e e x i s t i n g C o n s t i t u t i o n . (b) The l e g i t i m a c y o f c o n s t i t u t i o n a l government i n I n d i a depends on t h e a c c e p t a n c e o f the r u l e s o f t h e c o n s t i t u t i o n a l and p o l i -t i c a l s y s t e m by t h e government and t h e o p p o s i t i o n p a r t i e s . Where such consensus i s e r o d e d c o n s t i t u t i o n a l government b r e a k s down. The f o l l o w i n g c h a p t e r d i s c u s s e s t h e s e p r e l i m i n a r y a s s e r t i o n s by e x a m i n i n g t h e n a t u r e o f c o n s t i t u t i o n a l government, t h e emergency p r o v i s i o n s o f the C o n s t i t u t i o n and t h e i n i t i a l consensus d u r i n g t h e p e r i o d o f the C o n s t i t u e n t Assembly, 1947-50. C h a p t e r I I I examines two models w h i c h may be o f use i n u n d e r s t a n d i n g t h e r e l a t i o n s h i p b e -tween c o n s t i t u t i o n a l arrangements and t h e p o l i t i c a l s ystem. The a i m i n u s i n g t h e s e models i s t o o b t a i n an i n s i g h t i n t o t h e l e g i t i m a c y o f c o n s t i t u t i o n and i n t o t h e c o n d i t i o n s w h i c h f a v o u r c o n s t i t u t i o n a l 6 government. The a b i l i t y of these models to predict the emergency period is also assessed. Chapter IV looks at the reasons for the breakdown of consensus and the declaration of the state of emergency. Chapter V describes and analyzes the constitutional revision during the emergency period. In the concluding chapter of this thesis, the hypotheses of the introductory chapter are discussed in the light of the descriptive and analytical chapters on the Indian Constitution, the emergency and constitutional revision. 6a CHAPTER I I THE INDIAN CONSTITUTION, 1950-1975 7 I n t h e l i t e r a t u r e on c o n s t i t u t i o n s t h e r e i s w i d e s p r e a d a g r e e -ment t h a t one o f the most i m p o r t a n t c h a r a c t e r i s t i c s o f c o n s t i t u t i o n s i s t h e emphasis t h e y p l a c e on l i m i t e d government. A c c o r d i n g t o one a u t h o r i t y , c o n s t i t u t i o n s a r e " t h o s e c o l l e c t i o n s o f solemn d e c l a r a t i o n s , i d e o l o g i c a l commitments, and c o d i f i e d as w e l l as u n c o d i f i e d r u l e s t h a t i d e n t i f y the s o u r c e s , g o a l s , u s e s , and r e s t r a i n t s on o f f i c i a l power and a r e l a b e l e d by p o l i t i c a l a u t h o r i t i e s as n a t i o n a l c o n s t i t u t i o n s . " " ' " A p r o b l e m a r i s e s , however, when one l o o k s a t t h o s e c o n s t i t u t i o n s w h i c h do n o t r e s t r a i n g o v e r n m e n t a l power even though t h e y may c o n t a i n p r o v i s i o n s w h i c h a r e i n t e n d e d t o do s o . I n t h e s e c a s e s , p o l i t i c a l s c i e n t i s t s have p r e f e r r e d t o l a b e l them ' n o m i n a l ' as opposed t o ' r e a l ' 2 c o n s t i t u t i o n s . The t e s t o f a c o n s t i t u t i o n and c o n s t i t u t i o n a l g o v e r n -ment, t h e r e f o r e , i s t h e e x t e n t t o w h i c h g o v e r n m e n t a l power i s l i m i t e d , i n p r a c t i c e . ' C o n s t i t u t i o n a l government' i m p l i e s t h a t t h e a r b i t r a r y use o f power by t h e government i s checked and t h a t i n d i v i d u a l r i g h t s such as freedom o f s p e e c h , e x p r e s s i o n , a s s e m b l y , and r e l i g i o n a r e g u a r a n t e e d and a dhered t o . A l s o l e g i t i m a t e p r o c e d u r e s a r e e s t a b l i s h e d under w h i c h b o t h the government and the o p p o s i t i o n may o p e r a t e i n t h e p o l i t i c a l s ystem w i t h o u t t h e r e c o u r s e t o f o r c e and o t h e r n o n - c o n s t i -t u t i o n a l methods. Thus t h e r e a r e p r o v i s i o n s f o r the o r d e r l y s u c c e s s i o n o f p o w e r - h o l d e r s t h r o u g h c o m p e t i t i v e d e m o c r a t i c e l e c t i o n s based on u n i v e r s a l a d u l t s u f f r a g e . H a v i n g d e f i n e d c o n s t i t u t i o n s and c o n s t i t u t i o n a l government, i t i s now p o s s i b l e t o examine th e n a t u r e o f c o n s t i t u t i o n a l government i n I n d i a . I n t h e i n t r o d u c t o r y c h a p t e r i t was s u g g e s t e d t h a t t h e I n d i a n 8 C o n s t i t u t i o n , as adopted on J a n u a r y 26, 1950, c o n t a i n e d s e v e r a l i n c o m p a t i b l e p r o v i s i o n s . The p r o v i s i o n s o f t h e C o n s t i t u t i o n g u a r a n -t e e i n g i n d i v i d u a l r i g h t s o f freedom o f s p e e c h , t h e r i g h t o f e q u a l i t y and t h e r i g h t t o p r o p e r t y c o n f l i c t e d w i t h t h e D i r e c t i v e P r i n c i p l e s o f S t a t e P o l i c y o f P a r t IV o f t h e C o n s t i t u t i o n and t h e emergency p r o v i -s i o n s o f P a r t X V I I I . I t was f u r t h e r h y p o t h e s i z e d t h a t t h e l e g i t i m a c y o f c o n s t i t u t i o n a l government i s d i r e c t l y r e l a t e d t o t h e consensus between t h e government and t h e o p p o s i t i o n p a r t i e s . A d i s c u s s i o n o f t h e s e h y p o t h e s e s r e q u i r e s a p r e l i m i n a r y e x a m i n a t i o n o f t h e o b j e c t i v e s o f t h e I n d i a n C o n s t i t u e n t A s sembly, 1947-50 and t h e i n i t i a l consensus o f t h e F r a m e r s . T h i s e x a m i -n a t i o n o f t h e C o n s t i t u e n t Assembly i s p a r t i c u l a r l y r e l e v a n t s i n c e i t was c l a i m e d by c e r t a i n members o f t h e Congress P a r t y d u r i n g t h e emergency t h a t t h e Assembly was u n r e p r e s e n t a t i v e o f I n d i a n s o c i e t y ; and i t was p r o p o s e d t h a t a new assembly s h o u l d be c a l l e d . M o r e o v e r , Mrs. Gandhi argued t h a t t h e measures o f t h e emergency d i d n o t r e p r e s e n t a d e p a r t u r e from t h e c o n s t i t u t i o n a l government e s t a b l i s h e d by t h e Framers o f t h e I n d i a n C o n s t i t u t i o n . I n e x a m i n i n g t h e s e c l a i m s t h e r e p r e s e n t a t i v e n e s s o f t h e C o n s t i t u e n t Assembly w i l l be examined. T h i s w i l l t h e n be f o l -lowed by a d i s c u s s i o n o f t h e i n t e n t i o n s of t h e F r a m e r s . The I n d i a n C o n s t i t u e n t Assembly, 1947-50 The manner i n w h i c h t h e C o n s t i t u e n t Assembly was e l e c t e d c o n t i n u e s t o be a m a t t e r of c o n t r o v e r s y . On t h e one hand i t has been seen as un-r e p r e s e n t a t i v e o f I n d i a n s o c i e t y , w h i l e on t h e o t h e r hand i t has been seen as b r o a d l y r e p r e s e n t a t i v e o f I n d i a n s o c i e t y . I t i s c l e a r t h a t 9 t h e s e c o u n t e r - c l a i m s have i m p o r t a n t i m p l i c a t i o n s f o r t h e l e g i t i m a c y o f t h e C o n s t i t u e n t Assembly. A c c o r d i n g t o B e t t e l h e i m : The Assembly c o n s i s t e d o f 292 e l e c t e d members and 93 r e p r e s e n t a t i v e s o f t h e P r i n c e l y S t a t e s . The e l e c t e d members were s e n t t o t h e C o n s t i t u e n t A ssembly by members o f t h e P r o v i n c i a l L e g i s l a t i v e A s s e m b l i e s , who were t h e m s e l v e s e l e c t e d by t h e v o t e s o f about 20 p e r c e n t o f t h e a d u l t p o p u l a -t i o n , a q u a r t e r o f whose members were n o t even e l e c t e d b u t c l a i m e d t h e i r s e a t s by f e u d a l r i g h t . 3 W h i l e i t i s t r u e t h a t t h e C o n s t i t u e n t Assembly was i n d i r e c t l y e l e c t e d by a m i n o r i t y o f t h e a d u l t p o p u l a t i o n , i t c o u l d a l s o be arg u e d t h a t t h e Assembly was, n e v e r t h e l e s s , b r o a d l y r e p r e s e n t a t i v e o f I n d i a n s o c i e t y . G r a n v i l l e A u s t i n , f o r example, i n h i s s t u d y o f t h e I n d i a n C o n s t i t u t i o n , r e f e r s t o t h e C o n s t i t u e n t Assembly as a 'microcosm 1 of I n d i a . He a t t r i b u t e s t h e r e p r e s e n t a t i v e n e s s o f t h e Assembly t o t h e s p e c i a l r o l e p l a y e d by t h e Congress P a r t y w h i c h was i d e o l o g i c a l l y d i v e r s e , and w h i c h had a b r o a d base o f s u p p o r t t h r o u g h o u t a l l s e c t i o n s of I n d i a s o c i e t y . M o r e o v e r , t h e Congress f o l l o w e d t h e d e l i b e r a t e p o l i c y o f e n s u r i n g t h e e l e c t i o n o f m i n o r i t y groups t o t h e Assembly as 4 w e l l as non-Congress members. There a r e a number o f o t h e r arguments w h i c h s u p p o r t A u s t i n ' s a s s e r t i o n . I n t h e f i r s t p l a c e , t h e f i g u r e s used by B e t t e l h e i m f o r t h e p r o p o r t i o n o f t h e a d u l t p o p u l a t i o n v o t i n g f o r t h e p r o v i n c i a l l e g i s l a t i v e a s s e m b l i e s a r e ave r a g e f i g u r e s . I n some p r o v i n c e s t h e p r o p o r t i o n o f t h e a d u l t p o p u l a t i o n t h a t v o t e d was more t h a n t w e n t y - f o u r p e r cent."* S e c o n d l y , a l t h o u g h t h e P r i n c e l y S t a t e s were g i v e n n i n e t y - t h r e e s e a t s i n 10 t h e C o n s t i t u e n t Assembly by t h e terms o f t h e C a b i n e t M i s s i o n P l a n , t h e method o f s e l e c t i n g t h e s e r e p r e s e n t a t i v e s was l e f t t o c o n s u l t a -t i o n between t h e C o n s t i t u e n t Assembly and t h e P r i n c e l y S t a t e s . Not a l l o f t h e r e p r e s e n t a t i v e s o f t h e P r i n c e l y S t a t e s c l a i m e d t h e i r s e a t s by " f e u d a l r i g h t " ; some were e l e c t e d and even i n c l u d e d members o f t h e Congress P a r t y . ^ M o r e o v e r , i t i s i m p o r t a n t t o n o t e t h a t t h e p r i n c e l y s t a t e o f Hyderabad d i d n o t p a r t i c i p a t e a t a l l i n t h e p r o c e e d i n g s o f the C o n s t i t u e n t A s s e m b l y . W i t h s i x t e e n s e a t s a l l o c a t e d t o them, Hyderabad's r e p r e s e n t a t i v e s would have c o n s t i t u t e d t h e l a r g e s t s i n g l e b l o c o f p r i n c e l y s t a t e members.^ F i n a l l y , w i t h p a r t i t i o n and t h e e x i t o f t h e m a j o r i t y o f M u s l i m League members fr o m t h e C o n s t i t u e n t A s s e m b l y , t h e C o n g r e s s - d o m i n a t e d Assembly was more r a t h e r t h a n l e s s r e p r e s e n t a t i v e o f I n d i a n s o c i e t y . The s o c i a l c o m p o s i t i o n o f C o n s t i t u e n t Assembly members i s o n l y one i n d i c a t i o n o f t h e r e p r e s e n t a t i v e n e s s o f t h e Ass e m b l y . I t i s a l s o n e c e s s a r y t o examine t h e r e p r e s e n t a t i o n o f i n t e r e s t s i n t h e C o n s t i t u e n t A s sembly. A l t h o u g h t h e Assembly was dominated by t h e Congress P a r t y and by c e r t a i n i n d i v i d u a l s s u c h as Nehru, S a r d a r P a t e l and Maulana Azad, i t was p r e p a r e d t o accommodate t h e w i s h e s o f m i n o r i t y g r o u p s . S p e c i a l p r o v i s i o n s were i n c l u d e d i n t h e C o n s t i t u t i o n r e l a t i n g t o t h e o f f i c i a l l a n g u a g e s o f t h e I n d i a n U n i o n and t h e r i g h t s o f m i n o r i t i e s s u c h as t h e s c h e d u l e d c a s t e s and t r i b e s . Thus t h e c o n s t i t u t i o n a l and p o l i t i c a l a rrangements adopted by t h e Assembly r e f l e c t e d t h e b a l a n c e between t h e s e d i f f e r e n t g r o u p s . I n a d d i t i o n t o the r e p r e s e n t a t i v e n e s s o f t h e C o n s t i t u e n t 11 A s s e m b l y , t h e i n t e n t i o n s o f t h e Framers have a l s o a c q u i r e d added s i g n i f i c a n c e w i t h t h e d e c l a r a t i o n o f the s t a t e o f emergency on June 26, 1975. C r i t i c s o f P r i m e M i n i s t e r I n d i r a Gandhi charged t h a t she had worked o u t s i d e t h e s p i r i t o f the C o n s t i t u t i o n , w h i l e M r s . G a n d h i , i n t u r n , c l a i m e d t h a t t h e r e had been no d e v i a t i o n f r o m t h e i n t e n t i o n s o f t h e F r a m e r s . I t i s n e c e s s a r y , t h e r e f o r e , t o examine what the i n t e n t i o n s o f the Framers were. I t must be added t h a t i t i s n o t p o s s i b l e i n t h i s s t u d y t o examine the i n t e n t i o n o f t h e Framers f o r each a r t i c l e o f t h e C o n s t i t u t i o n . C o n t r o v e r s y i n t h e C o n s t i t u e n t A s s e m b l y , f o r example, was p a r t i c u l a r l y marked o v e r t h e i s s u e s o f l a n g u a g e , s e c u l a r i s m and t h e p r o t e c t i o n o f m i n o r i t i e s ; and t h e s e i s s u e s have remained c o n t r o -v e r s i a l s i n c e 1950. B u t of more i m p o r t a n c e h e r e a r e t h o s e i s s u e s t h a t have been thrown i n t o r e l i e f by t h e d e c l a r a t i o n o f t h e s t a t e o f emer-gency i n 1975. These i n c l u d e t h e q u e s t i o n o f what f o r m t h e i n s t i t u t i o n a l s t r u c t u r e s o f t h e I n d i a n p o l i t i c a l s y s t e m s h o u l d t a k e . S h o u l d t h e r e be, f o r i n s t a n c e , a p a r l i a m e n t a r y , f e d e r a l s y s t e m o r a d e c e n t r a l i z e d s y s -tem? A l s o o f i m p o r t a n c e a r e t h e q u e s t i o n o f i n d i v i d u a l r i g h t s and s o c i a l o b j e c t i v e s c o n t a i n e d i n t h e s e c t i o n o f Fundamental R i g h t s and t h e D i r e c t i v e P r i n c i p l e s o f S t a t e P o l i c y , and t h e q u e s t i o n o f t h e emergency p r o v i s i o n s o f t h e I n d i a n C o n s t i t u t i o n . The C o n s t i t u e n t Assembly's p r o c e e d i n g s were marked by a l a r g e measure o f agreement on f u n d a m e n t a l q u e s t i o n s ; and t h e r e a r e many r e a s o n s f o r t h i s b a s i c c o n s e n s u s . The C o n s t i t u e n t Assembly can be s e e n , f i r s t o f a l l , as a c u l m i n a t i o n o f d e b a t e o v e r c o n s t i t u t i o n a l p r o v i s i o n s 12 r a t h e r t h a n as a s t a r t i n g p o i n t . Even b e f o r e t h e Assembly met, t h e Cong r e s s P a r t y had ado p t e d g u i d e l i n e s f o r a f u t u r e c o n s t i t u t i o n a l o r d e r i n the form o f , f o r example, t h e Nehru R e p o r t o f 1928 and t h e K a r a c h i R e s o l u t i o n on Fundamental R i g h t s and Economic and S o c i a l Change o f 1931. The p o l i t i c a l a t t i t u d e s o f assembly members had been shaped by t h e common e x p e r i e n c e o f c o l o n i a l i s m and t h e n a t i o n a l i s t movement. W h i l e t h e y were i n f l u e n c e d by B r i t i s h p a r l i a m e n t a r y demo-c r a c y and t h e 1935 C o n s t i t u t i o n o f I n d i a , t h e Framers were d e t e r m i n e d to p r e v e n t t h e a r b i t r a r y government w h i c h was a f e a t u r e o f t h e c o l o n i a l p e r i o d . Thus t h e r e was a l s o agreement t h a t a new c o n s t i t u t i o n s h o u l d s a f e g u a r d i n d i v i d u a l r i g h t s . The m a j o r i t y o f t h e C o n s t i t u e n t A ssembly's members b e l i e v e d t h a t t h e aims o f l i m i t i n g g o v e r n m e n t a l power, g u a r a n t e e i n g i n d i v i d u a l r i g h t s , and s e c u r i n g economic and s o c i a l p r o g r e s s f o r t h e community c o u l d b e s t be a c h i e v e d t h r o u g h a p a r l i a m e n t a r y s y s t e m o f government based l a r g e l y upon t h e model o f W e s t m i n s t e r b u t i n c o r p o r a t i n g a f e d e r a l s y s t e m t o cope w i t h I n d i a ' s d i v e r s i t y . I t i s c l e a r , however, t h a t t h e s e aims o f g u a r a n t e e i n g i n d i v i -d u a l r i g h t s and s e c u r i n g economic and s o c i a l p r o g r e s s c o n f l i c t e d w i t h each o t h e r . The p r o v i s i o n s o f t h e C o n s t i t u t i o n r e l a t i n g t o t h e Funda-m e n t a l R i g h t s and the D i r e c t i v e P r i n c i p l e s o f S t a t e P o l i c y have been s o u r c e s o f c o n t r o v e r s y s i n c e the a d o p t i o n o f the C o n s t i t u t i o n i n 1950. The d e b a t e s have l a r g e l y c e n t e r e d around t h e f o l l o w i n g q u e s t i o n s : A r e the Fundamental R i g h t s o f t h e C o n s t i t u t i o n a b s o l u t e ? A r e th e y t h e r e -f o r e unamendable by P a r l i a m e n t ? Do the D i r e c t i v e P r i n c i p l e s o f S t a t e P o l i c y t a k e p r e c e d e n c e o v e r t h e Fundamental R i g h t s i n c a s e s where t h e y c l a s h ? 13 The e v i d e n c e from the d e b a t e s o f t h e C o n s t i t u e n t A s s e m b l y shows t h a t t h e Fundamental R i g h t s were n o t t o be a b s o l u t e o r unamendable. P r o v i s o s were a t t a c h e d t o p a r t i c u l a r r i g h t s s u c h as t h e r i g h t o f f r e e s p e e c h where t h e s e r i g h t s c o n f l i c t e d w i t h l a w o r m o r a l i t y . C o ngress governments s i n c e 1950 have t a k e n the p o s i t i o n t h a t t h e f u n d a m e n t a l r i g h t s o f t h e C o n s t i t u t i o n a r e n o t t r a n s c e n d e n t and t h a t t h e r i g h t t o p r o p e r t y and c o m p e n s a t i o n must a t t i m e s be s e c o n d a r y to economic and s o c i a l r e f o r m . They have a l s o a r g u e d t h a t t h e D i r e c t -i v e P r i n c i p l e s o f S t a t e P o l i c y , even though t h e y a r e n o n - j u s t i c i a b l e , s h o u l d i n c e r t a i n c a s e s , s u c h as l a n d r e f o r m and t h e r e d i s t r i b u t i o n o f w e a l t h , t a k e p r e c e d e n c e o v e r t h e Fundamental R i g h t s . I n t h e i r p o l i c i e s o f l a n d r e f o r m t h e c e n t r a l and s t a t e governments f a c e d t h e p r o b l e m o f the amount o f c o m p e n s a t i o n t o be p a i d t o owners o f p r o p e r t y . T h i s was a p a r t i c u l a r p r o b l e m when t h e governments moved t o a b o l i s h i n t e r m e d i a r i e s ( z a m i n d a r s ) , between t h e s t a t e and c u l t i v a t o r s o f l a n d . The g o v e r n -ment t h u s p a s s e d a s e r i e s o f c o n s t i t u t i o n a l amendments w h i c h gave i t t h e a u t h o r i t y t o d e c i d e t h e amount o f c o m p e n s a t i o n t o be p a i d t o owners 9 o f p r o p e r t y . Land r e f o r m laws c o u l d n o t be c h a l l e n g e d on t h e grounds t h a t t h e y were i n c o n s i s t e n t w i t h t h e r i g h t t o p r o p e r t y under A r t i c l e 31 o f t h e C o n s t i t u t i o n . Such l a w s o u t s i d e t h e scope o f j u d i c i a l r e -v i e w were p l a c e d i n t h e N i n t h S c h e d u l e o f t h e C o n s t i t u t i o n . The p r o b l e m o f whether t h e Fundamental R i g h t s were t o be a b s o -l u t e a r o s e n o t o n l y i n t h e d i s c u s s i o n o f i n d i v i d u a l r i g h t s and economic and s o c i a l r e f o r m b u t a l s o i n t h e C o n s t i t u e n t A s s e m b l y ' s d e b a t e s about t h e p o s s i b l e c o n f l i c t between i n d i v i d u a l r i g h t s and t h e emergency powers-o f t h e s t a t e . Here t h e q u e s t i o n was t h e i m p o r t a n t one o f t h e l i m i t s o f 14 c o n s t i t u t i o n a l government i n t i m e s o f emergency. T h i s p r o b l e m i s r a i s e d by Wheare i n h i s d i s c u s s i o n o f t h e f u t u r e o f c o n s t i t u t i o n a l government: P e r h a p s t h e most d i f f i c u l t p r o b l e m t h a t c o n -f r o n t s c o n s t i t u t i o n a l government i n modern t i m e s i s how t o d e f e n d i t s e l f s u c c e s s f u l l y a g a i n s t i t s enemies and s t i l l s u r v i v e . A r e t h e r e c a s e s where a government i s m o r a l l y e n t i t l e d i n o r d e r t o save t h e C o n s t i t u t i o n , t o b r e a k a p a r t o f i t , i n o r d e r t o e n f o r c e what i s good i n t h e c o n s t i t u t i o n t o n e g l e c t what i s bad?; 1 0 The p r o b l e m o f t h e l i m i t s o f c o n s t i t u t i o n a l government can b e s t be examined by l o o k i n g a t the emergency p r o v i s i o n s o f t h e I n d i a n Con-s t i t u t i o n and the i n t e n t i o n s o f t h e Framers when th e y d r a f t e d t h e s e p r o v i s i o n s . Such p r o v i s i o n s a r e i n c l u d e d i n P a r t X V I I I o f t h e C o n s t i t u -t i o n w h i c h s t a t e s t h a t : A P r o c l a m a t i o n o f Emergency d e c l a r i n g t h a t t h e s e c u r i t y o f I n d i a o r o f any p a r t o f t h e t e r r i t o r y t h e r e o f i s t h r e a t e n e d by f/ war o r by e x t e r n a l a g -g r e s s i o n o r by i n t e r n a l d i s t u r b a n c e may be made b e f o r e the a c t u a l o c c u r r e n c e o f war o r o f any s u c h a g g r e s s i o n o r d i s t u r b a n c e i f t h e P r e s i d e n t i s s a t i s f i e d t h a t t h e r e i s imminent danger t h e r e o f . 1 1 Once a s t a t e o f emergency i s d e c l a r e d , P a r l i a m e n t o b t a i n s g r e a t e r powers i n c l u d i n g t h e a u t h o r i t y t o p a s s l a w s on t h e l e g i s l a t i v e s u b j e c t s of t h e S t a t e L i s t o f t h e C o n s t i t u t i o n . P a r t X V I I I o f t h e C o n s t i t u t i o n t h u s p r o v i d e s f o r t h e s u s p e n s i o n o f t h e f e d e r a l s y s tem. The a r t i c l e s on t h e Fundamental R i g h t s may a l s o be suspended i n c l u d i n g 12 t h e c i t i z e n ' s r i g h t s t o c o n s t i t u t i o n a l r e m e d i e s . I n a d d i t i o n t o t h e d e c l a r a t i o n o f a s t a t e o f emergency, t h e P r e s i d e n t may impose ' P r e s i d e n t ' s R u l e ' i n a p a r t i c u l a r s t a t e by i s s u i n g 15 a p r o c l a m a t i o n s u s p e n d i n g the n o r m a l c o n s t i t u t i o n a l arrangements i n 13 t h e s t a t e and assuming t h e f u n c t i o n s o f t h e s t a t e ' s e x e c u t i v e . M o r e o v e r , P a r t X V I I I o f the C o n s t i t u t i o n g i v e s t h e P r e s i d e n t t h e a u t h o r i t y t o i s s u e a p r o c l a m a t i o n o f ' f i n a n c i a l emergency' i n a s i t u a t i o n t h r e a t e n i n g t o t h e f i n a n c i a l s t a b i l i t y o f t h e I n d i a n U n i o n . I t i s i m p o r t a n t t o b e a r i n mind t h e economic, s o c i a l and p o l i t i c a l c o n t e x t i n w h i c h t h e s e emergency p r o v i s i o n s of t h e C o n s t i t u -t i o n were framed. I n p a r t i c u l a r , t h e p roblems o f c o n f l i c t w i t h t h e new s t a t e o f P a k i s t a n , communal b l o o d s h e d i n t h e P u n j a b and B e n g a l , t h e i n t e g r a t i o n o f t h e p r i n c e l y s t a t e s , the t h r e a t o f i n s u r g e n c y i n T e l e n g a n a and N a g a l a n d , famine and a d m i n i s t r a t i v e d i s l o c a t i o n a l l o c c u p i e d the members o f t h e C o n s t i t u e n t Assembly. The F r a m e r s , t h e r e f o r e , i n w r i t i n g the emergency p r o v i s i o n s o f t h e C o n s t i t u t i o n were n o t f a c e d w i t h an a b s t r a c t p o s s i b i l i t y o f c r i s i s b u t a v e r y r e a l danger. A c c o r d i n g l y , t h e y t o o k s t e p s t o r e s e r v e t o t h e s t a t e w i d e -r a n g i n g emergency powers t o d e a l w i t h e x t e r n a l c o n f l i c t and i n t e r n a l d i s t u r b a n c e . There were, however, s a f e g u a r d s i n c l u d e d i n t h e C o n s t i t u t i o n t o l i m i t t h e s e emergency powers. A d e c l a r a t i o n o f emergency under A r t i c l e 352, f o r i n s t a n c e , had t o be a pproved by b o t h houses o f P a r -l i a m e n t w i t h i n two months o f i t s d e c l a r a t i o n . S i m i l a r l y , a d e c l a r a -t i o n o f ' P r e s i d e n t ' s R u l e ' i n a s t a t e w o u l d e x p i r e a t t h e end o f s i x months u n l e s s i t was renewed, and i t c o u l d n o t be renewed f o r more t h a n t h r e e y e a r s . 16 The h y p o t h e s i s o f t h i s t h e s i s i s t h a t t h e s e s a f e g u a r d s were i n a d e q u a t e i n l i m i t i n g t he use o f t h e emergency powers o f t h e Con-s t i t u t i o n . The Framers assumed t h a t a s t a t e o f emergency wou l d be d e c l a r e d o n l y i f . t h e r e was a c l e a r - c u t t h r e a t t o t h e s t a b i l i t y o f the I n d i a n U n i o n . They d i d n o t e n v i s a g e t h e emergency powers b e i n g used by a P r i m e M i n i s t e r i n o r d e r t o r e m a i n i n power. F u r t h e r m o r e , once an emergency i s d e c l a r e d and a p p r o v e d , i t can be c o n t i n u e d i n -d e f i n i t e l y by t h e P r i m e M i n i s t e r r e g a r d l e s s o f whether o r n o t t h e o r i g i n a l r e a s o n s f o r t h e d e c l a r a t i o n o f emergency r e m a i n . The Framers a l s o d i d n o t e n v i s a g e t h e emergency powers b e i n g used by t h e government t o p e r m a n e n t l y a l t e r t h e C o n s t i t u t i o n . P a r t X V I I I o f t h e C o n s t i t u t i o n c o n t a i n e d opportunities t h e r e f o r e , f o r t h e n e g a t i o n o f c o n s t i t u t i o n a l government. I n summary, t h e p r o c e e d i n g s o f t h e C o n s t i t u e n t Assembly were marked by a l a r g e measure o f consensus as t o t h e f e d e r a l and p a r l i a -mentary i n s t i t u t i o n a l framework o f t h e I n d i a n R e p u b l i c , t h e g u a r a n -t e e i n g o f i n d i v i d u a l r i g h t s and t h e s t a t e m e n t o f t h e economic, s o c i a l and p o l i t i c a l o b j e c t i v e s t o be f o l l o w e d by f u t u r e governments. A g r e e -ment was a l s o r e a c h e d on t h e need f o r e x t r a o r d i n a r y p r o v i s i o n s t o be used i n t i m e s o f emergency a r i s i n g o u t o f e x t e r n a l a g g r e s s i o n o r i n -t e r n a l d i s t u r b a n c e . I t was s u g g e s t e d t h a t t h i s consensus was p a r t l y due t o t h e f a c t t h a t t h e Congress P a r t y had a l r e a d y hammered o u t p a r t o f i t s p r o p o s a l s f o r t h e C o n s t i t u t i o n d u r i n g t h e independence movement. A l s o t h e C o n g r e s s - d o m i n a t e d C o n s t i t u e n t Assembly was p r e p a r e d t o a c -commodate t h e w i s h e s o f m i n o r i t y g r o u p s . 17 N e v e r t h e l e s s , t h e C o n s t i t u t i o n as a d o p t e d on J a n u a r y 26, 1950 c o n t a i n e d a u t h o r i t a r i a n as w e l l as l i b e r a l d e m o c r a t i c f e a t u r e s . I t l i m i t e d i n d i v i d u a l r i g h t s such as freedom o f s p e e c h , t h e r i g h t t o p r o p e r t y and the r i g h t t o c o n s t i t u t i o n a l r e m e d i e s . W i t h r e f e r e n c e t o t h e e a r l i e r h y p o t h e s i s t h a t t h e C o n s t i t u t i o n c o n t a i n e d i n s u f f i c i e n t s a f e g u a r d s a g a i n s t t h e development o f a u t h o r i t a r i a n r u l e , i t has been shown t h a t the emergency p r o v i s i o n s were b r o a d and a n t i t h e t i c a l t o l i m i t e d government. The p r o b l e m o f how t o e n s u r e t h a t a s t a t e o f emergency remained o n l y temporary was l e f t u n r e s o l v e d by t h e Framers. CHAPTER I I I KOTHARI 1S MODEL OF ONE-PARTY DOMINANCE AND THE MARXIST MODEL OF CLASS CONFLICT 18 The p r e c e d i n g c h a p t e r examined t h e consensus o f t h e C o n s t i t u e n t A ssembly and the l i m i t s t o i n d i v i d u a l r i g h t s and c o n s t i t u t i o n a l g o v e r n -ment c o n t a i n e d i n the I n d i a n C o n s t i t u t i o n . T h i s e x a m i n a t i o n must be supplemented by an a n a l y s i s o f t h e s o c i a l and p o l i t i c a l r e a l i t i e s w h i c h g i v e e f f e c t t o t h e f o r m a l p r o v i s i o n s o f t h e C o n s t i t u t i o n o r change them. I n o t h e r words, a d i s c u s s i o n i s r e q u i r e d o f t h e s o c i a l and p o l i t i c a l c o n d i t i o n s f a v o u r i n g c o n s t i t u t i o n a l government i n I n d i a . The f o l l o w i n g c h a p t e r r e l a t e s I n d i a ' s l e g a l and c o n s t i t u t i o n a l a rrangements t o t h e i r p o l i t i c a l c o n t e x t s by e x a m i n i n g K o t h a r i ' s model o f o n e - p a r t y dominance and the M a r x i s t model. I n p a r t i c u l a r , t h i s e x a m i n a t i o n has two main aims: f i r s t , t o i n q u i r e as t o how e f f e c t i v e t h e s e models a r e i n t h e i r d e s c r i p t i o n and a n a l y s i s o f I n d i a ' s p o l i t i c a l and c o n s t i t u t i o n a l system between 1947 and 1975; and, s e c o n d l y , t o d i s -c o v e r whether t h e s e models may h e l p us t o u n d e r s t a n d t h e c r i s i s c u l m i -n a t i n g i n t h e d e c l a r a t i o n o f t h e s t a t e o f emergency i n June 1975. I n u s i n g t h e s e m odels, however, i t i s i m p o r t a n t t o n o t e t h e l i m i -t a t i o n s o f m o d e l s. Models n e c e s s a r i l y i n v o l v e the s i m p l i f i c a t i o n and a b s t r a c t i o n o f the s o c i a l s y s t e m and can t h e r e f o r e be c r i t i c i z e d f o r f a i l i n g t o i n c l u d e o t h e r i m p o r t a n t c h a r a c t e r i s t i c s o f t h e s o c i a l and p o l i t i c a l s ystems. B u t by a b s t r a c t i o n and a n a l o g y t h e y e n a b l e us t o d e l i n e a t e t h e r e l e v a n t c h a r a c t e r i s t i c s o f a s o c i a l and p o l i t i c a l s y s t e m i n o r d e r t o e x p l a i n i t s o p e r a t i o n . The p r o b l e m , t h e n , i s i n how f a r t h e s e models a c c u r a t e l y c o r r e s p o n d t o the s o c i a l and p o l i t i c a l r e a l i t y t h e y seek t o e x p l a i n . The r e l a t i v e s t a b i l i t y o f t h e I n d i a n c o n s t i t u t i o n a l and p o l i t i c a l 19 s y s t e m r e c e i v e d i t s t h e o r e t i c a l a r t i c u l a t i o n i n t h e e a r l y 1960s by a number o f s o c i a l t h e o r i s t s who sought t o e x p l a i n i t w i t h r e f e r e n c e t o t h e i m p o r t a n t r o l e o f t h e I n d i a n N a t i o n a l C o n g r e s s . Of t h e s e t h e most i m p o r t a n t were R a j n i K o t h a r i and W.H. Morris-Jones."'" K o t h a r i ' s c o n s e n s u a l model o f o n e - p a r t y dominance r e c e i v e d t h e most academic a t t e n t i o n b u t i t i s i m p o r t a n t t o n o t e t h a t h i s model was n o t e x c l u s i -v e l y c o n c e r n e d w i t h an e x a m i n a t i o n o f I n d i a ' s p a r t y system. R a t h e r , K o t h a r i was c o n c e r n e d w i t h e x p l a i n i n g why c e r t a i n i n s t i t u t i o n a l a r r a n -gements have d e v e l o p e d i n I n d i a and why p a r t i c u l a r economic, s o c i a l and p o l i t i c a l s t r a t e g i e s have been f o l l o w e d by t h e I n d i a n e l i t e . K o t h a r i argued t h a t t h e e l i t e ' s i d e n t i f i c a t i o n o f t h e p roblems o f I n d i a n economic, s o c i a l , and p o l i t i c a l development has l e d them t o f o l l o w p a r t i c u l a r s t r a t e g i e s o u t o f w h i c h has a r i s e n a d i s t i n c t i v e I n d i a n model o f development. A t independence t h e c h a l l e n g e f a c i n g t h e p o l i t i c a l e l i t e c o n s i s t e d o f p o l i t i c a l l y i n t e g r a t i n g I n d i a and a l s o c a r r y i n g o u t f o r m i d a b l e t a s k s o f economic and s o c i a l development. These t a s k s , however, c o u l d o n l y be c a r r i e d o u t by means o f a p o l i t i c a l framework c r e a t i n g c o n s e n s u s . F i r s t , g i v e n i t s g r e a t d i v e r s i t y and p o l y c e n t r i c c h a r a c t e r and i t s v e r y young age as a u n i f i e d p o l i t y , t h e framework o f i n t e g r a t i o n can be p r o -v i d e d o n l y t h r o u g h a d e m o c r a t i c o r d e r . ( I n I n d i a democracy i s n o t m e r e l y a m a t t e r o f p r e f e r e n c e and v a l u e ; i t i s a l s o a n e c e s s i t y . ) Second, however, t h e a b i l i t y o f t h e d e m o c r a t i c o r d e r t o p r o v i d e an i n t e g r a t i v e framework t o a h i g h l y segmented s o c i e t y depends on a s t r u c t u r e o f r e c o n c i l i a t i o n and m o b i l i z a t i o n o f e nergy f o r i t a t v a r i o u s l e v e l s t h a t i s p r o v i d e d by an a l l - e n c o m p a s s i n g p a r t y o f c o n s e n s u s — c o v e r i n g a l l r e g i o n s and s e c t i o n s o f s o c i e t y . 2 20 Above a l l , K o t h a r i ' s aim i s t o a c h i e y e c o m p r e h e n s i v e n e s s i n d e s c r i b i n g and a n a l y z i n g I n d i a n s o c i a l r e a l i t y and t o v i s u a l i z e t h e d i f f e r e n t p a r t s o f t h a t r e a l i t y as a c o n n e c t e d w h o l e , as a " b a s i c 3 system". I t i s w o r t h w h i l e , t h e n , t o examine t h e n a t u r e o f t h i s " b a s i c system" and t o see whether i t i s an a c c u r a t e d e s c r i p t i o n and a n a l y s i s o f a s p e c t s o f I n d i a ' s economic, s o c i a l and p o l i t i c a l s y s t e m f r o m 1947 t o 1975. I n K o t h a r i ' s model t h e c o m p e t i t i v e o n e - p a r t y dominance system c o n s i s t s o f a ' p a r t y o f c o n s e n s u s ' and v a r i o u s ' p a r t i e s o f p r e s s u r e ' . The c e n t r a l p o s i t i o n i n t h i s model i s c l e a r l y o c c u p i e d by t h e I n d i a n N a t i o n a l C o n g r e s s . K o t h a r i f i r s t o f a l l n o t e s t h e o r i g i n s o f t h e Congress P a r t y and t h e n d e s c r i b e s how i t has been a b l e t o t r a n s f o r m i t s " h i s t o r i c a l l e g i t i m a c y " , d e r i v e d f r o m i t s r o l e i n t h e independence movement, t o a " l e g i t i m a c y i n t h e p r e s e n t " . ^ I t was a b l e t o a c h i e v e t h i s " l e g i t i m a c y i n the p r e s e n t " t h r o u g h i t s mass base and s u p p o r t c o v e r i n g a l l r e g i o n s and segments o f t h e p o p u l a t i o n ; t h r o u g h i t s f l e x i b l e i d e o l o g i c a l p o s i t i o n s ; t h r o u g h c o n t i n u o u s g o v e r n m e n t a l c o n t r o l a t t h e c e n t r e and i n t h e m a j o r i t y o f t h e s t a t e s , and t h r o u g h i t s a b i l i t y t o s e c u r e consensus w i t h i n Congress i t s e l f and between Congress and non-Congress p a r t i e s . K o t h a r i a l s o s t r e s s e s t h e i m -p o r t a n c e o f t h e l e a d e r s h i p o f the C o n g r e s s , p a r t i c u l a r l y o f Nehru and o t h e r " t a l l men", and t h e growth o f a number o f i n s t i t u t i o n s and c o n v e n t i o n s r e s p o n s i b l e f o r b l u n t i n g c o n f l i c t , f a c t i o n a l i s m and t h e s o u r c e s o f c l e a v a g e i n t h e c o u n t r y as a w h o l e . I n K o t h a r i ' s model advances a r e made i n t h e d e s c r i p t i o n and 21 a n a l y s i s of t h e r e l a t i o n s h i p between t h e dominant p a r t y and t h e p a r t i e s o f p r e s s u r e and i n t h e e f f e c t of g o v e r n m e n t a l power on t h e s t r u c t u r i n g and s u r v i v a l o f p a r t i e s . K o t h a r i ' s model i s p a r t l y a r e s p o n s e t o t r a -d i t i o n a l t y p o l o g i e s o f p a r t y systems based on t h e e x p e r i e n c e o f w e s t e r n p o l i t i c a l p a r t i e s . The p l u r a l i s t i c model w h i c h a t t r i b u t e s t h e m a i n t e -nance o f democracy t o t h e e x i s t e n c e o f an e f f e c t i v e t w o - p a r t y c o m p e t i -t i v e s y s t e m i s o b v i o u s l y i n a d e q u a t e i n e x p l a i n i n g t h e w o r k i n g s of t h e I n d i a n p o l i t i c a l s ystem. I n d i a n democracy f u n c t i o n e d between 1947 and 1975 w i t h one p a r t y h a v i n g a v i r t u a l monopoly o f power a t t h e c e n t r e and i n most of t h e s t a t e s . K o t h a r i ' s model a c c o u n t s f o r t h e m a intenance o f democracy by l o o k i n g a t t h e p e c u l i a r n a t u r e o f t h e s y s t e m i c r e l a -t i o n s h i p between t h e p a r t y o f c onsensus and t h e p a r t i e s o f p r e s s u r e . He a r g u e s t h a t t h i s i n t e r a c t i o n between t h e p a r t i e s has m a i n t a i n e d t h e open d e m o c r a t i c s y s t e m . I n h i s a n a l y s i s o f t h i s i n t e r a c t i o n , K o t h a r i i n t r o d u c e s t h e i m p o r t a n t c o n c e p t o f a 'margin o f p r e s s u r e ' between t h e Congress and non-Congress p a r t i e s . T h i s m a r g i n o f p r e s s u r e has a c r u c i a l f u n c t i o n i n m a i n t a i n i n g t h e r e s p o n s i v e n e s s o f t h e C o n g r e s s P a r t y . I n s i d e t h e m a r g i n a r e v a r i o u s f a c t i o n s w i t h i n t h e p a r t y o f c o n s e n s u s . O u t s i d e t h e m a r g i n a r e s e v e r a l o p p o s i t i o n groups and p a r t i e s , d i s s i d e n t groups and i m p o r t a n t i n d i v i d u a l s . These groups o u t s i d e t h e m a r g i n do n o t c o n -s t i t u t e a l t e r n a t i v e s t o t h e r u l i n g p a r t y . T h e i r r o l e i s t o c o n s t a n t l y p r e s s u r i z e , c r i -t i c i z e , c e n s u r e and i n f l u e n c e i t by i n f l u e n c -i n g o p i n i o n and i n t e r e s t s i n s i d e t h e m a r g i n and, above a l l , e x e r t a l a t e n t t h r e a t t h a t i f t h e r u l i n g group s t r a y s away t o o f a r f r o m t h e b a l a n c e of e f f e c t i v e p u b l i c o p i n i o n , and i f t h e f a c t i o n a l s ystem w i t h i n i t i s n o t m o b i l i z e d 22 t o r e s t o r e t h e b a l a n c e , i t w i l l b e d i s p l a c e d f r o m p o w e r b y t h e o p p o s i t i o n g r o u p s . I n s u m m a r y , t h i s e x p o s i t i o n o f K o t h a r i ' s m o d e l o f o n e - p a r t y d o m i n a n c e h a s o u t l i n e d t h e a p p r o a c h t h a t h e u s e s i n o r d e r t o e x p l a i n c o m p r e h e n s i v e l y t h e o p e r a t i o n o f I n d i a ' s e c o n o m i c , s o c i a l a n d p o l i t i -c a l s y s t e m s i n t h e p o s t - i n d e p e n d e n c e p e r i o d . I n t h e c o u r s e o f h i s a n a l y s i s h e h a s p l a c e d s p e c i a l e m p h a s i s o n t h e r o l e o f e l i t e s , t h e C o n g r e s s P a r t y a n d p a r t i e s o f p r e s s u r e i n s e c u r i n g c o n s e n s u s a n d m a i n t a i n i n g t h e l e g i t i m a c y o f t h e c o n s t i t u t i o n a l a n d p o l i t i c a l s y s t e m . I n t h e M a r x i s t m o d e l , h o w e v e r , t h e r e l a t i v e s t a b i l i t y o f I n d i a ' s c o n s t i t u t i o n a l a n d p o l i t i c a l s y s t e m i s e x p l a i n e d w i t h r e f -e r e n c e t o t h e c o r r e l a t i o n o f c l a s s f o r c e s i n I n d i a . T h e o u t c o m e o f t h e s t r u g g l e s b e t w e e n t h e v a r i o u s c l a s s e s o f I n d i a n s o c i e t y d e t e r m i n e s t h e i n s t i t u t i o n a l f o r m s o f t h e c o n s t i t u t i o n a l a n d p o l i t i c a l s y s t e m . T h e q u e s t i o n a r i s e s o f w h e t h e r s u c h a m e t h o d c a n b e u s e d t o e x p l a i n a s p e c t s o f I n d i a ' s e c o n o m i c , s o c i a l a n d p o l i t i c a l s y s t e m s b e t w e e n 1 9 4 7 a n d 1 9 7 5 a n d t h e l e g a l a n d p o l i t i c a l t r a n s f o r m a t i o n s t h a t h a v e t a k e n p l a c e d u r i n g t h e s a m e p e r i o d . I n p a r t i c u l a r w h a t i n s i g h t s c a n b e o b t a i n e d b y r e l a t i n g I n d i a n l e g a l a n d p o l i t i c a l c h a n g e s t o t h e u n d e r l y i n g e c o n o m i c s t r u c t u r e o f s o c i e t y w i t h i t s s t r u g g l e b e t w e e n c l a s s e s ? I t w o u l d b e u s e f u l , f i r s t o f a l l , t o e x a m i n e h o w t h e M a r x i s t a p p r o a c h h a s b e e n a p p l i e d t o I n d i a n s o c i e t y . T h e s e a n a l y s e s a r e t y p i f i e d b y t h e w r i t i n g s o f M a r x i s t s s u c h a s K a t h l e e n G o u g h , H a r i P . S h a r m a , M e g h n a d D e s a l , a n d C h a r l e s B e t t E l h e i m a s w e l l a s t h e a n a l y s e s 23 made o f t h e I n d i a n s i t u a t i o n b y .the I n d i a n communist p a r t i e s t h e m s e l v e s . M a r x i s t a n a l y s e s d i f f e r w i d e l y i n t h e i r d e s c r i p t i o n s o f I n d i a n s o c i e t y , i n t h e i r c h a r a c t e r i z a t i o n o f c l a s s f o r m a t i o n and c l a s s s t r u g g l e and hence i n t h e c o n c l u s i o n s t h a t t h e y r e a c h . These d i f f e r e n c e s , f u r -t h e r m o r e , r e f l e c t t h e v a r y i n g i d e o l o g i c a l p o s i t i o n s t a k e n by t h e I n d i a n communist p a r t i e s and by o t h e r M a r x i s t and n e o - M a r x i s t a n a l y s e s , b u t t h e y do s h a r e f u n d a m e n t a l p o i n t s o f agreement. They a l l , f o r i n s t a n c e , t a k e Marx's t h e o r e t i c a l a s s e r t i o n o f t h e r e l a t i o n s h i p between economic s t r u c t u r e and s o c i a l c o n s c i o u s n e s s as t h e s t a r t i n g p o i n t o f t h e i r method. I n p l a c i n g t h e s t r u g g l e f o r independence i n i t s h i s t o r i c a l p e r -s p e c t i v e , most M a r x i s t s argue t h a t t h e independence movement c o n s t i t u t e d a ' b o u r g e o i s - d e m o c r a t i c r e v o l u t i o n ' . I t was, t h e y b e l i e v e , e s s e n t i a l l y a s t r u g g l e between, on t h e one hand, t h e I n d i a n b o u r g e o i s i e and, on t h e o t h e r , B r i t i s h c o l o n i a l i s m and i t s l o c a l a l l i e s , t h e f e u d a l I n d i a n p r i n c e s . I n t h i s s t r u g g l e , the p o l i t i c a l e x p r e s s i o n o f t h e I n d i a n b o u r g e o i s i e , t h e I n d i a n N a t i o n a l C o n g r e s s , succeeded i n f o r m i n g a b r o a d -based movement of d i f f e r e n t c l a s s e s opposed t o c o l o n i a l i s m . D e s p i t e t h e p o p u l a r b a s i s o f t h e movement, however, p o l i t i c a l c o n t r o l remained i n t h e hands o f t h e b o u r g e o i s i e . The C o n s t i t u e n t A s s e m b l y , c h a r g e d w i t h t h e d r a f t i n g o f a new c o n s t i t u t i o n , was u n r e p r e s e n t a t i v e o f I n d i a n s o c i e t y as a whole and was e l e c t e d i n d i r e c t l y by p r o v i n c i a l l e g i s l a t i v e a s s e m b l i e s . The p r o v i n c i a l l e g i s l a t i v e a s s e m b l i e s were t h e m s e l v e s dominated by urban and r u r a l l a n d o w n i n g i n t e r e s t s . Thus f o r M a r x i s t s t h e p o l i t i c a l i n s t i t u t i o n s c r e a t e d by t h e v i c t o r i o u s b o u r g e o i s i e d u r i n g t h e p e r i o d o f t h e C o n s t i t u e n t A s s e m b l y , 24 1947-50, were b o u r g e o i s i n s t i t u t i o n s — a b o u r g e o i s r e p u b l i c w i t h a f e d e r a l s y s t e m and p a r l i a m e n t a r y democracy based on u n i v e r s a l a d u l t s u f f r a g e , f r e e e l e c t i o n s and t h e g u a r a n t e e d r i g h t s o f i n d i v i d u a l s . Thus a c c o r d i n g t o M a r x i s t s , t h e i n s t i t u t i o n a l forms o f t h e s t a t e r e f l e c t e d t he i n t e r e s t s o f t h e dominant c l a s s at~ i n d e p endence. A l t h o u g h t h e y a g r e e on t h e h i s t o r i c a l i m p o r t a n c e o f t h e I n d i a n b o u r g e o i s i e , M a r x i s t s d i f f e r i n t h e i r a n a l y s e s o f t h e r e l a t i o n s h i p be-tween t h i s c l a s s and t h e o t h e r c l a s s e s o f I n d i a n s o c i e t y . The p r o b l e m c e n t e r s on the q u e s t i o n o f how f a r the I n d i a n R e p u b l i c can be termed a ' c a p i t a l i s t s t a t e ' when t h e m a j o r i t y o f t h e p o p u l a t i o n i s n o t engaged i n c a p i t a l i s t a c t i v i t y b u t f e u d a l o r s e m i - f e u d a l a g r i c u l t u r e ? M a r x i s t s p o i n t o u t , however, t h a t a l t h o u g h t h e c a p i t a l i s t mode o f p r o d u c t i o n has e x i s t e d s i d e by s i d e w i t h f e u d a l o r s e m i - f e u d a l modes o f p r o d u c t i o n , o n l y one, t h e c a p i t a l i s t mode, has been dominant i n I n d i a s i n c e i n d e -pendence.^ And i t has been t h i s dominant mode o f p r o d u c t i o n w h i c h has been r e s p o n s i b l e f o r a l t e r i n g economic and s o c i a l r e l a t i o n s i n t h e c o u n t r y s i d e . M o r e o v e r , t h e c o n s t i t u t i o n i n c l u d e s i n P a r t XX, f i n a n c i a l , p r o p e r t y , c o n t r a c t and s u i t r e l a t i o n s t h a t a r e c h a r a c t e r i s t i c o f a g c a p i t a l i s t framework. A f t e r independence Congress governments u n d e r t o o k programmes o f l a n d r e f o r m w h i c h had the e f f e c t o f a b o l i s h i n g t h e ' z a m i n d a r i ' s y s t e m , s i m p l i f y i n g l a n d t e n u r e r e l a t i o n s and e n c o u r a g i n g c a p i t a l i s m i n a g r i -c u l t u r e . A t t h e same ti m e t h e r e d e v e l o p e d a c l a s s o f l a r g e landowners and r i c h p e a s a n t s who engaged i n c a p i t a l i s t f a r m i n g and who c o n s o l i d a t e d t h e i r economic and hence s o c i a l and p o l i t i c a l power i n t h e r u r a l a r e a s . 25 The M a r x i s t e c o n o m i s t Meghnad D e s a i w r i t e s t h a t " t h e I n d i a n economy i s by no means f u l l y c a p i t a l i s t . N e a r l y 75 p e r c e n t o f t h e p o p u l a t i o n i s engaged i n a g r i c u l t u r e , w h i c h r e m a i n s p r e d o m i n a n t l y p r e - c a p i t a l i s t i n c h a r a c t e r , stamped by f e u d a l and c u s t o m a r y r e l a t i o n s . However, c a p i t a l i s t r e l a t i o n s o f exchange and e x p l o i t a t i o n have now a c h i e v e d a s i g n i f i c a n t p e n e t r a t i o n o f t h e r u r a l s e c t o r , e s p e c i a l l y i n the more 9 advanced r e g i o n s . " . T h i s s t r e n g t h e n i n g o f c a p i t a l i s t r e l a t i o n s i n I n d i a i s s i m i l a r t o t h e h i s t o r i c a l p r o c e s s n o t e d by Marx i n F r a n c e when th e b o u r g e o i s i e , from the t i m e o f t h e F r e n c h R e v o l u t i o n o f 1789 onwards, a t t a c k e d f e u d a l i s m and t r a n s f o r m e d p r o p e r t y r e l a t i o n s . I n The C i v i l War i n F r a n c e , he d e s c r i b e d t h e h i s t o r i c a l m i s s i o n o f the b o u r g e o i s i e and i t s s t a t e i n o v e r t u r n i n g f e u d a l i s m . The c e n t r a l i s e d s t a t e power, w i t h i t s u b i q u i t o u s o rgans o f s t a n d i n g army, p o l i c e , b u r e a u c r a c y , c l e r g y , and j u d i c a t u r e - o r g a n s wrought a f t e r t h e p l a n o f a s y s t e m a t i c and h i e r a r c h i c d i v i s i o n o f l a b o u r — o r i g i n a t e s from t h e days o f a b s o l u t e monarchy, s e r v i n g m i d d l e - c l a s s s o c i e t y as a m i g h t y weapon i n i t s s t r u g g l e a g a i n s t f e u d a l i s m . S t i l l , i t s development remained c l o g g e d by a l l manner o f m e d i e v a l r u b b i s h , s e i g n o r i a l r i g h t s , l o c a l p r i v i l e g e s , m u n i c i p a l and g u i l d m o n o p o l i e s and p r o v i n c i a l c o n s t i t u t i o n s . The g i g a n t i c broom o f t h e F r e n c h R e v o l u t i o n o f t h e e i g h t e e n t h c e n t u r y swept away a l l t h e s e r e l i c s o f bygone t i m e s , t h u s c l e a r i n g s i m u l t a n e o u s l y t h e s o c i a l s o i l o f i t s l a s t h i n d r a n c e s t o t h e s u p e r s t r u c t u r e of t h e modern s t a t e e d i f i c e r a i s e d under t h e F i r s t E m p i r e . . P o s t - i n d e p e n d e n c e I n d i a , o f c o u r s e , d i f f e r s i n i m p o r t a n t r e s p e c t s from e i g h t e e n t h and n i n e t e e n t h c e n t u r y F r a n c e . T h i s i s t r u e n o t o n l y f o r t h e i r d i f f e r e n t economic, s o c i a l and p o l i t i c a l s t r u c t u r e s b u t a l s o i n t h e n a t u r e o f the b o u r g e o i s r e v o l u t i o n s i n t h e two epochs. Whereas 26 Marx r e f e r s t o t h e F r e n c h R e v o l u t i o n as a " g i g a n t i c broom" i n c l e a r i n g away f e u d a l i s m , t h e I n d i a n " b o u r g e o i s r e v o l u t i o n " can h a r d l y be seen as a " g i g a n t i c broom." I n d e e d , some M a r x i s t s s u c h as D e s a i a t t r i b u t e t he weakness o f c a p i t a l i s t development i n I n d i a s i n c e i n d e -pendence and t h e p o s t - 1 9 7 1 economic and p o l i t i c a l c r i s i s t o t h e c o n -s t r a i n t s p l a c e d upon t h e c a p i t a l i s t mode o f p r o d u c t i o n by t h e r e s i l i e n t f e u d a l o r s e m i - f e u d a l s e c t o r s o f t h e economy. The c a p i t a l i s t s e c t o r has been u n a b l e t o r a i s e s u f f i c i e n t i n t e r n a l economic s u r p l u s e s f o r growth because o f i t s i n a b i l i t y t o t r a n s f o r m e n t i r e l y t h e r u r a l s e c t o r . D e s p i t e t h e p r o g r e s s made, t h e r e i s as y e t no n a t i o n a l market and c a p i t a l i s t development has been uneven r e g i o n a l l y . Hence the r a t e o f growth r e m a i n s low; l e a d i n g some M a r x i s t s t o d e s c r i b e what t h e y see 11 as the c o n t r a d i c t i o n s o f s l o w c a p i t a l i s t development. I n t h e M a r x i s t a n a l y s i s , t h e p o l i t i c a l s t a b i l i t y o f p o s t - i n d e -pendence I n d i a has been a f u n c t i o n o f c l a s s r e l a t i o n s . The r e l a t i v e s t a b i l i t y o f I n d i a has r e f l e c t e d t h e c o n s o l i d a t i o n o f t h e a l l i a n c e between t h e b i g and m i d d l e b o u r g e o i s i e , p e t t y b o u r g e o i s i e , b i g l a n d -owners and r i c h p e a s a n t s d u r i n g t h e 1950s and 1960s. W i t h t h i s c o n s o -l i d a t i o n t h e r e has been a c o n c o m i t a n t growth i n the power o f t h e I n d i a n s t a t e — t h e armed f o r c e s , p a r a m i l i t a r y f o r c e s , p o l i c e , i n t e l l i g e n c e s e r v i c e s , b u r e a u c r a c y and j u d i c i a r y — w h i c h has d i r e c t l y a f f e c t e d t h e c a p a c i t y o f s u b o r d i n a t e c l a s s e s t o c h a l l e n g e t h e power o f t h e r u l i n g c l a s s e s . The c o n s o l i d a t i o n o f t h e power o f t h e r u l i n g c l a s s e s r e -f l e c t e d , as a c o r o l l a r y , t h e weakness o f t h e main t h r e a t s t o t h e r u l i n g c l a s s e s — n a m e l y , t h e w o r k i n g c l a s s and t h e p e a s a n t r y . To t h i s weakness 27 o f t h e p r o l e t a r i a t and t h e p e a s a n t r y must be added t h e f r a g m e n t a t i o n o f t h e i r p o l i t i c a l and s o c i a l o r g a n i z a t i o n s . S e c t a r i a n f r a g m e n t a t i o n has o f t e n been marked as shown, f o r example, by t h e s p l i t o f t h e I n d i a n Communist P a r t y i n t h e e a r l y 1960s i n t o t h r e e d i f f e r e n t , o f t e n h o s t i l e , p a r t i e s . A c o m p a r i s o n o f t h e M a r x i s t a p p r o a c h and t h a t o f K o t h a r i ' s shows t h a t t h e y d i f f e r s i g n i f i c a n t l y i n t h e i r a c c o u n t s o f t h e r e a s o n s f o r the s t a b i l i t y and l e g i t i m a c y o f I n d i a ' s c o n s t i t u t i o n a l and p o l i t i c a l s y s t e m s i n c e 1950. I n the M a r x i s t model o f c l a s s c o n f l i c t and K o t h a r i ' s model o f o n e - p a r t y dominance we have two d i f f e r e n t t r e a t m e n t s o f s t a b i l i t y and c o n f l i c t . The M a r x i s t model te n d s t o s t r e s s c l a s s s t r u g g l e and c o n t r a d i c t i o n s w h i l e K o t h a r i ' s model te n d s t o s t r e s s s t a b i l i t y , c o n -t i n u i t y and harmony. K o t h a r i ' s model i s c o n c e r n e d w i t h ' i n c r e m e n t a l r e v o l u t i o n ' i n w h i c h the c o n s t i t u t i o n a l and p o l i t i c a l s y s t e m a s s i m -12 i l a t e s the f o r c e s o f change i n I n d i a n s o c i e t y . T h i s p i c t u r e d i f f e r s f r om t h a t o f t h e M a r x i s t model w h i c h i s c o n c e r n e d w i t h w h o l e s a l e and v i o l e n t r e v o l u t i o n a r y p r o c e s s e s . K o t h a r i ' s s t r e s s on c o n t i n u i t y and s t a b i l i t y r e f l e c t s t o a l a r g e degree t h e f u n c t i o n a l i s t method t h a t he u s e s . But f u n c t i o n a l i s t t h e o r y can be c r i t i c i z e d f o r i t s a s s u m p t i o n t h a t ' e q u i l i b r i u m ' i s the n o r m a l s t a t e o f s o c i e t y and f o r i t s a s s u m p t i o n t h a t e l e m e n t s o f a s o c i a l o r d e r t e n d a u t o m a t i c a l l y t o m a i n t a i n t h e 'system.' The n o r m a l s t a t e o f t h e I n d i a n s o c i a l and p o l i t i c a l s y s t e m , however, p r o b a b l y l i e s between t h e two e x t r e m e s o f s t a b i l i t y and c o n f l i c t . K o t h a r i ' s model, f o r example, may be more a p p l i c a b l e t o t h e p e r i o d 28 o f o n e - p a r t y dominance between 1950 and 1967 t h a n t o t h e p e r i o d a f t e r 1967. B e f o r e 1967 t h e l e g i t i m a c y o f the c o n s t i t u t i o n a l and p o l i t i c a l s y s t e m was m a i n t a i n e d by t h e mechanisms o f c o n s e n s u s . As a r e s u l t o f the o p e r a t i o n o f the 'margin o f p r e s s u r e ' , t h e government r e m a i n e d r e s p o n s i v e t o the v i e w s o f t h e o p p o s i t i o n p a r t i e s . The i n f l u e n c e o f o p p o s i t i o n p a r t i e s such as t h e P r a j a S o c i a l i s t s was t h u s g r e a t e r t h a n t h e i r s m a l l s i z e i n t h e Lok Sabha. C l a s s d i v i s i o n s i n I n d i a d u r i n g t h i s p e r i o d were c o n d i t i o n e d by o t h e r s o c i a l c l e a v a g e s s u c h as c a s t e , e t h n i c , r e l i g i o u s , l i n g u i s t i c and r e g i o n a l d i v i s i o n s w h i c h c o u n t e r -a c t e d t h e c l a s s s o l i d a r i t y o f t h e I n d i a n w o r k i n g c l a s s and t h e p e a s a n t r y . F u r t h e r m o r e , t h e Communist P a r t y o f I n d i a ' s d e c i s i o n i n 1951 t o f o r e -sake v i o l e n t c l a s s s t r u g g l e i n f a v o u r o f t h e p a r l i a m e n t a r y p a t h had t h e e f f e c t o f c o n s t r a i n i n g a r e v o l u t i o n a r y c h a l l e n g e t o I n d i a ' s c o n s t i -t u t i o n a l and p o l i t i c a l s y s t em. I n any c a s e , t h e I n d i a n w o r k i n g c l a s s was s t i l l e m b r y o n i c , f o r m i n g a s m a l l p r o p o r t i o n o f t h e t o t a l p o p u l a t i o n of I n d i a . The M a r x i s t model, however, may be more a p p l i c a b l e t o t h e p e r i o d a f t e r 1967 when the Congress P a r t y ' s dominance was r e d u c e d a t the c e n t e r and i n t h e s t a t e s . C l a s s c o n f l i c t became more s a l i e n t p a r t i c u -l a r l y i n t h e c o u n t r y s i d e where the 'Green R e v o l u t i o n ' o f t h e 1960s had i n c r e a s e d d i s p a r i t i e s of income and w e a l t h . I n t h e C o n g r e s s P a r t y , Mrs. Gandhi i n c r e a s i n g l y s t r e s s e d economic and s o c i a l p e r f o r m a n c e r a t h e r t h a n c o n s e n s u s . I n h e r s t r u g g l e w i t h t h e ' S y n d i c a t e ' , who c o n t r o l l e d the o r g a n i z a t i o n a l w i n g o f the C o n g r e s s , Mrs. Gandhi s t r e s s e d t h e r e -d i s t r i b u t i o n o f w e a l t h and income, t h e n a t i o n a l i z a t i o n o f b a n k s , the 29 a b o l i t i o n o f p r i v y p u r s e s and o t h e r a t t a c k s on ' v e s t e d i n t e r e s t s . ' The q u e s t i o n a r i s e s o f what o t h e r p e r s p e c t i v e s does t h e M a r x i s t model o f f e r i n the s t u d y o f c o n s t i t u t i o n a l government i n I n d i a . I n t h e p r e v i o u s c h a p t e r , t h e d i s c u s s i o n o f the l i m i t a t i o n o f i n d i v i d u a l r i g h t s f o c u s s e d m a i n l y on how t h e C o n s t i t u t i o n c o n t a i n e d a u t h o r i t a r i a n f e a t u r e s . A c l a s s a n a l y s i s may be o f use i n e x p l a i n i n g why t h e s e b r o a d emergency powers were i n c l u d e d i n t h e C o n s t i t u t i o n . I n the M a r x i s t a n a l y s i s , t h e independence movement d i d n o t c o n -s t i t u t e a s o c i a l r e v o l u t i o n b u t o n l y t h e r e p l a c e m e n t o f one r u l i n g c l a s s by a n o t h e r . The new r u l i n g c l a s s thus borrowed f r o m t h e B r i t i s h t h e same r e p r e s s i v e c o n s t i t u t i o n a l p r o v i s i o n s and s t a t u t e s . The D e f e n s e o f I n d i a R u l e s , f o r example, were c o p i e d a l m o s t v e r b a t i m f r o m t h e D e f e n s e o f I n d i a A c t and R u l e s o f 1915 and 1939. I n t h e M a r x i s t a n a l y s i s , t h e i n d i v i d u a l r i g h t s c o n t a i n e d i n t h e Fundamental R i g h t s o f the C o n s t i t u t i o n such as the freedom o f s p e e c h , e x p r e s s i o n , r e l i g i o n and r i g h t t o p r o p e r t y were n o t a b s o l u t e . They were t o be m a i n t a i n e d o n l y as l o n g as t h e r e was no c h a l l e n g e t o I n d i a ' s r u l i n g c l a s s e s from s u b o r d i n a t e c l a s s e s . But as soon as t h i s c l a s s r u l e was t h r e a t e n e d , the b o u r g e o i s i e w o u l d drop t h e l i b e r a l d e m o c r a t i c f a c a d e and show th e 13 a u t h o r i t a r i a n f a c e o f t h e s t a t e . The M a r x i s t model may a l s o be o f use i n e x p l a i n i n g t h e c o n s t i -t u t i o n a l changes t h a t have t a k e n p l a c e s i n c e t h e a d o p t i o n o f the Con-s t i t u t i o n i n 1950. S i n c e t h e a d o p t i o n o f t h e C o n s t i t u t i o n i t has been amended f o r t y - t w o t i m e s . I t c o u l d be argued t h a t s u c h a l a r g e number of amendments f o r t w e n t y - s e v e n y e a r s d e m o n s t r a t e s t h a t t h e o r i g i n a l 30 document was too r i g i d , o r a l t e r n a t i v e l y , t h a t t h e amending p r o c e s s has been o v e r u s e d by s u c c e s s i v e governments who have t r e a t e d t h e C o n s t i t u t i o n too l i g h t l y . A l e g a l i s t i c a n a l y s i s o f t h e d e f e c t s o f t h e C o n s t i t u t i o n , however, o n l y g i v e s a p a r t i a l e x p l a n a t i o n o f why f o r t y -two amendments have been p a s s e d i n such a s h o r t t i m e . An a n a l y s i s i s r e q u i r e d o f who b e n e f i t s and l o s e s f r o m t h e s e c o n s t i t u t i o n a l amendments. The M a r x i s t model, f o r example, assumes t h a t t h e I n d i a n C o n s t i t u t i o n r e f l e c t e d the p o l i t i c a l i n t e r e s t s and a m b i t i o n s o f t h e I n d i a n b o u r g e o i s i e and t h a t t h e C o n s t i t u t i o n a r t i c u -l a t e d and l e g i t i m i z e d t h o s e o b j e c t i v e s and p o l i c i e s t h a t t h e I n d i a n b o u r g e o i s i e was d e t e r m i n e d t o p u r s u e i n t h e f u t u r e . However, t h e b o u r g e o i s i e ' s p o l i c i e s o f l a n d and i n d u s t r i a l r e f o r m were t h r e a t e n e d i n the 1950s and 1960s by a s e r i e s o f l i t i g a t i o n s and j u d i c i a l i n t e r -p r e t a t i o n s w h i c h b e n e f i t e d i n d i v i d u a l l andowners and i n d u s t r i a l i s t s r a t h e r t h a n t h e i n t e r e s t s o f t h e whole o f t h e b o u r g e o i s i e and l a n d -owners. Thus t h e government's p o l i c i e s o f l a n d r e f o r m have r e q u i r e d the l i m i t a t i o n o f t h e i n d i v i d u a l ' s r i g h t t o p r o p e r t y i n t h e i n t e r e s t s of s t r e n g t h e n i n g c a p i t a l i s t r e l a t i o n s i n t h e c o u n t r y s i d e and e n t r e n c h -i n g the c a p i t a l i s t mode o f p r o d u c t i o n . I n c o n t r a s t , i n K o t h a r i ' s model o f o n e - p a r t y dominance, t h e government's p o l i c i e s o f s o c i a l and economic r e f o r m a r e n o t a mere r e f l e c t i o n o f t h e c l a s s s t r u c t u r e o f s o c i e t y . R a t h e r , t h e r e i s a r e c i -p r o c a l r e l a t i o n s h i p between economic and l e g a l and p o l i t i c a l s t r u c t u r e s . F o r example, u n i v e r s a l a d u l t s u f f r a g e and t h e i m p e r a t i v e s o f o b t a i n i n g e l e c t o r a l s u p p o r t have d e t e r m i n e d government p o l i c i e s o f d i s t r i b u t i o n 31 o f w e a l t h and income and t h e a b o l i t i o n o f p o v e r t y . K o t h a r i w r i t e s t h a t : . . . i n t h e cas e o f I n d i a we see t h a t i t w i l l n o t do t o l o o k a t p o l i t i c a l i n s t i t u t i o n s as some k i n d o f s u p e r s t r u c t u r e t h a t p r e s i d e s o v e r more b a s i c r e l a -t i o n s h i p s i n s o c i e t y and economy, o r t o l o o k a t e l i t e s as s i m p l e r e c i p i e n t s o f i n p u t s from s o c i e t y t o w h i c h t h e y r e s p o n d i n t h e f o r m o f v a r i o u s g o v e r n -m e n t a l o u t p u t s . I n s t e a d t h e whole p r o c e s s s t a r t s h e r e t h r o u g h t h e e s t a b l i s h m e n t o f a c o n s t i t u t i o n a l and p o l i t i c a l s u p e r s t r u c t u r e w h i c h t h e n , t h r o u g h t h e a c t i o n s o f e l i t e s , p e n e t r a t e s i n t o s o c i e t y a t v a r i o u s l e v e l s and by s t a g e s , l e a d s t o r e s p o n s e s f r o m below i n t h e f o r m o f new c o a l i t i o n a l s t r u c -t u r e s . E l i t e s and i n s t i t u t i o n a l forms can be seen h e r e as c r e a t i v e a c t o r s i n t h e p r o c e s s o f i n t e g r a -t i o n and d i v e r s i f i c a t i o n , i n i t i a t o r s o f a f a r -r e a c h i n g change i n a l l s p h e r e s o f l i f e , and c a t a -l y s t s and m o b i l i z e r s o f a new v i t a l i t y a t v a r i o u s l e v e l s . 1 4 F i n a l l y , an e x a m i n a t i o n i s r e q u i r e d o f t h e t r e a t m e n t o f l e g i t i -macy and consensus i n t h e two models. On t h i s q u e s t i o n , M a r x i s t s have arg u e d t h a t t h e consensus p r o d u c e d by the I n d i a n N a t i o n a l C o n g r e s s s u p -p o r t s t h e s t a t u s quo."'""' K o t h a r i , on t h e o t h e r hand, a r g u e s t h a t c o n -sensus does n o t s u p p o r t t h e s t a t u s quo b u t i n s t e a d t h a t a c e r t a i n meas-u r e o f consensus has been n e c e s s a r y f o r t h e Congress P a r t y i n o r d e r t o c a r r y o u t i t s programs o f economic, s o c i a l and p o l i t i c a l development. Consensus, i n o t h e r words i s a p r e r e q u i s i t e f o r s o c i a l change. I n h i s a r t i c l e "The 'Congress System' R e v i s i t e d " , K o t h a r i w r i t e s : But t h e Congress s y s t e m i s f a r more t h a n a mere j u x t a p o s i t i o n o f p a r t i e s and f a c t i o n s a l o n g t h e m e a s u r a b l e s o f v o t e s and s e a t s . I t i s , b a s i c a l l y , a s y s t e m o f e v o l v i n g , m a i n t a i n i n g and r e v i e w i n g a framework o f consensus i n an enormously d i f f e r e n t i a t e d s o c i e t y . T h i s i s a dynamic p r o c e s s , i n v o l v i n g c o n -t i n u o u s r e s p o n s e t o c h a n g i n g c o n d i t i o n s ( i t i s a s e r i o u s m i s t a k e t o c o n f u s e consensus w i t h s t a t u s quo) and, t h r o u g h s u c h r e s p o n s e , e v o l v i n g a w i d e r framework o f s h a r e d g o a l s and v a l u e s . 32 D e s p i t e t h e i r d i s a g r e e m e n t s on t h e f u n c t i o n o f consensus and l e g i t i m a c y , M a r x i s t s and K o t h a r i a g r e e t h a t b o t h consensus and l e g i -t i m a c y a r e n o t a s s u r e d — t h a t t h e y a r e p r o b l e m a t i c . One o f t h e s t r e n g t h s o f K o t h a r i ' s model o f o n e - p a r t y dominance i s t h a t i t a t t e m p t s t o r e l a t e the ' o p e r a t i v e framework' o f t h e e l e c t o r a l and p a r t y s y s t e m t o t h e frameworks o f consensus and l e g i t i m a c y . These t h r e e frameworks a r e b o t h dependent on and i n d e p e n d e n t o f each o t h e r . Thus t h e l e g i t i m a c y o f the p o l i t i c a l s y s t e m i s n o t e n t i r e l y dependent on t h e e l e c t o r a l v i c t o r i e s o f t h e dominant p a r t y . L e g i t i m a c y a l s o depends "on a v a r i e t y o f exogenous f a c t o r s — e c o n o m i c and demographic s h i f t s , changes i n r e l a t i o n s h i p s between s o c i a l c l a s s e s , wars and n a t u r a l d i s a s t e r s , changes t a k i n g p l a c e i n t h e w o r l d a t l a r g e and t h e i r i m p a c t on t h e s t a y i n g c a p a c i t y o f a regime and p s y c h o l o g i c a l a t t i t u d e s towards i t " . " ^ However, K o t h a r i does n o t g i v e a d e t a i l e d a c c o u n t o f how each o f t h e t h r e e frameworks i n f l u e n c e s t h e o t h e r . The 'exogenous f a c t o r s ' w h i c h he m e n t i o n s i n f l u e n c e n o t o n l y t h e framework o f l e g i t i m a c y b u t a l s o the framework o f consensus and i n p a r t i c u l a r t h e r e l a t i o n s between t h e government and t h e o p p o s i t i o n p a r t i e s . N e v e r t h e l e s s , K o t h a r i ' s d i v i s i o n o f t h e 'Congress System' i n t o t h e t h r e e d i m e n s i o n s o f o p e r a t i v e mecha-n i s m s , consensus and l e g i t i m a c y p r o v i d e s us w i t h an i m p o r t a n t a n a l y t i c a l framework w i t h w h i c h t o examine t h e breakdown o f c o n s t i t u t i o n a l g o v e r n -ment i n I n d i a . The i n t e r r e l a t i o n s h i p o f t h e s e t h r e e d i m e n s i o n s w i l l be examined i n g r e a t e r d e t a i l i n t h e f o l l o w i n g c h a p t e r . The i n f l u e n c e o f 'exogenous f a c t o r s ' on consensus and t h e l e g i t i m a c y o f t h e I n d i a n Con-s t i t u t i o n w i l l a l s o be examined. . 33 The above d i s c u s s i o n o f t h e M a r x i s t model and t h a t o f K o t h a r i ' s has p o i n t e d o u t some o f t h e s t r e n g t h s and weaknesses of each i n a c -c o u n t i n g f o r t h e l e g i t i m a c y o f I n d i a ' s c o n s t i t u t i o n a l and p o l i t i c a l s y s t e m i n t h e p e r i o d between 1947 and 1975. The t e s t o f a model, however, a l s o l i e s i n i t s a b i l i t y t o p r e d i c t changes i n a p o l i t i c a l s y s tem, and i t i s now n e c e s s a r y t o c o n s i d e r i n what ways t h e above models a r e r e l e v a n t t o an u n d e r s t a n d i n g o f t h e p o l i t i c a l c r i s i s o f 1975. S e v e r a l M a r x i s t s have been p e r s p i c a c i o u s i n p r e d i c t i n g a c r i s i s i n t h e I n d i a n p o l i t i c a l s ystem as a r e s u l t o f t h e i r a n a l y s i s o f u n d e r -l y i n g economic and s o c i a l t r e n d s . The M a r x i s t D e s a i , f o r example, w r i t i n g i n 1973 argued t h a t : W i t h h e r own i n t e r n a l r i v a l s d e s t r o y e d and , I n d i a ' s e x t e r n a l f o e d e c i s i v e l y humbled, I n d i r a G andhi appeared t o have e s t a b l i s h e d an i m p r e g n a b l e p o s i t i o n f o r h e r s e l f . I n any m o d e r a t e l y s t a b l e s o c i a l s y s t e m a s t r i n g o f s u c h b r i l l i a n t s u c c e s s e s w o u l d s u f f i c e t o c o n s o l i d a t e the p o l i t i c a l o r d e r f o r many y e a r s t o come. I n t h e c a s e o f I n d i a such a p r o s p e c t does n o t seem l i k e l y . The d i p l o m a t i c , m i l i t a r y and e l e c t o r a l t r i u m p s o f 1971-72 c e r t a i n l y r e f l e c t e d a tempo-r a r y s t r e n g t h e n i n g of I n d i a n c a p i t a l i s m ' s e c o -nomic p o s i t i o n . B u t . . . t h e l o n g term p r o s p e c t s f o r I n d i a n c a p i t a l i s m r e m a i n b l e a k , and t h e v e r y f o r c e s w h i c h h e l p e d t o g i v e I n d i r a Gandhi room f o r manoeuvre i n t h i s p e r i o d w i l l c o n f r o n t h e r Government w i t h g r a v e problems a t a l a t e r d a t e . " 1 8 Of c o u r s e , i t c o u l d be a r g u e d t h a t the p r e d i c t i o n o f i n s t a b i l i t y i s t o be e x p e c t e d f r o m t h e method o f M a r x i s t s s i n c e t h e y h o l d t h a t c l a s s s t r u g g l e and r e v o l u t i o n a r e i n e v i t a b l e . T h e i r i d e o l o g i c a l p r e -o c c u p a t i o n s l e a d them t o e x p e c t , and hope f o r , c r i s e s i n t h e s o c i a l and p o l i t i c a l s y s t e m s . But M a r x i s t s have been p r e d i c t i n g a c r i s i s i n t h e 34 I n d i a n p o l i t i c a l s y s t e m f r o m a t l e a s t t h e m i d d l e o f t h e 1960s; t h e y have t o e x p l a i n why t h a t c r i s i s o c c u r r e d i n 1975 and why i t t o o k t h e form t h a t i t d i d . I t now r e m a i n s f o r us t o c o n s i d e r t h e u t i l i t y o f K o t h a r i ' s model i n p r e d i c t i n g t h e c r i s i s o f 1975. A l t h o u g h t h e p o s t - 1 9 7 1 'Congress System' d i f f e r e d f r o m t h e p e r i o d o f o n e - p a r t y dominance be-tween 1950 and 1967 i n r e g a r d t o o p p o s i t i o n and f a c t i o n a l i s m w i t h i n the C o n g r e s s , t h e r e l a t i o n s h i p between t h e government and p a r t i e s o f p r e s s u r e and c e n t e r - s t a t e r e l a t i o n s , K o t h a r i r e s t a t e d t h e v a l i d i t y o f h i s model o f t h e 'Congress System' as l a t e as December 1974. B e f o r e t h e emergency he d i d p o i n t t o t h e p e r c e p t i b l e d e c l i n e i n t h e l e g i t i -macy of t h e c o n s t i t u t i o n a l and p o l i t i c a l s y s tem, t r a c i n g t h i s d e c l i n e t o c e r t a i n t r e n d s i n I n d i a ' s s o c i e t y and p o l i t i c s — n o t a b l y , e x c e s s i v e c e n t r a l i z a t i o n i n t h e l e v e l s o f government, t h e absence o f a r e a l p o p u l a r base f o r t h e I n d i a n p o l i t i c a l p a r t i e s , c o r r u p t i o n and f a i l u r e s o f p e r f o r m a n c e . K o t h a r i , however, c o n c l u d e d t h a t t h e Congress P a r t y and M r s . Gandhi were l i k e l y t o c o n s o l i d a t e t h e i r p o s i t i o n b u t d i d n o t 19 make c l e a r how t h i s c o n s o l i d a t i o n w o u l d t a k e p l a c e . I n summary, K o t h a r i ' s model o f t h e 'Congress System' and t h e M a r x i s t model o f c l a s s c o n f l i c t d i f f e r s i g n i f i c a n t l y i n t h e i r e x p l a n a -t i o n s o f t h e r e l a t i v e s t a b i l i t y o f I n d i a ' s c o n s t i t u t i o n a l and p o l i t i c a l s y stem between 1947 and 1975. K o t h a r i ' s model emphasizes t h e s t a b i l i t y and consensus produced by t h e Congress P a r t y and h i s model i s c o n c e r n e d w i t h ' i n c r e m e n t a l r e v o l u t i o n . ' I n t h e M a r x i s t model, however, c l a s s s t r u g g l e i s emphasized and I n d i a ' s r e l a t i v e c o n s t i t u t i o n a l and p o l i t i c a l 35 s t a b i l i t y i s e x p l a i n e d by t h e dominance o f t h e I n d i a n b o u r g e o i s i e and r i c h l a n d o w n e r s and by t h e weakness o f r e v o l u t i o n a r y c h a l l e n g e s t o t h i s dominance. W i t h r e g a r d t o t h e h y p o t h e s i s t h a t t h e C o n s t i t u t i o n c o n t a i n e d i n s u f f i c i e n t s a f e g u a r d s a g a i n s t t h e development o f a u t h o r i -t a r i a n r u l e , an a n a l y s i s o f c l a s s i n t e r e s t s p r o v i d e s one e x p l a n a t i o n o f why b r o a d emergency powers a n t i t h e t i c a l t o c o n s t i t u t i o n a l government were i n c l u d e d i n t h e C o n s t i t u t i o n . A c l a s s a n a l y s i s a l s o p r o v i d e s an e x p l a n a t i o n o f why c o n s t i t u t i o n a l amendments l i m i t i n g t h e Fundamental R i g h t s were p a s s e d by Congress Governments. CHAPTER I V THE EMERGENCY, 1975 36 The p r e c e d i n g e x a m i n a t i o n o f t h e M a r x i s t model and K o t h a r i ' s model o f o n e - p a r t y dominance has o f f e r e d s e v e r a l t h e o r e t i c a l p e r -s p e c t i v e s from w h i c h t o a n a l y z e t h e breakdown o f c o n s t i t u t i o n a l government i n I n d i a . I n a n a l y z i n g t h e p e r i o d l e a d i n g up t o t h e d e c l a r a t i o n o f t h e s t a t e o f emergency i n June 1975, t h e f o l l o w i n g q u e s t i o n s a r e p a r t i c u l a r l y r e l e v a n t : How d i d t h e o p e r a t i v e f r a m e -work of t h e e l e c t o r a l and p a r t y systems a f f e c t the l e g i t i m a c y o f t h e c o n s t i t u t i o n a l and p o l i t i c a l s y s t e m a f t e r 1971? What was t h e n a t u r e o f t h e consensus between t h e Congress P a r t y and t h e p a r t i e s o f p r e s -s u r e and how d i d t h e 'margin o f p r e s s u r e ' o p e r a t e ? What was t h e i n -f l u e n c e o f exogenous f a c t o r s , s u c h as economic t r e n d s m e n t i o n e d by K o t h a r i , on t h e l e g i t i m a c y o f t h e c o n s t i t u t i o n a l and p o l i t i c a l system? Was t h e r e a r e v o l u t i o n a r y c h a l l e n g e t o t h e b o u r g e o i s c o n s t i t u t i o n a l and p o l i t i c a l s y s t e m o r was t h e r e m e r e l y a s t r u g g l e w i t h i n t h e r u l i n g c l a s s ? F i n a l l y , t o what e x t e n t d i d M r s . Gandhi's p o p u l i s t s t r a t e g y c o n t r i b u t e t o t h e economic and p o l i t i c a l c r i s i s ? The f o l l o w i n g a n a l y s i s o f t h e breakdown o f c o n s t i t u t i o n a l g o v e r n -ment b e g i n s w i t h an e x a m i n a t i o n o f t h e e f f e c t o f economic t r e n d s and Mrs. Gandhi's p o p u l i s t s t r a t e g y on t h e frameworks o f consensus and l e g i t i m a c y . T h i s w i l l t h e n be f o l l o w e d by a d e t a i l e d e x a m i n a t i o n o f g o v e r n m e n t - o p p o s i t i o n r e l a t i o n s i n t h e p e r i o d 1971-75. D e s p i t e t h e Congress ( R ) ' s l a r g e e l e c t o r a l m a j o r i t i e s i n t h e g e n e r a l e l e c t i o n o f March 1971 and t h e s t a t e a s s embly e l e c t i o n s o f F e b r u a r y 1972, t h e government o f P r i m e M i n i s t e r I n d i r a G andhi found i t d i f f i c u l t t o f u l f i l l i t s p r o m i s e s o f economic and s o c i a l r e f o r m . 37 A b o l i s h i n g p o v e r t y was, i n p r a c t i c e , more d i f f i c u l t t h a n f o r m u l a t i n g s l o g a n s of ' g a r i b i h a t a o ' ( a b o l i s h p o v e r t y ) and o t h e r p o p u l i s t measures d u r i n g e l e c t i o n campaigns. I n i m p l e m e n t i n g i t s p o l i c i e s , t h e new government f a c e d b o t h economic and p o l i t i c a l i m p ediments. As r e g a r d s t h e economic impediments, t h e government's programs were t h r e a t e n e d i n t h e y e a r s f o l l o w i n g t h e l a n d s l i d e v i c t o r i e s o f 1971-72 by s u c c e s s i v e d r o u g h t s , p o o r h a r v e s t s , and t h e consequent i n f l a t i o n w h i c h was a l s o f u e l l e d by w o r l d w i d e i n f l a t i o n . The government i t s e l f a d m i t t e d on J u l y 30, 1975 t h a t t h e second h a l f o f 1974 had seen t h e s h a r p e s t r a t e o f i n c r e a s e o f p r i c e s i n I n d i a s i n c e 1945.^ A f t e r good h a r v e s t s i n 1970-71, a g r i c u l t u r a l p r o d u c t i o n d e c l i n e d s h a r p l y i n t h e p e r i o d 1972-75 w h i l e i n d u s t r i a l p r o d u c t i o n showed uneven growth. Power s h o r t a g e s , s u p p l y b o t t l e n e c k s o f raw m a t e r i a l s , and u n s a t i s f a c -t o r y g r o w t h o f a g r i c u l t u r e a l l l e d t o a s l o w i n g down o f t h e r a t e o f growth o f i n d u s t r i a l p r o d u c t i o n and t h e r a t e o f i n v e s t m e n t p r o v e s i n -2 adequate f o r s u s t a i n e d g r o wth. P e r c a p i t a income i n 1972-75 showed no s i g n i f i c a n t i n c r e a s e and t h e e f f e c t of t h e s e economic t r e n d s was a g e n e r a l d e c l i n e i n t h e l i v i n g s t a n d a r d s o f t h e mass o f t h e I n d i a n p o p u l a t i o n . I n i t s a n n u a l r e p o r t f o r 1974-75, p u b l i s h e d i n A p r i l 1975, t h e P l a n n i n g Commission a d m i t t e d t h a t t h e d r a f t F i f t h F i v e - Y e a r P l a n was u n w o r k a b l e . The Commission a t t r i b u t e d t h e " s u b s t a n t i a l i n c r e a s e s i n n o n - d e v e l o p m e n t a l e x p e n d i t u r e " and t h e " s i g n i f i c a n t e s c a l a t i o n i n t h e c o s t o f development programmes and e x p e n d i t u r e s " t o t h e s h a r p i n c r e a s e s i n d o m e s t i c p r i c e s and t h e c o s t o f i m p o r t e d raw m a t e r i a l s and f u e l s u c h 38 as o i l . However, t h e r e were t h o s e who l a i d t h e blame f o r t h e f a i l u r e o f p l a n n i n g a t t h e door o f t h e government and, i n p a r t i c u l a r , t h e P l a n n i n g Commission i t s e l f . D r . B.S. M i n h a s , who r e s i g n e d f r o m t h e body i n 1975, c h a r g e d t h a t t h e P l a n n i n g Commission was p a r t l y t o blame f o r t h e d e t e r i o r a t i n g economic s i t u a t i o n because o f i t s u n r e a l i s t i c 3 p l a n n i n g a s s u m p t i o n s and methods. The Commission, f o r example, used i n a c c u r a t e f o r e i g n a i d and t r a d e s t a t i s t i c s and u n d e r - e s t i m a t e d t h e p r i c e s o f c r u c i a l i m p o r t s . F u r t h e r m o r e , t h e Commission o v e r - e s t i m a t e d t h e l e v e l o f d o m e s t i c s a v i n g s . As a r e s u l t o f t h e s e o p t i m i s t i c c a l c u -l a t i o n s , t h e d r a f t F i v e - Y e a r P l a n b o r e l i t t l e r e l a t i o n t o economic r e a l i t y . W o rsening economic c o n d i t i o n s were n o t t h e o n l y r e a s o n f o r t h e government's f a i l u r e o f p e r f o r m a n c e a f t e r March 1971. P a r t o f t h e blame l i e s w i t h the government's i n i t i a l d e l a y i n t h e p e r i o d between t h e g e n e r a l e l e c t i o n s o f 1971 and t h e s t a t e assembly e l e c t i o n s of 1972. D a v i d H. B a y l e y p o i n t s o u t t h a t t h e government l o s t much t i m e i n i m -p l e m e n t i n g i t s programs. One o f t h e g r e a t c u r i o s i t i e s o f I n d i a n p o l i t i c s i n 197.1 was how. l i t t l e M rs. Gandhi chose t o do w i t h h e r d r a m a t i c March v i c t o r y . New programs o f economic development were n o t announced; t h e 1971-72 budget was a copy o f t h e p r e v i o u s y e a r ' s ; and c a b i n e t changes were m i n o r . The v a s t p a r l i a m e n t a r y m a j o r i t y has been m o b i l i z e d on o n l y t h r e e measures. These a r e c o n s t i t u t i o n a l amendments, and t h e y a r e n e i t h e r i d e o l o g i c a l l y r a d i c a l n o r do t h e y p l a c e new demands on t h e c o u n t r y . 4 The c o n f l i c t between I n d i a and P a k i s t a n o v e r B a n g l a d e s h may have d i v e r t e d t h e government's a t t e n t i o n f r o m economic and s o c i a l 39 r e f o r m b u t o f more i m p o r t a n c e i n t h e f a i l u r e o f p e r f o r m a n c e a f t e r 1971 were t h e c o n t i n u i n g p o l i t i c a l c o n s t r a i n t s on t h e p o l i c i e s o f t h e g o v e r n -ment. These c o n s t r a i n t s had n o t been removed by t h e " I n d i r a Wave" o f 1971-72 a l t h o u g h t h e e l e c t i o n s had c e r t a i n l y widened t h e p a r a m e t e r s w i t h i n w h i c h t h e government c o u l d act."* A t t h e s t a t e and l o c a l l e v e l , c o n t r o l o f Congress P a r t y u n i t s was i n t h e hands o f a c o a l i t i o n o f u r b a n and r u r a l economic and p o l i t i c a l e l i t e s , p a r t i c u l a r l y r i c h and m i d d l e p e a s a n t s . Mrs. Gandhi's programs f o r t h e r e d i s t r i b u t i o n o f w e a l t h o f income were t h e r e f o r e p r e v e n t e d by t h e n a t u r e o f t h e Congress P a r t y ' s s o c i a l b a s e . As Susanne R u d o l p h p o i n t e d o u t , " I n d i a n s t a t e s , l i k e A m e r i c a n , l i e c l o s e r t h a n t h e i r c e n t r a l governments t o t h e o r g a n i z e d i n t e r e s t s , w h i c h a r e u s u a l l y t h e more p r o s p e r o u s . S t a t e governments a r e a p t t o be l e s s r e s p o n s i v e t o t h e l e s s o r g a n i z e d u n d e r p r i v i l e g e d s e c t o r s t h a n a f e d e r a l government, f r e e r f r o m t h e need f o r l o c a l s u p p o r t and fr o m l o c a l c o n s t r a i n t s and a b l e t o a p p e a l t o n a t i o n a l c o n s t i t u e n c i e s o f t h e u n d e r p r i v i l e g e d . " ^ By t h e b e g i n n i n g o f 1973 i t was c l e a r t h a t t h e e u p h o r i c days o f the Congress ( R ) ' s e l e c t i o n v i c t o r i e s and t h e d e f e a t o f P a k i s t a n had been r e p l a c e d by a p e r i o d o f economic c r i s i s and d i s i l l u s i o n m e n t w i t h t h e government. The y e a r s 1973 and 1974 saw an e r o s i o n o f t h e consensus i n I n d i a p o l i t i c s between t h e government and o p p o s i t i o n p a r t i e s t h a t had been c h a r a c t e r i z e d i n K o t h a r i ' s model of o n e - p a r t y dominance. Each s i d e a c c u s e d t h e o t h e r o f u n d e m o c r a t i c and u n c o n s t i t u t i o n a l a c t i o n s and q u e s t i o n e d each o t h e r ' s f a i t h i n d e m o c r a t i c p r i n c i p l e s . T h i s breakdown o f t h e consensus was a c c e l e r a t e d i n 1975 t o such an e x t e n t t h a t b o t h t h e 40 government and t h e o p p o s i t i o n p a r t i e s c l a i m e d t h a t t h e o t h e r i n t e n d e d t o impose a d i c t a t o r s h i p on I n d i a . To see why t h e r e was t h i s b r e a k -down o f c o n s e n s u s , i t i s n e c e s s a r y t o examine g o v e r n m e n t - o p p o s i t i o n r e l a t i o n s between 1972 and 1975 and t o show how t h e s e r e l a t i o n s a f f e c t e d t h e frameworks o f consensus and l e g i t i m a c y d e s c r i b e d by K o t h a r i . Of p a r t i c u l a r i m p o r t a n c e i n t h i s e x a m i n a t i o n i s t h e o p e r a t i o n o f t h e 'margin o f p r e s s u r e ' and t h e impact o f t h e JP movement. The Breakdown o f Consensus The breakdown o f consensus can be d i r e c t l y t r a c e d t o t h e 1971 g e n e r a l e l e c t i o n and t h e 1972 s t a t e a s sembly e l e c t i o n s . W h i l e t h e e l e c t i o n s i n c r e a s e d t h e m a j o r i t i e s o f Congress ( R ) , t h e y a l s o d r a s -t i c a l l y r e d u c e d t h e s t r e n g t h o f o p p o s i t i o n p a r t i e s . P a r t i e s s u c h as Congress ( 0 ) , S w a t a n t r a and t h e J a n a Sangh w h i c h had e n j o y e d c o n s i d e r -a b l e i n f l u e n c e b e f o r e 1971 now f o u n d t h e i r s t r e n g t h s d i m i n i s h e d a t t h e c e n t e r and i n t h e s t a t e s . M o r e o v e r , the methods used by M r s . Gandhi and t h e Congress (R) t o r e d u c e t h e o p p o s i t i o n p a r t i e s s u p p o r t b e f o r e and a f t e r t h e 1971-72 e l e c t i o n s c o n t r i b u t e d t o 'the o p p o s i t i o n p a r t i e s a l i e n a t i o n from 'Congress system'. As a r e s p o n s e t o M r s . Gandhi's p o p u l i s m and t o c o r r u p t i o n i n t h e e l e c t o r a l s y stem, t h e non-communist o p p o s i t i o n p a r t i e s came t o r e l y i n c r e a s i n g l y on e x t r a — p a r l i a m e n t a r y methods.^ I n G u j a r a t i n J a n u a r y 1974 s t u d e n t d i s c o n t e n t o v e r i n c r e a s e d h o s t e l and f o o d c h a r g e s l e d t o s t u d e n t d e m o n s t r a t i o n s and r i o t i n g t h a t u l t i m a t e l y r e s u l t e d i n t h e d o w n f a l l o f t h e Congress (R) M i n i s t r y , t h e i m p o s i t i o n o f P r e s i d e n t ' s R u l e and t h e d i s s o l u t i o n o f t h e S t a t e Assembly. 41 The d i s t u r b a n c e s i n G u j a r a t o r i g i n a t e d from t h e l i m i t e d s e c t i o n a l demands o f s t u d e n t s b u t r a p i d l y d e v e l o p e d i n t o an e x p r e s s i o n o f u r b a n m i d d l e c l a s s d i s c o n t e n t among G u j a r a t i s who p r o t e s t e d a g a i n s t h i g h f o o d p r i c e s , s h o r t a g e s and government i n a c t i o n and c o r r u p t i o n . The y e a r 1974 a l s o saw t h e reemergence o f J a y a p r a k a s h N a r a y a n , t h e v e t e r a n ' s a r v o d a y a ' l e a d e r from B i h a r . N a r a y a n , o r 'JP' as he was p o p u l a r l y c a l l e d , had i n 1973 c a l l e d f o r e l e c t o r a l and e d u c a t i o n a l r e f o r m . I n t h i s campaign f o r s o c i a l , economic and p o l i t i c a l r e g e n e r a -t i o n he a p p e a l e d t o t h e y o u t h o f I n d i a t o p l a y a p i v o t a l r o l e . S p e d -f i c a l l y , he made o v e r t u r e s t o s t u d e n t s i n h i s home s t a t e o f B i h a r . I n t h e c o u n t r y as a w h o l e , many I n d i a n s b e l i e v e d t h a t he was t h e o n l y p e r s o n o f s u f f i c i e n t s ' t a t u r e and i n t e g r i t y t o l e a d a n a t i o n w i d e cam-p a i g n a g a i n s t c o r r u p t i o n . A f t e r t h e G u j a r a t d i s t u r b a n c e s had s u b s i d e d i n M a r c h 1974, op-p o s i t i o n t o Congress d e v e l o p e d i n J P ' s home s t a t e o f B i h a r . A g a i n t h e i s s u e s were c o r r u p t i o n and t h e f a i l i n g s o f t h e government i n t h e e c o -nomic s p h e r e . S i m i l a r l y , t h e a c t i o n committee formed by JP i n B i h a r had as one o f i t s demands t h e d i s s o l u t i o n o f t h e s t a t e assembly and the r e p l a c e m e n t o f t h e C h i e f M i n i s t e r , A b d u l G h a f o o r . I n i t s d e c i s i o n n o t t o d i s s o l v e t h e assembly and c a l l new e l e c t i o n s , t h e c e n t r a l g o v e r n -ment t o o k the p o s i t i o n t h a t t h e assembly had been d e m o c r a t i c a l l y e l e c t e d i n 1972 and s h o u l d t h e r e f o r e be a l l o w e d t o r u n i t s n o r m a l c o u r s e . The combined non-communist o p p o s i t i o n p a r t i e s , however, argued t h a t t h e Congress (R) government o f B i h a r had l o s t t o u c h w i t h t h e p e o p l e and s h o u l d t h u s seek a new mandate. B e s i d e s t h i s , t h e JP movement a l s o 42 d e c l a r e d as one o f i t s aims t h e e s t a b l i s h m e n t o f t h e r i g h t o f r e c a l l o f t h e r e p r e s e n t a t i v e s o f t h e p e o p l e . T h i s was an i m p o r t a n t c o n s t i t u -t i o n a l i s s u e t h a t was t o be f r e q u e n t l y r a i s e d by t h e non-communist o p p o s i t i o n p a r t i e s i n t h e p e r i o d l e a d i n g up t o t h e emergency. I t f i g u r e d p r o m i n e n t l y , f o r example, i n t h e ' C h a r t e r o f Demands' s u b m i t t e d by t h e non—communist o p p o s i t i o n p a r t i e s a f t e r t h e mass r a l l y i n New D e l h i on March 6, 1975. F o r t h e Government t h e s e demands and t h e methods used by t h e o p p o s i t i o n p a r t i e s o n l y s e r v e d t o undermine t h e d e m o c r a t i c p r o c e s s . A c o n s i s t e n t demand o f the o p p o s i t i o n p a r t i e s t h r o u g h o u t 1972-75 was t h a t t h e s t a t e o f emergency d e c l a r e d by t h e P r e s i d e n t i n December 1971 s h o u l d be l i f t e d and t h a t t h e M a i n t e n a n c e o f I n t e r n a l S e c u r i t y A c t o f 1971 s h o u l d be e i t h e r a b o l i s h e d o r m o d i f i e d i n i t s a p p l i c a t i o n . F o r the o p p o s i t i o n p a r t i e s , t h e emergency and MISA s t o o d as a 'sword o f Damocles' o v e r t h e i r a c t i v i t i e s . As l o n g as b o t h t h e emergency and t h e MISA r e m a i n e d , t h e y b e l i e v e d t h a t t h e government had an u n f a i r advantage i n t h a t i t c o u l d p o t e n t i a l l y r e s t r i c t t h e i r a c t i v i t i e s . Nor were t h e op-p o s i t i o n p a r t i e s i n P a r l i a m e n t i m p r e s s e d by t h e government's arguments •for c o n t i n u i n g t h e emergency. The o p p o s i t i o n p a r t i e s argued t h a t t h e e x t e r n a l t h r e a t i n v o k e d as a r e a s o n f o r t h e emergency and i t s c o n t i -nuance had l e s s e n e d s i n c e t h e war w i t h P a k i s t a n . These demands f o r t h e t e r m i n a t i o n o f t h e emergency r e c e i v e d added impetus f o l l o w i n g developments i n I n d i a ' s n e i g h b o u r B a n g l a d e s h i n 1974—75. S h e i k h M u j i b Rahman, t h e P r i m e M i n i s t e r o f B a n g l a d e s h , had on December 28, 1974 i s s u e d a p r o c l a m a t i o n o f emergency w h i c h suspended 43 the f u n d a m e n t a l r i g h t s o f t h e C o n s t i t u t i o n . On J a n u a r y 25, 1975 t h e C o n s t i t u t i o n i t s e l f was amended i n such, a way t h a t t h e p a r l i a -m e n t a r y f o r m o f government was r e p l a c e d by a p r e s i d e n t i a l o n e - p a r t y s y s t e m i n w h i c h c i v i l l i b e r t i e s were c u r t a i l e d . I n New D e l h i on J a n u a r y 27, 1975 a c o n f e r e n c e o f N a r a y a n and o t h e r l e a d e r s o f t h e o p p o s i t i o n p a r t i e s d e c i d e d t h a t t h e B i h a r - t y p e movement f o r t h e r e a s s e r t i o n of d e m o c r a t i c r i g h t s s h o u l d be i n t e n s i f i e d t o p r e v e n t a s i m i l a r a u t h o r i t a r i a n regime b e i n g e s t a b l i s h e d i n I n d i a . These o p p o s i t i o n a p p r e h e n s i o n s were i n t e n s i f i e d by c e r t a i n s t a t e m e n t s made by t h e C h i e f M i n i s t e r o f B i h a r , A b d u l G h a f o o r , on one o f h i s v i s i t s t o New D e l h i . G hafoor t h r e a t e n e d on J a n u a r y 29, 1975 t o t a k e d r a s t i c a c t i o n a g a i n s t J a y a p r a k a s h N a r a y a n s h o u l d he r e s t a r t h i s a g i t a -t i o n on h i s r e t u r n t o t h e s t a t e o f B i h a r . These t h r e a t s a ngered t h e o p p o s i t i o n p a r t i e s and i t was rumored t h a t M r s . Gandhi h e r s e l f had g i v e n a p p r o v a l t o G h a f o o r ' s w a r n i n g s . Madhu Limaye o f t h e S o c i a l i s t P a r t y a s k e d : "Do t h e s e s t a t e m e n t s l o f G h a f o o r ] p r e s a g e f u r t h e r m a s s i v e a t t a c k s on d e m o c r a t i c r i g h t s ? I t i s b e i n g s a i d t h a t t h e P r i m e M i n -i s t e r ' s a d v i s e r s a r e engaged i n a s e c r e t e x e r c i s e t h e p u r p o s e o f w h i c h i s u l t i m a t e l y t o clamp down a B a n g l a d e s h - t y p e a u t h o r i t a r i a n r egime i n t h i s c o u n t r y . Such an a t t e m p t w i l l , n a t u r a l l y , be p r e c e d e d by l a r g e -s c a l e a r r e s t s o f O p p o s i t i o n and t r a d e u n i o n l e a d e r s and above a l l , o f 9 Mr. N a r a y a n . " The o p p o s i t i o n p a r t i e s , t h e r e f o r e , demanded t h e r e v o c a t i o n o f t h e s t a t e of emergency o f December 1971 and t h e r e p e a l c r m o d i f i c a t i o n o f t h e M a i n t e n a n c e o f I n t e r n a l S e c u r i t y A c t . " ^ Developments i n B a n g l a d e s h 44 and v e i l e d w a r n i n g s f r o m the. C ongress (R.) l e a d e r s h i p o n l y s t i f f e n e d t h e i r r e s o l v e t o p r e s s f o r an end t o t h e emergency r e g u l a t i o n s . I t i s n o t s u r p r i s i n g , t h e n , t h a t t h e o p p o s i t i o n p a r t i e s , i n -c l u d i n g t h e CPM, r e a c t e d s t r o n g l y when t h e government a t t e m p t e d on May 7, 1975 t o i n t r o d u c e an amendment t o MISA i n t h e L o k Sabha. The amend-ment woul d have p e r m i t t e d d e t e n t i o n under t h e A c t f o r a p e r i o d o f up t o two y e a r s i n p l a c e s d e s i g n a t e d as ' d i s t u r b e d a r e a s ' and w i t h o u t a p p e a l t o a d v i s o r y boards."'*"'" Because o f t h e s t r o n g r e a c t i o n f r o m t h e o p p o s i -t i o n benches t h e Home M i n i s t e r , Brahmananda Reddy, announced l a t e r t h a t t h e b i l l w ould be w i t h d r a w n b u t :he d i d make i t c l e a r t h a t a s i m i l a r p r o p o s a l w o u l d be i n t r o d u c e d i n t h e f u t u r e . T h i s b i l l , i f p a s s e d , would have been a s e t b a c k t o t h e O p p o s i t i o n ' s campaign f o r t h e r e l a x -a t i o n o f t h e emergency s i n c e i t gave more d i s c r e t i o n a r y powers t o t h e government. I t i s i n t e r e s t i n g t o n o t e t h a t t h e o p p o s i t i o n p a r t i e s , e x c l u d i n g t h e C P I , a t t h i s t i m e were p l a n n i n g more B i h a r - t y p e movements; the amendment t o MISA would have t h r e a t e n e d t h e s e p l a n s . There was, however, one a r e a i n w h i c h a g o v e r n m e n t - o p p o s i t i o n consensus seemed l i k e l y t o be a c h i e v e d and t h a t was t h e i s s u e o f e l e c -t o r a l r e f o r m . A t Bhubaneshwar, O r i s s a , on March 31, 1975, Narayan h e l d out t h e o f f e r o f an a l l - p a r t y c o n f e r e n c e t o be h e l d i n New D e l h i t o d i s -c u s s e l e c t o r a l r e f o r m and i n v i t e d Mrs. Gandhi and o t h e r l e a d e r s o f t h e 12 C o n g r e s s P a r t y . The i d e a o f a d i a l o g u e between t h e government and t h e o p p o s i t i o n on t h i s i s s u e was a c c e p t e d by t h e P r i m e M i n i s t e r and a s e r i e s o f m e e t i n g s were h e l d i n New D e l h i i n A p r i l and May. Among th e O p p o s i -t i o n ' s p r o p o s a l s f o r a change i n t h e e l e c t o r a l s y s t e m were: t h e l o w e r i n g 45 o f t h e v o t i n g age and t h e q u a l i f y i n g age f o r c a n d i d a t e s ; t h e r i g h t r e c a l l ; changes i n t h e s i z e o f t h e E l e c t o r a l Commission and t h e method o f a p p o i n t i n g i t s members; changes i n t h e la w s r e g a r d i n g e l e c t i o n e x -p e n d i t u r e s and use o f t h e mass media; and changes i n t h e methods o f 13 c o u n t i n g a t p o l l i n g s t a t i o n s . The Government a g r e e d t o make c e r t a i n changes i n t h e e l e c t o r a l s ystem b u t t h e s e were o n l y m i n o r r e f o r m s t h a t d i d n o t i n v o l v e any changes i n s t a t u t e s b u t c o u l d be s e c u r e d t h r o u g h e x e c u t i v e o r d e r s . D e s p i t e t h e s e m i n o r changes, t h e j s e r i e s o f a l l - p a r t y m e e t i n g s on e l e c t o r a l r e f o r m b r o k e up w i t h o u t any s i g n i f i c a n t changes t o t h e e l e c t o r a l system. B o t h s i d e s a c c u s e d each o t h e r o f o b s t r u c t i o n i n the t a l k s and t h e government, i n p a r t i c u l a r , was c h a r g e d w i t h b e i n g vague i n i t s p r o p o s a l s . I n t h e p e r i o d l e a d i n g up t o t h e d e c l a r a t i o n o f t h e s t a t e o f emergency i n June 1975, t h e government and the o p p o s i t i o n p a r t i e s i n P a r l i a m e n t t o o k d i f f e r e n t p o s i t i o n s . The o p p o s i t i o n argued t h a t i t s a c t i v i t i e s , f a r from w e a k e n i n g t h e d e m o c r a t i c s y s t e m , i n f a c t s t r e n g t h e n e d i t by p o s i n g t h e k e y i s s u e s o f r e f o r m and by a r t i c u l a t i n g p o p u l a r d i s c o n t e n t . They argued t h a t t h e r e was n o t h i n g u n d e m o c r a t i c about r a i s i n g s u c h b a s i c i s s u e s . O t h e r w i s e , w i t h o u t s e r i o u s c h e c k s on t h e a c t i o n s o f an i n c r e a s i n g l y a u t h o r i t a r i a n government, d e m o c r a t i c r i g h t s and freedoms w o u l d be er o d e d . They f e l t t h a t i t was wrong o f t h e gov-ernment t o e x p e c t t h a t i t c o u l d o p e r a t e w i t h o u t any s c r u t i n y o f i t s a c t i o n s . F u r t h e r m o r e , t h e y argued t h a t t h e P r i m e M i n i s t e r c o u l d n o t j u s t i f i a b l y c l a i m t h a t t h e o p p o s i t i o n was h i n d e r i n g t h e s o c i a l and 46 economic programs o f t h e government s i n c e she a l r e a d y had had n i n e 14 y e a r s o f o f f i c e i n w h i c h t o implement t h e s e programs. The government, however, argued t h a t t h e a c t i v i t i e s o f t h e Op-p o s i t i o n i n P a r l i a m e n t and t h e s t a t e l e g i s l a t u r e s and t h e JP movement undermined t h e l e g i t i m a c y o f d e m o c r a t i c a l l y - e l e c t e d governments. T h i s c h a r g e p a r t i c u l a r l y a p p l i e d t o t h e JP movement's demand f o r t h e d i s s o -l u t i o n o f t h e B i h a r s t a t e a ssembly. The government's c a s e was t h a t t h e o p p o s i t i o n , h a v i n g been d e f e a t e d c o n v i n c i n g l y a t t h e p o l l s i n 1971 and 1972, was r e s o r t i n g t o u n d e m o c r a t i c p r a c t i c e s as a r e s u l t o f t h e i r f r u s t r a t i o n . As r e g a r d s t h e J P movement, t h e government q u e s t i o n e d i t s mass b a s e . N o t o n l y was t h a t b a s e l i m i t e d b u t t h e O p p o s i t i o n was a l s o d u p i n g i t s s u p p o r t e r s and N a r a y a n had a l l o w e d h i s movement t o be i n f i l t r a t e d by ' a n t i - d e m o c r a t i c e l e m e n t s * . C o n g r e s s P a r t y l e a d e r s s u c h as J a g j i v a n Ram a l s o p o u r e d s c o r n on J P ' s i d e a o f ' p a r t y - l e s s democracy' w h i c h t h e y saw as b e i n g i m p r a c t i c a l and a n t i t h e t i c a l t o p a r l i a m e n t a r y d e m o c r a c y . ^ The government a l s o t o o k n o t e o f c e r t a i n vague a p p e a l s made fr o m t i m e t o t i m e by N a r a y a n t o w a r d s t h e army and t h e p o l i c e . These u n c o n s t i t u t i o n a l a p p e a l s and t h e a s s a s s i n a t i o n o f t h e U n i o n M i n i s t e r f o r R a i l w a y s , L.N. M i s h r a , and t h e a t t e m p t e d a s s a s s i n a t i o n o f C h i e f J u s t i c e Ray seemed t o i n d i c a t e a s e r i o u s breakdown i n l a w and o r d e r . I n r e s p o n s e t o t h i s t h e government saw i t s e l f as t h e g u a r d i a n o f p u b l i c l a w and o r d e r . I n p a r t i c u l a r , I n d i r a Gandhi saw h e r s e l f i n G a u l l e s q u e terms as t h e o n l y p e r s o n c a p a b l e o f s a v i n g t h e R e p u b l i c f r o m chaos. I t i s c l e a r i n t h i s e x a m i n a t i o n o f g o v e r n m e n t - o p p o s i t i o n r e l a -t i o n s between 1971 and 1975 t h a t t h e o p e r a t i o n o f t h e 'margin o f 47 p r e s s u r e ' d i f f e r e d s i g n i f i c a n t l y f rom t h e p e r i o d s . 1950-67 and 1967-71. I n c o n t r a s t t o t h e p e r i o d s 1950-67 and 1967-71, t h e p a r t i e s o f p r e s s u r e ( e x c e p t t h e C.P.I.) were n o t s u c c e s s f u l i n m a i n t a i n i n g t h e r e s p o n s i v e -n e s s o f t h e dominant p a r t y . Some o f t h e r e a s o n s f o r t h i s have a l r e a d y been n o t e d — n a m e l y , t h e d e c l i n e i n t h e s t r e n g t h and e f f i c a c y o f t h e non-communist o p p o s i t i o n p a r t i e s and t h e i r a l i e n a t i o n f r o m t h e 'Congress System'; t h e c e n t r a l i z a t i o n o f power b y M r s . Gandhi and h e r emphasis on p e r f o r m a n c e r a t h e r t h a n c o n s e n s u s ; and changes i n government-oppo-s i t i o n norms o f b e h a v i o u r i n w h i c h t h e r e was a g r e a t e r r e s o r t t o l a w and o r d e r methods by t h e government and e x t r a - p a r l i a m e n t a r y methods by t h e non-communist O p p o s i t i o n . The O p p o s i t i o n p a r t i e s ' c r i t i c i s m s o f t h e dominant p a r t y can t o a c e r t a i n e x t e n t be e x p l a i n e d as r h e t o r i c and t h e n o r m a l t e n d e n c y o f o p p o s i t i o n p a r t i e s t o t a k e a d v e r s a r y p o s i -t i o n s a g a i n s t the government. However, a f t e r 1971.. t h e r e was l e s s t o l e r a n c e by t h e government and o p p o s i t i o n p a r t i e s o f each o t h e r ' s v i e w p o i n t . The c r i t i c i s m s t o o k on a more h i g h - p i t c h e d c h a r a c t e r as shown, f o r example, by each s i d e a c c u s i n g t h e o t h e r o f u n c o n s t i t u t i o n a l a c t i o n s . I l l u s t r a t i v e o f t h e changes i n t h e 'Congress System' a r e t h e r e l a t i o n s between t h e government and t h e J P movement. B e s i d e s b e i n g a t h r e a t t o t h e p o p u l a r i t y o f t h e Congress P a r t y i n t h e c o u n t r y as a w h o l e , t h e JP movement was a l s o , s p e c i f i c a l l y , a t h r e a t t o Mrs. Gandhi's p o s i -t i o n i n t h e Congress P a r t y , and h e r a l l i a n c e w i t h t h e C.P.I. M r s . Gandhi was w e l l aware of t h e f a c t t h a t a c e r t a i n number o f Congress P a r t y members were r e c e p t i v e t o J P ' s movement and opposed t o t h e 48 C o n g r e s s ' a l l i a n c e w i t h t h e Communist P a r t y o f I n d i a . On M a r c h 2, 1975, t h e P r i m e M i n i s t e r d i s m i s s e d t h e S t a t e M i n i s t e r f o r Works and H o u s i n g , Mohan D h a r i a , a f t e r he had p u b l i c l y u r g e d . h e r t o open a d i a l o g u e w i t h N a r a y a n . Narayan responded t o t h e d i s m i s s a l o f D h a r i a by i s s u i n g a s t a t e -ment on M a r c h 4, 1975 i n w h i c h he u r g e d t h e t o p l e a d e r s h i p o f t h e Con-16 g r e s s P a r t y t o r e p l a c e Mrs. G a n d h i . The r e a c t i o n o f members o f t h e Congress P a r t y t o t h i s p l e a was t o a c c u s e Narayan and o t h e r members o f th e O p p o s i t i o n o f m e d d l i n g i n t h e i n t e r n a l a f f a i r s o f t h e C o n g r e s s P a r t y . On M a r c h 5, 1975 an emergency m e e t i n g o f t h e e x e c u t i v e o f t h e C o n g r e s s P a r l i a m e n t a r y P a r t y u n a n i m o u s l y approved a r e s o l u t i o n w h i c h d e p l o r e d " t h e a t t e m p t o f a n t i - d e m o c r a t i c f o r c e s t o d i s r u p t t h e p a r t y " and w h i c h 17 r e i t e r a t e d i t s f a i t h i n t h e l e a d e r s h i p o f M r s . G a n d h i . A s i m i l a r r e s o l u t i o n a t t a c k i n g t h e a c t i o n s o f N a r a y a n was p a s s e d by t h e C.P.I. M r s . Gandhi's d i s m i s s a l o f D h a r i a and h e r r e j e c t i o n o f a d i a l o g u e w i t h N a r a y a n and Narayan's a p p e a l s t o t h e Congress P a r t y l e a d e r s h i p t o remove Mrs. Gandhi a l l d e m o n s t r a t e t h a t t h e government and o p p o s i t i o n p a r t i e s had d e v i a t e d from t h e norms of t h e Congress 'System'; consensus and t o l e r a n c e had been r e p l a c e d by i n f l e x i b l e p o s i t i o n s between g o v e r n -ment and o p p o s i t i o n p a r t i e s . A M a r x i s t a n a l y s i s o f t h e breakdown o f consensus shows t h a t t h e r e was a c o n t r a d i c t i o n between Mrs. Gandhi's p o p u l i s t p o l i c i e s and t h e base o f s u p p o r t f o r t h e C o n g r e s s P a r t y . M r s . G a n d h i ' s programs f o r economic and s o c i a l r e f o r m c o u l d n o t be implemented because t h e C o n g r e s s P a r t y a t t h e s t a t e and l o c a l l e v e l remained under t h e c o n t r o l o f u r b a n and r u r a l 49 l a n d o w n i n g i n t e r e s t s . . The gap between Mrs:. G andhi's p r o m i s e s and p e r f o r m a n c e i n c r e a s e d r e s u l t i n g i n t h e e r o s i o n o f t h e l e g i t i m a c y o f t h e p o l i t i c a l system. T h i s f a i l u r e o f p e r f o r m a n c e and t h e economic c r i s i s , t h e c o r r u p t i o n i n t h e e l e c t o r a l s y s t e m and t h e a l i e n a t i o n o f t h e ' p a r t i e s o f p r e s s u r e ' from t h e 'Congress System' a l l l e d t o a r e d u c t i o n i n t h e l e g i t i m a c y o f I n d i a ' s c o n s t i t u t i o n a l and p o l i t i c a l s y stem. Immediate Causes o f t h e Emergency H a v i n g examined t h e breakdown o f consensus and e r o s i o n o f t h e l e g i t i m a c y o f t h e c o n s t i t u t i o n a l and p o l i t i c a l s y stem, i t i s n e c e s s a r y now t o c o n s i d e r why t h e emergency was d e c l a r e d i n June 1975. I n t h e i n t r o d u c t o r y c h a p t e r , i t was h y p o t h e s i z e d t h a t t h e ma i n t e n a n c e o f c o n -s t i t u t i o n a l government i n I n d i a depends on t h e a c c e p t a n c e o f t h e e x -i s t i n g c o n s t i t u t i o n a l and p o l i t i c a l framework by b o t h t h e government and t h e o p p o s i t i o n p a r t i e s . What t h e n were t h e s p e c i f i c c i r c u m s t a n c e s w h i c h l e d t h e government t o t e m p o r a r i l y suspend t h i s common framework? I n o t h e r words, why d i d t h e government f e e l t h a t t h e u n l i m i t e d powers of a s t a t e o f emergency were r e q u i r e d ? I n a n a l y z i n g t h e r e a s o n s f o r t h e s t a t e o f emergency s e v e r a l key q u e s t i o n s a r i s e : What p a r t d i d t h e A l l a h a b a d H i g h C o u r t d e c i s i o n and t h e G u j a r a t e l e c t i o n r e s u l t s p l a y i n t h e d e c i s i o n o f June 26, 1975? To what e x t e n t was M r s . Gandhi's d e c i s i o n t o d e c l a r e a s t a t e o f emer-gency m o t i v a t e d by p u r e l y p e r s o n a l c o n s i d e r a t i o n s o f s t a y i n g i n power? What was t h e n a t u r e o f t h e t h r e a t t o c o n s t i t u t i o n a l government f r o m t h e o p p o s i t i o n ? What was t h e r o l e o f t h e Congress P a r t y l e a d e r s h i p , 50 t h e P r e s i d e n t , t h e bureaucracy-, t h e army and t h e p o l i c e ? C o u l d t h e emergency have been a v e r t e d ? From p r e s s i n g i t s demands f o r economic, s o c i a l and p o l i t i c a l r e f o r m , t h e o p p o s i t i o n ' s f o c u s o f a t t a c k changed t o t h a t o f removing I n d i r a G a n d h i . The o p p o s i t i o n p a r t i e s appeared t o have a c h i e v e d t h i s o b j e c t i v e when two e v e n t s o f i m p o r t a n c e a f f e c t i n g t h e p e r s o n a l p o s i t i o n o f t h e P r i m e M i n i s t e r o c c u r r e d i n June 1975. A t 10:00 a.m. on June 12, 1975, J u s t i c e J a g Mohan L a i S i n h a o f t h e A l l a h a b a d H i g h C o u r t announced t h a t M r s . Gandhi had been found g u i l t y on two c o u n t s o f e l e c t o r a l v i o l a t i o n s i n h e r e l e c t i o n t o t h e L o k Sabha i n 1971. M r s . Gandhi was now b a r r e d f r o m h o l d i n g e l e c t i v e o f f i c e f o r s i x y e a r s and was t o v a c a t e h e r s e a t i n t h e L o k Sabha w i t h i n s i x months. However, she was a l s o g i v e n a " s t a y o r d e r " d e l a y i n g t h e e x e c u -t i o n o f J u s t i c e S i n h a ' s s e n t e n c e f o r twent y d a y s , a l l o w i n g h e r t i m e t o a p p e a l t h e judgement i n t h e Supreme C o u r t of I n d i a . On t h e f o l l o w i n g day, Mrs. Gandhi r e c e i v e d a f u r t h e r s e t b a c k when the r e s u l t s o f t h e G u j a r a t S t a t e e l e c t i o n s h e l d on June 8-11 were a n -nounced. The Congress P a r t y was d e c i s i v e l y b e a t e n by a c o a l i t i o n o f op-p o s i t i o n p a r t i e s , t h e J a n a t a F r o n t , w h i c h won e i g h t y - s e v e n s e a t s and formed a m i n i s t r y headed by Babubhai P a t e l . The Congress P a r t y ' s s t r e n g t h i n t h e 182-member assembly f e l l f r o m 140 s e a t s a t d i s s o l u t i o n i n 1974 t o s e v e n t y - f i v e s e a t s . The e l e c t i o n r e s u l t s were a p e r s o n a l d e f e a t f o r M r s . Gandhi s i n c e she had s t a k e d h e r p r e s t i g e on t h e r e s u l t s and had campaigned e x t e n s i v e l y i n "the s t a t e making numerous speeches and h e l i c o p t e r t o u r s i n a l l n i n e t e e n d i s t r i c t s o f t h e s t a t e . M o r e o v e r , 51 during the e l e c t i o n campaign she had stressed the argument that the Congress Party was the only party capable of giving s t a b i l i t y and unity to India. In h i s analysis of the impact of the Gujarat e l e c t i o n , Kothari argues that the Congress Party misinterpreted the e l e c t i o n r e s u l t s . The Congress i t s e l f did not fare badly, getting 44 per cent of the vote which had been the normal strength of the Congress a l l along. This hap-pened i n s p i t e of the fa c t that the anti-Con-gress movement had o r i g i n a l l y started i n Gujarat and the stock of l o c a l Congressmen was very low. To no small extent t h i s was due to the Prime Minister's own massive campaign on behalf of the Congress and the fa c t that the poor, the t r i b a l and other underprivileged s t r a t a of the people were s t i l l with the Congress. And Gujarat was by no means representative of the country and there was more than a f a i r chance that the Congress would once again emerge triumphant i n the n a t i o n a l e l e c t i o n which was barely eight months ahead. While i t i s c e r t a i n l y true that the Congress received f o r t y -four per cent of the popular vote, a fi g u r e higher than that of the Janata Front, the fact remains that the winning of e l e c t i o n s depends on the number of seats won rather than the proportion of the popular vote. The Congress Party could have taken comfort i n the fact that i t s share of the popular vote remained approximately the same, but i t could not have been s a t i s f i e d with the fa c t that i t had l o s t s i x t y - f i v e seats and was now a minority party. Moreover, the Congress (R) l o s t ground i n the c r u c i a l urban areas of the state such as Rajkot, Surat, Baroda and Ahmedabad where the Janata Front obtained a higher proportion of the t o t a l vote. C l e a r l y , urban discontent with the Congress C R) had not lessened since 1974. 52 F o r t h e Congress P a r t y , t h e e l e c t i o n r e s u l t s b e f o r e G u j a r a t had been mixed and t h e y i n d i c a t e d t h a t t h e ' I n d i r a Wave' o f 1971-72 had d e c l i n e d . F o r i n s t a n c e , i n t h e F e b r u a r y 1974 s t a t e assembly e l e c t i o n s i n U t t a r P r a d e s h t h e C ongress P a r t y had managed t o r e t a i n c o n t r o l o f t h e S t a t e government b u t w i t h a m a j o r i t y o f o n l y two s e a t s . And t h e U.P. e l e c t i o n was r e g a r d e d as t h e most c o r r u p t i n p o s t - i n d e p e n d e n c e h i s t o r y . I n J a n u a r y 1975, C o n g r e s s (R) s u f f e r e d a shock d e f e a t i n t h e Lok Sabha c o n s t i t u e n c y o f J a b a l p u r , one o f i t s s t r o n g h o l d s i n t h e s t a t e o f Madhya P r a d e s h . The e f f e c t o f t h i s v i c t o r y o f an i n d e p e n d e n t s u p -p o r t e d by t h e o p p o s i t i o n p a r t i e s was t o quash any t h o u g h t i n t h e Con-g r e s s l e a d e r s h i p o f an e a r l y g e n e r a l e l e c t i o n . Thus th e t i m i n g o f t h e G u j a r a t e l e c t i o n r e s u l t s i s s i g n i f i c a n t , e s p e c i a l l y s i n c e t h e y came one day a f t e r t h e A l l a h a b a d H i g h C o u r t d e c i s i o n . The t w i n e v e n t s had a c u m u l a t i v e i m p a c t on t h e p o s i t i o n o f M r s . G a n d h i and t h e C ongress P a r t y . I t i s , o f c o u r s e , a m a t t e r o f s p e c u l a t i o n whether t h e r e w o u l d have been an emergency d e c l a r a t i o n had t h e t i m i n g o f t h e s e two e v e n t s been d i f f e r e n t . P e r h a p s Mrs. Gandhi c o u l d have d e a l t w i t h each c r i s i s s e p a r a t e l y . What i s c e r t a i n , t h o ugh, i s t h a t t h e e f f e c t o f A l l a h a b a d and G u j a r a t was t w o f o l d : F i r s t , i t gave th e o p p o s i t i o n p a r t i e s an u n p a r a l l e l e d o p p o r t u n i t y t o a t t a c k t h e P r i m e M i n i s t e r and t h e C o n g r e s s P a r t y . The non-communist o p p o s i t i o n p e r -c e i v e d t h a t t h e p r e s t i g e o f t h e P r i m e M i n i s t e r had s u f f e r e d an i r r e -v e r s i b l e s e t b a c k . S e c o n d l y , t h e e v e n t s o f June p l a c e d t h e Congress P a r t y i n a p e r i o d o f u n c e r t a i n t y . T h i s u n c e r t a i n t y was n o t ended when the ' v a c a t i o n j u d g e ' of t h e Supreme C o u r t , J u s t i c e V.R. K r i s h n a I y e r , 53 on June 24, 1975, t u r n e d down M r s . Gandhi's r e q u e s t f o r a " c o m p l e t e and a b s o l u t e s t a y o f j u s t i c e . " J u s t i c e I y e r d i d , however, g r a n t a c o n d i t i o n a l s t a y i n g o r d e r w h i c h e n a b l e d M r s . Gandhi t o c o n t i n u e as P r i m e M i n i s t e r b u t n o t t o t a k e p a r t i n p a r l i a m e n t a r y p r o c e e d i n g s , v o t e 19 o r draw h e r pay a s a member o f t h e Lok Sabha. A f t e r t h e A l l a h a b a d H i g h C o u r t d e c i s i o n and t h e G u j a r a t e l e c t i o n r e s u l t s , t h e non-communist o p p o s i t i o n was unanimous i n t h e v i e w t h a t M r s . G a n d h i s h o u l d r e s i g n . J u s t i c e S i n h a ' s judgement was h a i l e d as a g r e a t a c t showing t h e independence o f t h e j u d i c i a r y . The o p p o s i t i o n argued t h a t t h e P r i m e M i n i s t e r c o u l d n o t j u s t i f i a b l y r e m a i n i n o f f i c e a f t e r b e i n g c o n v i c t e d on e l e c t o r a l o f f e n c e s no m a t t e r how m i n o r t h o s e o f f e n c e s were. R e m a i n i n g i n o f f i c e w o u l d o n l y weaken h e r c r e d i b i l i t y and weaken t h e a u t h o r i t y o f t h e o f f i c e o f P r i m e M i n i s t e r . A c c o r d i n g l y , t h e o p p o s i t i o n p a r t i e s c a l l e d f o r t h e e s t a b l i s h m e n t o f a new government and began a n a t i o n - w i d e campaign f o r h e r r e s i g n a t i o n . On t h e - o t h e r hand, s u p p o r t e r s o f t h e P r i m e M i n i s t e r s t r e s s e d t h e f a c t t h a t t h e e l e c t o r a l c o n v i c t i o n s were minor and t h a t o t h e r c h a r g e s o f e l e c t o r a l o f f e n c e s had been thrown o u t by J u s t i c e S i n h a . The oppo-s i t i o n was ac c u s e d o f h a v i n g d o u b l e s t a n d a r d s i n t h a t t h e y a c c e p t e d t h e d e c i s i o n s o f t h e c o u r t s o n l y when t h e y s u i t e d t h e i r p o l i t i c a l i n t e r e s t s . They were a l s o a c c u s e d o f e x p l o i t i n g t h e r u l i n g a g a i n s t Mrs. Gandhi i n o r d e r t o c r e a t e d i s c o n t e n t i n t h e c o u n t r y . M o r e o v e r , Mrs. Ga n d h i ' s sup-p o r t e r s a r g u e d t h a t she was n o t l e g a l l y o b l i g e d t o r e s i g n s i n c e she had been g i v e n a c o n d i t i o n a l s t a y i n g o r d e r ; t h e q u e s t i o n o f M r s . Gandhi's r e s i g n a t i o n w o u l d o n l y a r i s e once t h e Supreme C o u r t had made i t s 54 judgement on t h e m a t t e r o f h e r a p p e a l . ^ Whatever t h e l e g a l arguments, i t soon became a p p a r e n t t h a t t h e q u e s t i o n o f t h e c o n t i n u a n c e o f t h e Pr i m e M i n i s t e r i n o f f i c e was a p o l i t i c a l i s s u e . The non-communist o p p o s i t i o n p a r t i e s b e l i e v e d t h a t M r s . Gandhi c o u l d n o t r e c o v e r from t h e s e s e t b a c k s , b u t i n t h i s t h e y m i s c a l c u l a t e d . She r e t a i n e d w i d e s p r e a d s u p p o r t i n h e r own p a r t y . H er dominance o f t h e p a r t y and t h e f a c t t h a t most Congressmen and C h i e f M i n i s t e r s owed t h e i r p o s i t i o n s t o h e r meant t h a t t h e r e was no l i k e l y s u c c e s s o r t o t h e P r i m e M i n i s t e r i f she r e s i g n e d . P r e s i d e n t Ahmed was c a r e f u l t o t a k e a no n -c o m m i t t a l p o s i t i o n i n t h e whole m a t t e r o f h e r r e s i g n a t i o n ; and M r s . Gandhi r e t a i n e d t he s u p p o r t o f t h e army, t h e p o l i c e , t h e i n t e l l i g e n c e s e r v i c e s and t h e upper e c h e l o n s o f t h e s t a t e and c e n t r a l b u r e a u c r a c i e s . ' I n l i n e w i t h t h e i r d e c i s i o n t o b e g i n a n a t i o n w i d e campaign f o r t h e r e s i g n a t i o n o f I n d i r a G a n d h i , t h e o p p o s i t i o n p a r t i e s h e l d a m a s s i v e r a l l y i n New D e l h i on t h e a f t e r n o o n o f June 25, 1975. L e a d i n g t h e r a l l y , J a y a p r a k a s h Narayan c a l l e d f o r a n a t i o n - w i d e c i v i l d i s o b e d i e n c e s t r u g g l e and once a g a i n a p p e a l e d t o t h e army and t h e p o l i c e n o t t o obey i l l e g a l o r d e r s . Government s e r v a n t s s h o u l d n o t obey any u n j u s t o r d e r s ; t h e m i l i t a r y ' s r e s p o n s i b i l i t y i s t o p r o t e c t I n d i a n democracy; t h e i r d u t y i s t o p r o t e c t t h e C o n s t i t u t i o n . . . t h e p o l i c e a r e t r a i n e d t o a c t i n a b l i n d way; t h e y s h o u l d a l s o t h i n k — t h e p o l i c e , don't t h e y have s e l f - r e s p e c t , a r e t h e y j u s t t h e r e f o r t h e sake o f bread?^2 Narayan had made s i m i l a r a p p e a l s b e f o r e and t h e y had been d u l y r e c o r d e d by t h e p o l i c e and i n t e l l i g e n c e s e r v i c e s . However, h i s a p p e a l on June 25 t o o k on an added s i g n i f i c a n c e b ecause i t was made on t h e 55 eve o f a n a t i o n w i d e c i v i l d i s o b e d i e n c e campaign and i t f u r n i s h e d M r s . Gandhi w i t h a f u r t h e r r e a s o n f o r i m p o s i n g a s t a t e o f n a t i o n a l emergency. The d e c i s i o n t o d e c l a r e a s t a t e o f n a t i o n a l emergency was r e a c h e d by Mrs. Gandhi on t h e e v e n i n g o f t h e same day. The U n i o n c a b i n e t met a t s i x o ' c l o c k t h e n e x t m o r n i n g t o approve t h e emergency w h i c h was t h e n p r o c l a i m e d by t h e P r e s i d e n t o f I n d i a a t 7:00 a.m. on Thursday June 26, 1975. The C e n t r a l R e s e r v e P o l i c e had a l r e a d y a r r e s t e d a number o f op-p o s i t i o n l e a d e r s and Congressmen i n c l u d i n g J a y a p r a k a s h N a r a y a n , M o r a r j i D e s a i , Raj N a r a i n , P i l o o Mody, A.B. V a j p a y e e , Chandra Sekhar and Ram Dhas under t h e M a i n t e n a n c e o f I n t e r n a l S e c u r i t y A c t o f 1971. S t r i c t p r e s s c e n s o r s h i p was i m m e d i a t e l y imposed and most m o r n i n g newspapers i n New D e l h i d i d n o t appear because o f ' e l e c t r i c a l f a i l u r e s ' . Three days a f t e r t h e i m p o s i t i o n o f t h e emergency a P r e s i d e n t i a l o r d e r was p r o m u l g a t e d w h i c h l i m i t e d t h e r i g h t s o f i n d i v i d u a l s , groups and f o r e i g n e r s t o d e f e n d t h e i r r i g h t s and freedoms i n t h e c o u r t s . These i n i t i a l measures o f t h e emergency were f o l l o w e d on J u l y 1 by t h e announcement o f t h e P r i m e M i n i s t e r o f a ' T w e n t y - P o i n t P r o -gramme' o f economic and s o c i a l r e f o r m s , and on J u l y 4, by t h e b a n n i n g of t w e n t y - s i x o r g a n i z a t i o n s i n c l u d i n g t h e R a s h t r i y a Swayamsevak Sangh (R.S.S.), Anand Marg and a number o f N a x a l i t e groups under t h e D e f e n c e o f I n d i a R u l e s . These were soon f o l l o w e d by o t h e r measures w h i c h e n -l a r g e d t h e scope o f e x e c u t i v e power and c u r t a i l e d c i v i l l i b e r t i e s on an a s c e n d i n g l i n e o f a u t h o r i t a r i a n i s m . F i r s t , t h e government suspended t h e r u l e s o f p r o c e d u r e o f t h e L o k Sabha so t h a t q u e s t i o n h o u r was d i s -c o n t i n u e d and o n l y government m o t i o n s were a l l o w e d . S e c o n d l y , on J u l y 23, 1975 t h e Lok Sabha p a s s e d a r e s o l u t i o n a p p r o v i n g t h e d e c l a r a t i o n 56 o f t h e s t a t e o f emergency by a v o t e of 336 t o 5 9 T h e r e s o l u t i o n t h u s f u l f i l l e d t h e r e q u i r e m e n t s o f t h e C o n s t i t u t i o n i n w h i c h P a r l i a m e n t has t o approve a s t a t e o f emergency w i t h i n two months o f i t s p r o c l a m a t i o n . W i t h c e r t a i n o p p o s i t i o n members and Congressmen e i t h e r i n j a i l o r b o y c o t t i n g t h e s e s s i o n o f P a r l i a m e n t , t h e government had t h e n e c e s s a r y m a j o r i t y t o r u s h t h r o u g h a s e r i e s o f c o n s t i t u t i o n a l amendments t h r o u g h t h e Lok Sabha. On J u l y 23, 1975 t h e Lok Sabha approved by a 342 t o 1 v o t e t h e t h i r t y - n i n t h c o n s t i t u t i o n a l amendment w h i c h b a r r e d l a w c o u r t s f r o m h e a r i n g p e t i t i o n s c h a l l e n g i n g e i t h e r t h e p r o c l a m a t i o n o f an emer-gency o r t h e r u l e s imposed under i t . The amendment a l s o gave t h e 2 P r e s i d e n t the r i g h t t o p r o c l a i m any number o f emergencies s i m u l t a n e o u s l y . On August 7, 1975 P a r l i a m e n t approved t h e f o r t i e t h c o n s t i t u t i o n a l amendment; t h e c o u r t s c o u l d n o t c o n s i d e r c a s e s c o n c e r n i n g t h e e l e c t i o n o f the P r i m e M i n i s t e r , t h e P r e s i d e n t , V i c e - P r e s i d e n t and s p e a k e r of t h e Lok Sabha. I t a l s o e x c l u d e d t h i r t y - e i g h t c e n t r a l and s t a t e l a w s from j u d i c i a l r e v i e w i n c l u d i n g M.I.S.A. and t h e E l e c t i o n Laws (Amendment) A c t o f 1 9 7 5 . 2 6 M r s . Gandhi's p o s i t i o n was a l s o s t r e n g t h e n e d by t h e d e c i s i o n o f t h e Supreme C o u r t on November 7. T h i s r e v e r s e d h e r c o n v i c t i o n on two e l e c t o r a l o f f e n c e s and t h e A l l a h a b a d H i g h C o u r t ' s r u l i n g b a r r i n g h e r f r o m e l e c t i v e o f f i c e f o r s i x y e a r s . The d e c i s i o n o f t h e Supreme C o u r t was n o t , however, an u n q u a l i f i e d s u c c e s s f o r M r s . G a ndhi. I n a f i v e t o t h r e e v o t e , t h e Supreme C o u r t a l s o n u l l i f i e d p a r t o f t h e f o r t i e t h c o n s t i t u t i o n a l amendment w h i c h p l a c e d t h e e l e c t i o n o f t h e P r i m e M i n i s t e r o u t s i d e t h e scope o f j u d i c i a l r e v i e w . Thus i n t h e p o s t - J u n e 26 p e r i o d 57 the c o u r t s remained an i m p o r t a n t h r a k e on t h e a c t i v i t i e s o f t h e e x e c u t i v e . I n a n a l y z i n g e x e c u t i v e — j u d i c i a l r e l a t i o n s i n t h i s p e r i o d , a d e f i n i t e p a t t e r n emerges. There were, f i r s t o f a l l , a number o f c o u r t d e c i s i o n s w h i c h i n v a l i d a t e d p a r t s o f t h e c o n s t i t u t i o n a l amendments o r w h i c h l e d t o t h e r e l e a s e o f c e r t a i n p o l i t i c a l p r i s o n e r s s u c h as t h e j o u r n a l i s t K u l d i p N a y a r . A f t e r t a k i n g s t o c k o f t h e s e d e c i s i o n s , t h e government responded by p a s s i n g c o n s t i t u t i o n a l amendments, amendments to s t a t u t e s o r e x e c u t i v e o r d e r s w h i c h o v e r t u r n e d t h e c o u r t s ' d e c i s i o n s . Thus t h e i n i t i a t i v e a l w a y s r e m a i n e d w i t h t h e e x e c u t i v e . I n s h o r t , t h e r e s u l t o f t h e s e e x e c u t i v e - j u d i c i a l i n t e r a c t i o n s was an i n c r e a s e i n t h e power o f the e x e c u t i v e and a p r o g r e s s i v e d i m i n u t i o n o f t h e power o f the c o u r t s . F i n a l l y , one o f t h e most i m p o r t a n t a c t i o n s of t h e government i n the emergency p e r i o d was t h e s u s p e n s i o n on J a n u a r y a 8 , 1976 o f seven i m p o r t a n t r i g h t s g u a r a n t e e d by A r t i c l e 19 o f t h e C o n s t i t u t i o n — n a m e l y , t h e r i g h t s t o freedom o f speech and e x p r e s s i o n , t o assemble p e a c e a b l y w i t h o u t arms, to form a s s o c i a t i o n s o r u n i o n s , t o move f r e e l y t h r o u g h o u t t h e t e r r i t o r y o f I n d i a , t o r e s i d e o r s e t t l e i n any p a r t of. t h e t e r r i t o r y o f I n d i a , t o a c q u i r e , h o l d and d i s p o s e o f p r o p e r t y , and t o p r a c t i c e any p r o f e s s i o n o r t o c a r r y on any o c c u p a t i o n , t r a d e o r b u s i n e s s . Once a g a i n , t h e P r e s i d e n t i a l o r d e r s u s p e n d i n g t h e s e r i g h t s i n c l u d e d a p r o v i s i o n b a r r i n g a p p e a l s t o t h e C o u r t s t o e n f o r c e A r t i c l e 19. The S i g n i f i c a n c e and C o n s t i t u t i o n a l i t y o f t h e Emergency I t now r e m a i n s t o c o n s i d e r t h e s i g n i f i c a n c e o f t h e d e c l a r a t i o n 58 o f t h e s t a t e o f emergency and subsequent government measures f o r t h e o p e r a t i o n o f I n d i a ' s c o n s t i t u t i o n a l and p o l i t i c a l s y s t e m s . S e v e r a l q u e s t i o n s a r i s e : Was t h e emergency c o n s i s t e n t w i t h c o n s t i t u t i o n a l government? Were t h e emergency measures an o v e r r e a c t i o n on t h e p a r t o f t h e g o v e r n m e n t — a n a t t e m p t , as i t was s a i d , t o c r a c k a n u t w i t h a sledgehammer? I n what sense was t h e d e c l a r a t i o n o f t h e s t a t e o f emergency c o n s t i t u t i o n a l l y and p o l i t i c a l l y u n p r e c e d e n t e d ? And, f i n a l l y , how do t h e M a r x i s t model of c l a s s c o n f l i c t and K o t h a r i ' s model o f one-p a r t y dominance e x p l a i n t h e s u s p e n s i o n o f c o n s t i t u t i o n a l government? The June 26 p r o c l a m a t i o n r a i s e d i m p o r t a n t q u e s t i o n s r e g a r d i n g t h e l e g a l i t y o f M r s . Gandhi's a c t i o n s . I t c o u l d be a r g u e d t h a t t h e P r i m e M i n i s t e r d i d n o t exceed t h e bounds o f h e r l e g a l and c o n s t i t u t i o n a l au-t h o r i t y s i n c e t h e emergency measures were b a s e d on a l a r g e number o f c o n s t i t u t i o n a l p r o v i s i o n s s u c h as A r t i c l e 352 and on l e g a l s t a t u t e s s u c h as t h e M a i n t e n a n c e of I n t e r n a l S e c u r i t y A c t of 1971 and t h e Defence o f I n d i a R u l e s . These c o n s t i t u t i o n a l and s t a t u t o r y p r o v i s i o n s g i v e t h e e x e c u t i v e b r o a d powers i n t i m e s o f c r i s i s . I n h i s e v a l u a t i o n o f t h e p o l i t i c a l c r i s i s o f 1975, R i c h a r d L. P a r k a r g u e s t h a t " I n d i r a Gandhi c o u l d n o t have embarked on t h e c o u r s e o f a c t i o n she has t a k e n s i n c e June 26 had she n o t h e l d l e g i t i m a t e m a j o r i t i e s i n P a r l i a m e n t and i n 19 o f t h e 22 s t a t e s . The moves she has f o s t e r e d appear t o be l e g a l ; b u t i t i s q u e s t i o n a b l e t h a t t h e y have been c o n s t i t u t i o n a l . The d i f f e r e n c e between what i s " l e g a l " and what i s " c o n s t i t u t i o n a l " c a n be a m a t t e r of o p i n i o n , b u t i n t h e end t h e d i f f e r e n c e i s what t h e Supreme C o u r t s a y s i t i s . T h i s i s a most f r u s t r a t i n g f a c t t h a t c o n c e r n s members o f 59 t h e e x i s t i n g Government, and s e r i o u s s c h o l a r s o f t h e s u b j e c t t as w e l l . M / One o f t h e p r o b l e m s o f making t h i s d i s t i n c t i o n between t h e ' l e g a l i t y ' and t h e ' c o n s t i t u t i o n a l i t y ' o f t h e emergency i s t h a t i t i g n o r e s t h e f a c t t h a t t h e emergency p r o v i s i o n s o f t h e C o n s t i t u t i o n were, by t h e i r v e r y n a t u r e , d e s i g n e d t o suspend t h e n o r m a l w o r k i n g s o f t h e C o n s t i t u t i o n . A more s u i t a b l e d i s t i n c t i o n , t h e r e f o r e , w o u l d be between the ' s p i r i t ' o f the C o n s t i t u t i o n and t h e ' l e t t e r ' o f i t s p r o v i s i o n s . I n a r g u i n g t h a t democracy was s t i l l f u n c t i o n i n g i n I n d i a a f t e r June 26, 1975, t h e government p o i n t e d out- t h e f o l l o w i n g : t h a t P a r l i a m e n t was s t i l l m e e t i n g a m i d s t a m u l t i - p a r t y system; t h a t t h e P r i m e M i n i s t e r and t h e C a b i n e t c o n t i n u e d t o be a n s w e r a b l e t o P a r l i a m e n t ; t h a t t h e l e g i s -l a t u r e s of t h e S t a t e s were s t i l l i n s e s s i o n ; and t h a t o p p o s i t i o n gov-28 ernments were i n power i n Goa, G u j a r a t and T a m i l Nadu. These a s s e r t i o n s , however, do n o t t a k e i n t o a c c o u n t t h e c o n s t i -t u t i o n a l amendments t h a t were p a s s e d a f t e r June 1975 o r t h e f a c t t h a t P r e s i d e n t ' s R u l e was s u b s e q u e n t l y imposed on G u j a r a t and T a m i l Nadu. I n C h a p t e r I I i t was argued t h a t ' c o n s t i t u t i o n a l government' i m p l i e s t h a t t h e a r b i t r a r y use o f power by t h e government i s c h e c k e d , t h a t i n d i -v i d u a l r i g h t s a r e m a i n t a i n e d and t h a t t h e r e a r e p r o v i s i o n s f o r t h e s u c -c e s s i o n of p o w e r - h o l d e r s t h r o u g h c o m p e t i t i v e , d e m o c r a t i c e l e c t i o n s . U s i n g t h i s d e f i n i t i o n - . o f ' c o n s t i t u t i o n a l government' as a s t a n d a r d , i t i s c l e a r t h a t democracy d i d n o t f u n c t i o n i n I n d i a d u r i n g t h e emergency. Where Mrs. Gandhi had gone a g a i n s t t h e ' s p i r i t ' o f t h e C o n s t i t u t i o n was i n a r r e s t i n g i m p o r t a n t o p p o s i t i o n l e a d e r s and c e r t a i n members o f h e r own p a r t y , i n i m p o s i n g p r e s s c e n s o r s h i p , p o s t p o n i n g n a t i o n a l e l e c t i o n s and 60 r e d u c i n g t h e power o f t h e c o u r t s . Arguments o v e r t h e emergency a l s o c e n t e r on t h e a p p r o p r i a t e n e s s o f M r s . Gandhi's measures and whether t h e y were*.an o v e r r e a c t i o n t o e v e n t s . The government had a l a r g e m a j o r i t y i n P a r l i a m e n t , c o n t r o l o f t h e m a j o r i t y o f s t a t e governments, and i t was a l s o armed w i t h t h e d e c l a -r a t i o n o f emergency o f December 1971 and w i t h t h e M a i n t e n a n c e o f I n t e r n a l S e c u r i t y A c t of 1971 and t h e Defence o f I n d i a R u l e s . C o u l d t h e g o v e r n -ment, t h e r e f o r e , have d e a l t w i t h t h e c r i s i s w i t h o u t t h e extreme measure o f an emergency a p p l i e d t o t h e whole o f I n d i a ? The argument o f M r s . Gandhi and h e r s u p p o r t e r s was t h a t t h e s e r e s o u r c e s a t t h e d i s p o s a l o f the government were i n a d e q u a t e t o d e a l w i t h a r e a l t h r e a t t o I n d i a ' s p o l i t i c a l s t a b i l i t y . Tougher measures d e s i g n e d t o d e m o n s t r a t e t h e gov-ernment's d e t e r m i n a t i o n t o d e a l w i t h t h i s t h r e a t were needed i n o r d e r 29 t o save I n d i a n democracy from c o l l a p s e . The government's ban of twen-t y - s i x extreme l e f t and r i g h t w i n g o r g a n i z a t i o n s s u c h as t h e R.S.S., Anand Marg and N a x a l i t e s was a l s o an a t t e m p t t o s t r e n g t h e n I n d i a n democracy by c o n s o l i d a t i n g t h e moderate c e n t e r o f I n d i a n p o l i t i c s . I t i s n e c e s s a r y t o c o n s i d e r i n what ways t h e measures o f t h e emergency were u n p r e c e d e n t e d . S t a t e s o f n a t i o n a l emergency has been d e c l a r e d b e f o r e i n O c t o b e r 1962 and December 1971 b u t t h e s e had been d e s i g n e d t o d e a l w i t h an e x t e r n a l t h r e a t and had been l i m i t e d i n t h e i r a p p l i c a t i o n . F o r i n s t a n c e , d u r i n g t h e f i r s t emergency i n t h e S i n o -I n d i a n b o r d e r war, a r r e s t s had l a r g e l y been c o n f i n e d t o p r o - P e k i n g communists. And s i n c e independence t h e P r e v e n t i v e D e t e n t i o n A c t and i t s . s u c c e s s o r M.I.S.A. had been used m a i n l y a g a i n s t ' a n t i - s o c i a l 61 e l e m e n t s ' s u c h as 'goondas' (u r b a n t o u g h s ) , d a c o i t s , s m u g g l e r s and s p e c u l a t o r s . The s t a t e o f emergency o f June 26, 1975, however, was t h e f i r s t emergency t o be d e c l a r e d f o r r e a s o n s o f i n t e r n a l r a t h e r t h a n e x t e r n a l c r i s i s . The emergency was a l s o u n i q u e i n t h a t i t was accompanied by the i m p o s i t i o n o f e x t e n s i v e p r e s s c e n s o r s h i p and by t h e s i m u l t a n e o u s a r r e s t o f o p p o s i t i o n l e a d e r s from p a r t i e s s u c h as t h e J a n a Sangh, t h e Samyutka S o c i a l i s t P a r t y , t h e C.P.M. and t h e Congress P a r t y i t s e l f . U n p r e c e d e n t e d a l s o was t h e f i r s t l a r g e - s c a l e a r r e s t o f members o f t h e Lo k Sabha. F i n a l l y , how u s e f u l a r e t h e M a r x i s t model o f c l a s s c o n f l i c t and K o t h a r i ' s model o f o n e - p a r t y dominance i n e x p l a i n i n g t h e s u s p e n s i o n o f c o n s t i t u t i o n a l government i n : I n d i a ? I n t h e p r e v i o u s c h a p t e r s i t was h y p o t h e s i z e d t h a t t h e C o n s t i t u t i o n c o n t a i n e d a u t h o r i t a r i a n as w e l l as l i b e r a l - d e m o c r a t i c f e a t u r e s . A c l a s s a n a l y s i s o f f e r e d one e x p l a n a t i o n o f why t h e b r o a d emergency powers were i n c l u d e d i n t h e C o n s t i t u t i o n . C l a s s i n t e r e s t a l s o o f f e r e d an e x p l a n a t i o n o f t h e c o n d i t i o n s f a v o u r i n g c o n s t i t u t i o n a l government. I n t h e M a r x i s t a n a l y s i s t h e i n d i v i d u a l r i g h t s of t h e C o n s t i t u t i o n were c o n d i t i o n a l on t h e absence o f a r e v o l u t i o n a r y c h a l l e n g e t o t h e s o c i a l and p o l i t i c a l power o f t h e dominant c l a s s e s o f I n d i a . The a n a l y s e s o f t h e breakdown o f consensus and o f t h e immediate causes of t h e emergency, however, have shown t h a t t h e emergency was n o t the outcome o f a r e v o l u t i o n a r y c h a l l e n g e t o t h e I n d i a n c o n s t i t u t i o n a l and p o l i t i c a l system. The i n s t a b i l i t y i n G u j a r a t , f o r example, was 6 2 caused by a middle class revolt against Congress governments at the state level and at the center. The organized working class played only a marginal role in these disturbances. Rather, the instability prior to the emergency was caused by conflict between bourgeois parties such as the Congress (R), Congress (0), Jana Sangh and Swantantra. In this conflict between the bourgeois parties, the Indian communist parties took different sides; the C.P.I, a l l i e d i t s e l f with the ruling Congress Party while the C.P.M. sided with the opposition parties. Yet a class analysis may explain the ease with which the emergency was imposed and in particular the loyalty of the police, army, bureau-cracy and paramilitary forces to Mrs. Gandhi. In the Marxist analysis, these instruments of state power are controlled by the ruling classes; their function is to maintain the dominance of the ruling classes. How-ever, after the declaration of the state of emergency in June 1975, the judiciary was one exception to the Marxist analysis. It was s t i l l wedded to l i b e r a l democratic principles, and served as a brake on the actions of the executive. It could thus be argued that the emergency was not the c r i s i s of India's dominant classes but rather of one section of the ruling class. It could also be argued that the emergency was, above a l l , the c r i s i s of one person—Indira Gandhi. One of the strengths of Kothari's model of one-party dominance i s the importance i t gives to the role of India's p o l i t i c a l leaders in securing consensus in the p o l i t i c a l system. For example, in his model of the 'Congress System' Kothari stressed the importance of leaders such as Nehru and other ' t a l l men' in blunting 63 c o n f l i c t and cleavages i n India. The foregoing analysis: of the period leading up to the d e c l a r a -t i o n of the state of emergency has shown that Mrs. Gandhi came to place more emphasis on economic and s o c i a l performance, even at the expense of consensus. In her p o p u l i s t strategy Mrs. Gandhi attacked the 'vested i n t e r e s t s ' of Indian society and she saw h e r s e l f as the cham-pion of the disadvantaged sections of society. And as the opposition parti e s resorted to extra-parliamentary agitations she saw h e r s e l f as the guardian of law and order. However, Mrs. Gandhi's pe r s o n a l i t y and attitudes towards demo-cracy and opposition give only a p a r t i a l explanation of the suspension of c o n s t i t u t i o n a l government i n 1975. Attention must also be focussed on Kothari's frameworks of operative mechanisms, consensus and l e g i t -imacy and i n p a r t i c u l a r the operation of the 'margin of pressure.' Although the operation of the 'margin of pressure' contributed to the openness of the p o l i t i c a l system before 1969, the 'margin of pressure' did not operate a f t e r t h i s period. Before 1969 there was at l e a s t some agreement between the party of consensus and the p a r t i e s of pressure as to the rules of the c o n s t i t u t i o n a l and p o l i t i c a l system. But a f t e r the Congress s p l i t and the 1971-72 elec t i o n s the p a r t i e s of pressure were reduced i n importance and alienated from the 'Congress System.' The opposition p a r t i e s demanded the reform of the e l e c t o r a l system, the r i g h t of r e c a l l of representatives and the l i f t i n g of the state of emergency declared i n December 1971. They believed that the e x i s t i n g c o n s t i t u t i o n a l and p o l i t i c a l framework unduly favoured the r u l i n g 64 C o n g r e s s P a r t y . I n t h e t e r m i n o l o g y o f f u n c t i o n a l i s m , o p p o s i t i o n h a d b e c o m e d y s f u n c t i o n a l t o t h e c o n s t i t u t i o n a l a n d p o l i t i c a l s y s t e m . T h i s e x a m i n a t i o n o f t h e p e r i o d l e a d i n g u p t o t h e d e c l a r a t i o n o f t h e s t a t e o f e m e r g e n c y h a s s h o w n t h a t t h e m a i n t e n a n c e o f c o n s t i t u -t i o n a l g o v e r n m e n t r e q u i r e s c o n s e n s u s b e t w e e n t h e g o v e r n m e n t a n d t h e o p p o s i t i o n p a r t i e s . I t h a s a l s o s h o w n t h a t a m o d i f i c a t i o n i s r e q u i r e d t o t h e M a r x i s t m o d e l s i n c e r e v o l u t i o n a r y c h a l l e n g e s t o c l a s s d o m i n a n c e d o n o t a c c o u n t f o r t h e s u s p e n s i o n o f c o n s t i t u t i o n a l g o v e r n m e n t . T h e m a i n t e n a n c e o f c o n s t i t u t i o n a l g o v e r n m e n t a l s o r e q u i r e s a g r e e m e n t w i t h i n t h e d o m i n a n t c l a s s e s a s t o t h e c o n s t i t u t i o n a l a n d p o l i t i c a l f r a m e w o r k . F o l l o w i n g t h e d e c l a r a t i o n o f t h e s t a t e o f e m e r g e n c y , t h e g o v e r n -m e n t m a d e i t c l e a r t h a t i t w o u l d n o t a l l o w a r e t u r n t o s o m e o f t h e f e a t u r e s o f t h e p r e - J u n e 1 9 7 5 p o l i t i c a l s y s t e m , p a r t i c u l a r l y i n t h e e x t r a - c o n s t i t u t i o n a l m e t h o d s a d o p t e d b y t h e n o n - c o m m u n i s t a n d C P M o p -3 0 p o s i t i o n p a r t i e s . T h e f o l l o w i n g c h a p t e r e x a m i n e s h o w t h e g o v e r n m e n t i n t e n d e d t o p r e v e n t a r e c u r r e n c e o f t h e p o l i t i c a l i n s t a b i l i t y l e a d i n g u p t o t h e e m e r g e n c y . CHAPTER V THE REVISION OF THE CONSTITUTION 65 Soon a f t e r t he d e c l a r a t i o n o f t h e s t a t e o f n a t i o n a l emergency i n June 1975, I n d i a ' s c o n s t i t u t i o n a l and p o l i t i c a l s y s t e m was p l a c e d i n an u n p r e c e d e n t e d s t a t e o f f l u x . The way i n w h i c h t h e Emergency was imposed r a i s e d q u e s t i o n s o f whether I n d i a w o u l d c o n t i n u e t o r e m a i n a p a r l i a m e n -t a r y democracy and whether t h e o l d norms o f I n d i a n p o l i t i c s w ould e v e r r e t u r n . Some w e s t e r n o b s e r v e r s argued t h a t a d i c t a t o r s h i p had been i m -posed on I n d i a and t h a t t h i s c i v i l i a n d i c t a t o r s h i p w o u l d sooner o r l a t e r be r e p l a c e d by a m i l i t a r y one."'" Mrs. Gandhi h e r s e l f made i t c l e a r t h a t she i n t e n d e d t o use t h e s t a t e o f emergency as an o p p o r t u n i t y t o r e a s s e s s I n d i a ' s c o n s t i t u t i o n a l and p o l i t i c a l i n s t i t u t i o n s ; and as p a r t o f t h i s f r e s h s t a r t a r e v i s i o n o f t h e c o n s t i t u t i o n w o u l d be n e c e s s a r y . She j u s t i f i e d c o n s t i t u t i o n a l r e v i s i o n on t h e grounds t h a t i t was l o n g o v e r -due and needed t o s e c u r e t h e s o c i a l economic and p o l i t i c a l t r a n s f o r m a t i o n o f I n d i a . I n p a r t i c u l a r , she argued t h a t c o n s t i t u t i o n a l r e v i s i o n w o u l d remove o b s t a c l e s t o t h e government's economic and s o c i a l programs, p r i m a r i l y , t h e r u l i n g s o f t h e c o u r t s on p r o p e r t y r i g h t s and t h e a c t i v i -2 t i e s o f ' v e s t e d i n t e r e s t s ' . I t c o u l d be argued t h a t c o n s t i t u t i o n a l r e v i s i o n was n o t n e c e s s a r y and t h a t t he o b s t a c l e s t o t h e government r e p r e s e n t e d by t h e j u d i c i a r y and t h e ' v e s t e d i n t e r e s t s ' were n o n - i s s u e s by 1975. R a t h e r , t h e s e ' o b s t a c l e s ' c o n t i n u e d t o be o f use t o Mrs. G andhi as w h i p p i n g boys i n her p o p u l i s t s t r a t e g y . S i n c e 1971, P a r l i a m e n t had p a s s e d a s e r i e s o f c o n s t i t u t i o n a l amendments i n r e s p o n s e t o t h e Supreme C o u r t ' s c o n s e r v a t i v e r u l i n g s on l a n d r e f o r m and p r o p e r t y r i g h t s , t h e n a t i o n a l i z a t i o n o f banks and t h e a b o l i t i o n of p r i v y p u r s e s . On August 11, 1971, f o r example, t h e 66 L o k Sahba approved t h e 2 4 t h amendment t o the C o n s t i t u t i o n i n r e s p o n s e t o t h e Supreme C o u r t ' s 1967 r u l i n g i n t h e c a s e o f ' G o l a k n a t h v P u n j a b ' . A r t i c l e s 13 and 368 o f t h e C o n s t i t u t i o n were amended, t h u s r e a f f i r m i n g P a r l i a m e n t ' s a u t h o r i t y t o amend any p a r t o f t h e C o n s t i t u t i o n i n c l u d i n g the s e c t i o n on Fundamental R i g h t s . A l s o t h e 2 9 t h amendment of June 9, 1972 and t h e 3 4 t h amendment of August 26, 1-974 added t o t h e l i s t o f c e n t r a l and s t a t e laws o u t s i d e t h e scope o f j u d i c i a l r e v i e w . F u r t h e r -more, on A p r i l 24, 1973, t h e Supreme C o u r t i n t h e c a s e o f 'Kesavananda v K e r a l a ' o v e r t u r n e d i t s e a r l i e r r u l i n g i n t h e ' G o l a k n a t h ' c a s e . The c o u r t r u l e d t h a t P a r l i a m e n t d i d have t h e c o n s t i t u t i o n a l a u t h o r i t y t o amend t h e Fundamental R i g h t s . Why, t h e n , was f u r t h e r c o n s t i t u t i o n a l r e v i s i o n n e c e s s a r y a f t e r June 1975? I n t h e f i r s t p l a c e , i t i s i m p o r t a n t t o n o t e t h a t t h e 'Kesavananda' d e c i s i o n d i d n o t s e t t l e t h e c o n t r o v e r s y o v e r P a r l i a m e n t ' s a u t h o r i t y t o amend t h e C o n s t i t u t i o n . W h i l e t h e Supreme C o u r t d i d s t a t e t h a t P a r l i a m e n t c o u l d a l t e r t h e Fundamental R i g h t s , i t a l s o added t h a t P a r l i a m e n t c o u l d n o t a l t e r t h e ' b a s i c s t r u c t u r e ' o r 'framework' o f t h e C o n s t i t u t i o n . The C o u r t , however, d i d n o t make c l e a r what i t meant by t h e ' b a s i c s t r u c t u r e ! , o r 'framework' o f t h e C o n s t i t u t i o n . Thus by t h e m i d d l e o f 1975, t h e c o n s t i t u t i o n a l i s s u e of P a r l i a m e n t ' s a u t h o r i t y t o r e v i s e t h e C o n s t i t u t i o n remained u n r e s o l v e d . There were a l s o o t h e r o u t s t a n d i n g c o n s t i t u t i o n a l and p o l i t i c a l p r o b l e m s . These i n c l u d e d : t h e powers o f t h e P r e s i d e n t ; h i g h c o u r t r u l i n g s on c e n t r a l laws and t h e use o f h i g h c o u r t w r i t s ; l a n d r e f o r m and t h e i s s u e o f 'benami t r a n s f e r s ' , i n w h i c h some landowners 67 r e g i s t e r e d t h e i r h o l d i n g s w i t h r e l a t i v e s and f r i e n d s i n o r d e r t o evade l a n d c e i l i n g l a w s ; t h e p r o b l e m o f j u d i c i a l i n t e r v e n t i o n i n c i v i l s e r v i c e m a t t e r s s u c h as employment and c o n d i t i o n s o f s e r v i c e ; c o n t r o v e r s y o v e r whether t h e D i r e c t i v e P r i n c i p l e s o f S t a t e P o l i c y t o o k p r e c e d e n c e o v e r th e Fundamental R i g h t s o f t h e C o n s t i t u t i o n ; and t h e p r o b l e m o f r e f o r m i n g th e l e g a l s y s t e m i n o r d e r t o make i t more e f f i c i e n t and more a c c e s s i b l e t o t h e m a j o r i t y o f t h e p o p u l a t i o n . However, t h e most i m p o r t a n t r e a s o n f o r c o n s t i t u t i o n a l r e v i s i o n was M r s . Gandhi's aim o f c o n s o l i d a t i n g h e r p e r s o n a l power as shown by t h e e a r l i e r f o r t i e t h amendment w h i c h b a r r e d t h e c o u r t s from c o n s i d e r i n g t h e e l e c t i o n o f t h e P r i m e M i n i s t e r . The f o l l o w i n g s e c t i o n t r a c e s t h e government's p r o p o s a l s f o r c o n s t i t u t i o n a l r e f o r m f r o m June 1975 t o t h e p a s s i n g o f t h e 42nd Con-s t i t u t i o n a l (Amendment) A c t i n November 2, 1976. I t i s l a r g e l y a c h r o n o l o g i c a l a c c o u n t of t h e g e n e s i s o f t h e 42nd amendment and i t w i l l c o n s i d e r why s p e c i f i c p r o p o s a l s were p u t f o r w a r d , m o d i f i e d o r w i t h d r a w n . On A u gust 16, 1975, i n an i n t e r v i e w w i t h t h e e d i t o r - i n - c h i e f o f t h e Bombay newsmagazine ' B l i t z ' , M r s . Gandhi made known some o f h e r g u i d e l i n e s f o r c o n s t i t u t i o n a l r e v i s i o n . R e p l y i n g t o t h e q u e s t i o n o f what changes were b e i n g c o n t e m p l a t e d by t h e governments. Mrs. G andhi s a i d : I am n o t t h i n k i n g i n terms o f a C o n s t i t u e n t Assembly o r a new C o n s t i t u t i o n . A second l o o k does n o t mean an a l t e r n a t i v e c o n s t i t u t i o n . N e i t h e r t h e s p i r i t o f our C o n s t i t u t i o n n o r i t s e s s e n t i a l c h a r a c t e r i s t i c s c a n change. We c a n -n o t b u t be a democracy, a s e c u l a r democracy and a democracy s t r i v i n g s t e a d i l y t o e n l a r g e 68 i t s s o c i a l i s t c o n t e n t . The i m p o r t a n c e o f r e p r e s e n t a t i v e i n s t i t u t i o n s o r t h e p l a c e o f P a r l i a m e n t c a n n o t change e i t h e r . Nor c a n t h e r e be any f u n d a m e n t a l d e p a r t u r e i n t h e scheme of C e n t r e — S t a t e r e l a t i o n s w h i c h o u r f o u n d i n g f a -t h e r s d e v i s e d t o s e r v e t h e needs o f a c o u n t r y o f our v a s t d i v e r s i t y . But we can and s h o u l d have a l o o k a t t h e p r o v i s i o n s and p r o c e d u r e s we have t o g i v e e f f e c t t o t h e adopted o b j e c t -i v e s o f t h e C o n s t i t u t i o n . Many o f t h e s e p r o c e d u r e s and p r o v i s i o n s have i n e f f e c t worked a g a i n s t t h e C o n s t i t u t i o n and g i v e n enormous scope f o r s m a l l o b s t r u c t i v e groups t o c r e a t e t r o u b l e and e n g i n e e r c r i s i s . I want l a w y e r s , p o l i t i c a l s c i e n t i s t s , l e a d e r s o f t h e i n t e l l e c t t u a l w o r l d , e a r n e s t l y t o s t u d y t h e problems t h a t have come up and g i v e us s u g g e s t i o n s . 3 I n t h e Congress P a r t y , t h e de b a t e about c o n s t i t u t i o n a l r e v i s i o n had a l r e a d y begun by t h e t i m e M r s . Gandhi gave t h i s i n t e r v i e w t o ' B l i t z ' . A s e t o f w i d e - r a n g i n g p r o p o s a l s e n t i t l e d "A F r e s h Look a t our C o n s t i t u -t i o n " was b e i n g c i r c u l a t e d among the Congress P a r t y l e a d e r s h i p . I n o r d e r t o i l l u s t r a t e i t s p r o p o s a l s , t h e d r a f t r e f e r r e d t o s e c t i o n s o f t h e c o n -s t i t u t i o n s o f o t h e r c o u n t r i e s such as t h e U n i t e d S t a t e s , F r a n c e , I t a l y , G r e e c e , B e l g i u m , Guatemala, J a p a n and A r g e n t i n a . Among t h e s u g g e s t i o n s o f t h i s d r a f t was a p r o p o s a l t o r e p l a c e t h e I n d i a n p a r l i a m e n t a r y s y s t e m by a p r e s i d e n t i a l system o f government. The P r e s i d e n t o f I n d i a w o u l d be the C h i e f E x e c u t i v e b u t w o u l d have b r o a d e r powers t h a n h i s c o u n t e r p a r t i n t h e U n i t e d S t a t e s . The C o u n c i l o f M i n i s t e r s would be a c c o u n t a b l e t o 4 t h e P r e s i d e n t who woul d a l s o be e l e c t e d d i r e c t l y f o r a t e r m o f s i x y e a r s . A n o t h e r p r o p o s a l o f t h i s d r a f t was t h e e s t a b l i s h m e n t o f a ' S u p e r i o r C o u n c i l o f J u d i c i a r y ' w h i c h would r e p l a c e t h e Supreme C o u r t as t h e s o l e a u t h o r i t y t o i n t e r p r e t t h e laws and C o n s t i t u t i o n o f t h e I n d i a n R e p u b l i c . The C o u n c i l would be c h a i r e d by t h e P r e s i d e n t and be c o m p r i s e d o f two 69 V i c e - C h a i r m e n c o n s i s t i n g o f t h e C h i e f J u s t i c e o f I n d i a and t h e M i n i s t e r f o r Law and J u s t i c e , two j u s t i c e s f r o m t h e Supreme C o u r t and two c h i e f j u d g e s f r o m t h e s t a t e h i g h c o u r t s , f o u r p e r s o n s e l e c t e d B y P a r l i a m e n t and f o u r p e r s o n s nominated By t h e P r e s i d e n t . The C o u n c i l w o u l d a l s o r e v i e w t h e c o n d u c t o f a l l j u d g e s and h e a r c a s e s o f c o m p l a i n t s a g a i n s t them."' I t i s c l e a r t h a t t h i s p r o p o s a l w o u l d have ended t h e independence o f t h e j u d i c i a r y and would have g i v e n t h e e x e c u t i v e t h e power t o r u l e on the c o n s t i t u t i o n a l i t y o f I t s own l e g i s l a t i o n and amendments t o t h e C o n s t i t u t i o n . Thus, by l i m i t i n g j u d i c i a l r e v i e w , t h e p r o p o s a l w o u l d have been a n t i t h e t i c a l t o c o n s t i t u t i o n a l government. S e v e r a l o f t h e s e p r o p o s a l s , p a r t i c u l a r l y t h o s e a d v o c a t i n g a p r e s i d e n t i a l system and t h e S u p e r i o r C o u n c i l , met w i t h c r i t i c i s m w i t h i n t h e Congress P a r t y and from t h e C.P.I, and were q u i e t l y d r o p p e d . ^ The p r o p o s a l s o f t h e d r a f t r e l a t i n g t o changes i n t h e w o r d i n g o f t h e p r e -amble o f t h e C o n s t i t u t i o n and e x t e n d i n g t h e term of t h e Lok Sabha f r o m f i v e t o s i x y e a r s were, however, i n c o r p o r a t e d i n l a t e r c o n s t i t u t i o n a l p r o p o s a l s . A t t h e Congress P a r t y ' s 7 5 t h a n n u a l c o n f e r e n c e a t C h a n d i g a r h i n December 1 9 7 5 — t h e f i r s t s i n c e t h e d e c l a r a t i o n o f emergency i n J u n e — a p o l i t i c a l r e s o l u t i o n was adopted on December 31, 1975 c a l l i n g f o r t h e postponement o f e l e c t i o n s t o t h e L o k Sabha and f o r a t h o r o u g h r e v i s i o n o f the I n d i a n C o n s t i t u t i o n . I n l i n e w i t h t h i s p o l i t i c a l r e s o l u t i o n , t h e Congress P r e s i d e n t , D.K. Borooah, on F e b r u a r y 26, 1976, a p p o i n t e d a committee t o s u g g e s t amendments t o t h e C o n s t i t u t i o n . The p a r t y com-m i t t e e was t o be headed by S a r d a r Swaran S i n g h , 69, a v e t e r a n U n i o n 70 M i n i s t e r and t h e M i n i s t e r o f D e f e n c e u n t i l he was dropped f r o m t h e 7 C a b i n e t on November 30, 1975. The c o m m i t t e e ' s p r e l i m i n a r y r e p o r t on p r o p o s e d c o n s t i t u t i o n a l changes was approved i n p r i n c i p l e by t h e Congress Working Committee on A p r i l 26. The r e p o r t r e a f f i r m e d t h a t t h e p a r l i a m e n t a r y s y s t e m o f gov-ernment was t h e one b e s t s u i t e d t o I n d i a n c o n d i t i o n s and i t made t h e f o l l o w i n g recommendations: 0-) no amendment t o t h e C o n s t i t u t i o n s h o u l d be c a l l e d i n q u e s t i o n i n any c o u r t ; C2) t h e c T o n s t i t u t i o n a l v a l i d i t y o f any l e g i s l a t i o n s h o u l d be d e c i d e d by a b e n c h c o n s i s t i n g o f a t l e a s t s even Supreme C o u r t j u d g e s , and any d e c i s i o n t o d e c l a r e t h e l a w i n v a l i d s h o u l d r e q u i r e t h e s u p p o r t o f a t l e a s t t w o - t h i r d s o f t h e bench; (3) t h e h i g h c o u r t s s h o u l d e x e r c i s e t h e i r power t o i s s u e w r i t s o n l y t o en-f o r c e f u n d a m e n t a l r i g h t s ; (4) t h e c o u r t s s h o u l d have no j u r i s d i c t i o n o v e r c i v i l s e r v i c e m a t t e r s , w h i c h s h o u l d be d e c i d e d by a d m i n i s t r a t i v e t r i b u n a l s ; (5) a p p e a l s from l a b o u r and i n d u s t r i a l c o u r t s s h o u l d be t r a n s f e r r e d f r o m t h e h i g h c o u r t s t o an a l l - I n d i a n l a b o u r a p p e l a t e t r i -b u n a l ; (6) no w r i t j u r i s d i c t i o n s h o u l d l i e i n r e l a t i o n t o m a t t e r s c o n -c e r n i n g t h e r e v e n u e , l a n d r e f o r m s , procurement and d i s t r i b u t i o n o f f o o d -g r a i n s , o r e l e c t i o n s ; (7) a l l q u e s t i o n s o f t h e d i s q u a l i f i c a t i o n o f members o f P a r l i a m e n t o r o f t h e s t a t e l e g i s l a t u r e s s h o u l d be s e t t l e d by a body c o n s i s t i n g o f t h r e e members chosen f r o m t h e L o k Sabha and t h r e e n o minated by t h e P r e s i d e n t ; (8) a g r i c u l t u r e and e d u c a t i o n , w h i c h were s t a t e s u b j e c t s , s h o u l d be p l a c e d on t h e C o n c u r r e n t L i s t o f s u b j e c t s on w h i c h b o t h P a r l i a m e n t and t h e s t a t e l e g i s l a t u r e s m i g h t l e g i s l a t e ; and C9) t h e U n i o n government s h o u l d have t h e power t o d e p l o y p o l i c e ( o r 71 o t h e r s i m i l a r f o r c e s under i t s own s u p e r i n t e n d a n c e o r c o n t r o l ) i n any g s t a t e o r t e r r i t o r y o f t h e U n i o n . These recommendations were t o Be d i s c u s s e d a t a m e e t i n g o f t h e A l l - I n d i a C ongress Committee (A.I.C.C.) i n New D e l h i on May 28-29, 1976. A week b e f o r e t h e s c h e d u l e d m e e t i n g o f t h e A . I . C . C , t h e Swaran S i n g h Committee r e l e a s e d a m o d i f i e d d r a f t o f i t s p r e l i m i n a r y r e p o r t o f A p r i l 12. T h i s i n c l u d e d two new p r o p o s a l s . The Committee p r o p o s e d t h a t I n d i a s h o u l d be d e c l a r e d a " s o v e r e i g n , d e m o c r a t i c , s e c u l a r , s o c i a l i s t r e p u b l i c " i n t h e preamble i n s t e a d of o n l y a " s o v e r e i g n , d e m o c r a t i c r e p u b l i c " i n o r d e r t o r e a f f i r m t h e commitment o f t h e government t o t h e o b j e c t i v e s o f s e c u l a r i s m and s o c i a l i s m . The words "and i n t e g r i t y " would a l s o be added t o t h e preamble a f t e r t h e word " u n i t y " . The o t h e r recommendation of t h e Swaran S i n g h Committee was t h a t t h e P r e s i d e n t s h o u l d be a b l e t o r e s t r i c t 9 a d e c l a r a t i o n o f emergency t o o n l y a p a r t o f t h e c o u n t r y . The Swaran S i n g h Committee's recommendations were amended by t h e A.I.C.C. s e s s i o n o f May 28-29, 1976 and were t h e n u n a n i m o u s l y e n d o r s e d . An amendment moved by Dr. K a r a n S i n g h , t h e U n i o n M i n i s t e r o f H e a l t h and F a m i l y P l a n n i n g , p r o p o s e d t h a t t h e C o n s t i t u t i o n s h o u l d a l s o i n c l u d e c e r t a i n f u n d a m e n t a l d u t i e s and o b l i g a t i o n s o f c i t i z e n s as a b a l a n c e t o t h e i r r i g h t s . The amendment i n t h e f o r m of an a d d i t i o n t o t h e o f f i c i a l r e s o l u t i o n s a i d : The A.I.C.C. s u g g e s t s t h a t t h e committee a p p o i n t e d by t h e C ongress P r e s i d e n t t o s u g g e s t amendments t o t h e C o n s t i t u t i o n o f I n d i a s h o u l d a l s o f o r m u l a t e p r o p o s a l s f o r i n c l u s i o n i n t h e C o n s t i t u t i o n o f c e r t a i n f u n d a m e n t a l d u t i e s and o b l i g a t i o n s w h i c h e v e r y c i t i z e n owes t o t h e n a t i o n , i n t e r a l i a , t o f u n c t i o n i n s u c h a manner as t o s u s t a i n and s t r e n g t h e n t h e i n t e g r i t y and u n i t y o f t h e n a t i o n ; 72 t o a c t i n a c c o r d a n c e w i t h , t h e C o n s t i t u t i o n and t h e laws o f t h e l a n d ; t o m a i n t a i n d i s c i p l i n e i n e v e r y s p h e r e ; t o h o n e s t l y p e r f o r m a l l p u b l i c d u t i e s and t o s a f e g u a r d p u b l i c p r o p e r t y . J-0 The A.I.C.C. s e s s i o n a l s o m o d i f i e d t h e p r o p o s a l s o f t h e Swaran S i n g h Committee r e l a t i n g t o changes i n t h e U n i o n , S t a t e and C o n c u r r e n t L i s t s o f t h e C o n s t i t u t i o n . A l t h o u g h e d u c a t i o n was t o be i n c l u d e d , i n t h e C o n c u r r e n t L i s t , i t was d e c i d e d a t t h e s e s s i o n t h a t a g r i c u l t u r e would r e m a i n a s t a t e s u b j e c t . S e v e r a l c h i e f m i n i s t e r s a t t h e A.I.C.C. s e s s i o n had v o i c e d t h e i r o b j e c t i o n s t o i n c l u d i n g a g r i c u l t u r e as a c o n -c u r r e n t s u b j e c t . F i n a l l y , t h e A.I.C.C. s e s s i o n d e c i d e d t h a t t h e Swaran S i n g h Committee would c o n t i n u e t o o p e r a t e a f t e r May 1976 and i t w o u l d c o n s i d e r o t h e r p r o p o s a l s f o r c o n s t i t u t i o n a l r e v i s i o n . I t woul d c o n t i n u e t o c o n -s u l t w i t h v a r i o u s i n d i v i d u a l s and a s s o c i a t i o n s s u c h as t h e c e n t r a l p a r t y l e a d e r s h i p , P r a d e s h Congress Committee P r e s i d e n t s , C h i e f M i n i s t e r s , l a w y e r s , j u d g e s , b a r a s s o c i a t i o n s and o t h e r members o f t h e i n t e l l i g e n t -s i a . There would be a n a t i o n - w i d e debate on c o n s t i t u t i o n a l r e v i s i o n i n New D e l h i , t h e s t a t e c a p i t a l s , and o t h e r l a r g e c i t i e s and towns o f t h e n a t i o n . More c o v e r a g e waa -gi v e n i n government announcements and i n t h e p r e s s t o t h e c o n s t i t u t i o n a l d ebate w i t h i n t h e top l e a d e r s h i p o f t h e Con-g r e s s P a r t y t h a n t o t h e de b a t e among t h e l o w e r r a n k s o f t h e C o n g r e s s , i n t h e r u r a l a r e a s and among t h e o p p o s i t i o n p a r t i e s . The e v i d e n c e does s u g g e s t t h a t t h e non-communist o p p o s i t i o n p a r t i e s and t h e C.P.M. d i d n o t p a r t i c i p a t e i n t h e g o v e r n m e n t — i n i t i a t e d d e b a t e on c o n s t i t u t i o n a l 11 r e v i s i o n . I n s t e a d t h e y h e l d t h e i r own forums f o r d i s c u s s i n g t h e 73 c o n s t i t u t i o n a l changes. One s u c h forum s p o n s o r e d by t h e o p p o s i t i o n p a r t i e s was t h e ' N a t i o n a l Committee f o r R e v i e w o f t h e C o n s t i t u t i o n ' . A two-day seminar o r g a n i z e d by- t h e Committee was h e l d i n New D e l h i and a t t e n d e d by o p p o s i t i o n l e a d e r s s u c h as A.K. G o p a l a n , (C.P.M.), E.M.S. N a m b o o d i r i p a d (C.P.M.), P. Ramamurthy (C.P.M.), A s o k a Mehta ( C o n g r e s s - O ) , S h a n t i Bhushan ( C o n g r e s s - O ) , E r a S e z h i y a n (D.M.K.) and 12 Chowdhury Charan S i n g h (B.L.D.). The o p p o s i t i o n p a r t i e s were c r i t i c a l o f t h e p r o p o s e d c o n s t i t u -t i o n a l amendments and of t h e p o l i t i c a l c o n d i t i o n s under w h i c h t h e y were b e i n g d i s c u s s e d . They argued t h a t t h e p r o p o s e d changes had been put f o r w a r d by a committee o f t h e r u l i n g C ongress P a r t y and t h a t t h e r u l i n g p a r t y had no mandate t o p a s s t h e amendments s i n c e t h e Lok Sabha's term had been extended by d e c r e e i n M a r c h 1976. The o p p o s i t i o n p a r t i e s p r o -posed e i t h e r f r e s h e l e c t i o n s t o t h e Lok Sabha o r a r e f e r e n d u m i n o r d e r t o t e s t t h e a p p r o v a l f o r t h e c o n s t i t u t i o n a l changes by t h e e l e c t o r a t e . The government's r e p l y t o t h e s e demands was t h a t a r e f e r e n d u m was n e i t h e r needed n o r f e a s i b l e c o n s i d e r i n g t h e l a r g e number o f c o n s t i t u t i o n a l 13 measures t h a t would have t o be approved by s u c h a p r o c e d u r e . The gov-ernment a l s o p o i n t e d out t h a t c o n s t i t u t i o n a l r e f o r m had been p a r t o f t h e m a n i f e s t o o f t h e Congress (R) i n t h e g e n e r a l e l e c t i o n and, i n any c a s e , 14 i t had t h e n e c e s s a r y m a j o r i t y i n P a r l i a m e n t t o pass t h e amendments. There were a l s o demands f o r t h e f o r m a t i o n o f a new c o n s t i t u e n t assembly f r o m t h e o p p o s i t i o n p a r t i e s and f r o m w i t h i n t h e C o n g r e s s (R) i t s e l f M r s . G a n d h i o f t e n r e f e r r e d t o t h e C o n s t i t u e n t A s s e m b l y o f 1947-50 i n t h e c o u r s e o f t h e d e b a t e s on c o n s t i t u t i o n a l r e v i s i o n , s a y i n g 74 that the assembly had been i n d i r e c t l y elected by a minority of the Indian population. This did not mean that she was thinking of c a l l i n g a new constituent assembly. Rather, the i n t e n t i o n was to point out the contrasts between an i n d i r e c t l y - e l e c t e d Constituent Assembly and a democratically-elected Lok Sabha and so demonstrate Parliament's r i g h t to r e v i s e the c o n s t i t u t i o n . C e r t a i n l y , Mrs. Gandhi could have c a l l e d a constituent assembly to d r a f t a new c o n s t i t u t i o n . A new c o n s t i t u t i o n would probably have been more i n t e l l i g i b l e than the previous C o n s t i t u t i o n with i t s large numbers of statutes placed i n the Ninth Schedule and with i t s forty-one amendments. But t h i s would have involved p o l i t i c a l costs as well as benefits for Mrs. Gandhi. I t i s doubtful whether Mrs. Gandhi se r i o u s l y considered a new C o n s t i t u t i o n merely for the sake of c o n s t i t u -t i o n a l neatness. A new C o n s t i t u t i o n would have generated more opposition from the non-communist opposition p a r t i e s and the C.P.M. than an omnibus amendment to the e x i s t i n g C o n s t i t u t i o n . F i n a l l y , i t i s important to note that the Congress Party i n making the c o n s t i t u t i o n a l r e v i s i o n s as-sumed that i t would continue i n power. On September 1, 1976, the government's seri e s of c o n s t i t u t i o n a l proposals were formally introduced i n the Lok Sabha. A d r a f t of the 59-clause b i l l had already been c i r c u l a t i n g i n Parliament and had met intense c r i t i c i s m from the opposition. The government announced that the b i l l would be considered i n d e t a i l by the Lok Sabha i n a s p e c i a l session i n October. This ten-day session began on October 25, 1976 and each, of the f i f t y - n i n e clauses was discussed on October 30 and November 1, 1976. The 44th amendment b i l l was approved by the Lok 75 Sahba on November 2, 1976 by a vote of 366 to 4. Since other c o n s t i t u -t i o n a l amendment b i l l s were on Parliament's agenda, the 44th C o n s t i t u t i o n CAmendment) B i l l was then renumbered the 42nd Constitution CAmendment) Act. The C o n s t i t u t i o n a l and P o l i t i c a l Implications of the 42nd Amendment It i s necessary now to examine the provisions of the 59-clause c o n s t i t u t i o n a l amendment and to analyze i t s c o n s t i t u t i o n a l and p o l i t i c a l i m plications. Since the Act i s on 'omnibus' amendment, only changes i n major c o n s t i t u t i o n a l provisions r e l a t i n g to the following areas w i l l be examined: p o l i t i c a l p a r t i e s and government-opposition r e l a t i o n s ; ex-ecutive, l e g i s l a t i v e and j u d i c i a l powers; i n d i v i d u a l r i g h t s ; economic and s o c i a l reform; and federalism. The f i r s t part of the Indian C o n s t i t u t i o n that was amended by the 42nd amendment was the preamble. India was now o f f i c i a l l y designated as "a sovereign s o c i a l i s t secular democratic r e p u b l i c " . At f i r s t glance, i t would appear that the i n s e r t i o n of 'secular' and ' s o c i a l i s t ' i n the preamble was merely a question of semantics. The change, however, was intended by the government to re a f f i r m the p r i n c i p l e s of 'secularism' and 'socialism' as part of the 'basic structure' of the Cons t i t u t i o n . The changes i n the preamble also had implications f o r India's p o l i t i c a l p a r t i e s . In June 1976, a foreign correspondent posed the question of whether the proposed changes i n the preamble would oblige a l l p o l i t i c a l p a r t i e s to pledge adherence to the p r i n c i p l e s of secularism 16 and socialism. Under A r t i c l e s 75, 99 and the Third Schedule of the Constitution, any person who seeks e l e c t i o n to the Indian Parliament and 76 t h e s t a t e l e g i s l a t u r e s must t a k e an o a t h o f a l l e g i a n c e t o t h e C o n s t i t u -t i o n . Thus t h e changes i n t h e p reamble c o u l d have made t h e c o n s t i t u -t i o n a l p o s i t i o n o f n o n — s o c i a l i s t p a r t i e s s u c h as t h e B h a r a t i y a Lok D a l and t h e J a n a Sangh u n t e n a b l e . However, r a t h e r t h a n u s i n g t h e changes i n t h e p r e a m b l e as a j u s t i f i c a t i o n f o r b a n n i n g n o n - s o c i a l i s t and com-munal p a r t i e s , t h e C ongress P a r t y i n t e n d e d t o d e m o n s t r a t e i t s own com-mitment t o t h e p r i n c i p l e s o f s e c u l a r i s m and s o c i a l i s m . Of g r e a t e r s i g n i f i c a n c e f o r t h e o p p o s i t i o n p a r t i e s , however, was t h a t c l a u s e o f t h e 42nd amendment w h i c h gave t h e government t h e power t o ban " a n t i - n a t i o n a l a c t i v i t i e s and a s s o c i a t i o n s " . " A n t i - n a t i o n a l a c t i v i t i e s " were d e f i n e d as ' a c t i v i t i e s i n t e n d e d t o b r i n g about t h e c e s s i o n o r s e c e s s i o n o f p a r t o f t h e t e r r i t o r y o f I n d i a , t o t h r e a t e n o r d i s r u p t t h e s o v e r e i g n t y and i n t e g r i t y of I n d i a , t h e s e c u r i t y o f t h e s t a t e o r t h e u n i t y o f t h e n a t i o n ; t o o v e r t h r o w t h e Government by f o r c e ; t o c r e a t e i n t e r n a l d i s t u r b a n c e o r d i s r u p t i o n o f p u b l i c s e r v i c e s , o r t o t h r e a t e n o r d i s r u p t harmony between d i f f e r e n t r e l i g i o n s , r a c i a l , l a n -guage o r r e g i o n a l g r o u p s , o r c a s t e s o r communities'."'"^ Thus t h e c l a u s e c o u l d have been a p p l i e d by t h e government t o p a r t i e s o r o r g a n i z a t i o n s a d v o c a t i n g t h e s e c e s s i o n o f a p a r t i c u l a r r e g i o n , s t a t e o r t e r r i t o r y o f I n d i a . A p a r t f r o m a s e c e s s i o n i s t movement, t h e " a n t i - n a t i o n a l " c l a u s e was i n t e n d e d t o p r e v e n t a r e c u r r e n c e o f t h e breakdown o f l a w and o r d e r i n t h e p e r i o d b e f o r e t h e d e c l a r a t i o n o f emergency i n June 1975. Un-c o n s t i t u t i o n a l a p p e a l s t o t h e p o l i c e , army and t h e b u r e a u c r a c y would a l s o have been d e a l t w i t h under t h e c l a u s e . The p a s s i n g o f t h i s measure was an i n d i c a t i o n t h a t t h e government would d e a l f i r m l y w i t h c i v i l 77 d i s o b e d i e n c e s u c h as f a s t s and ' h a r t a l s ' ( g e n e r a l s t r i k e s ) . The 42nd amendment a l t e r e d t h e powers o f t h e e x e c u t i v e , t he l e g i s -l a t u r e and t h e j u d i c i a r y i n s e v e r a l i m p o r t a n t ways. The amendment c l e a r e d up one o f t h e " g r e y a r e a s ' o f t h e C o n s t i t u t i o n — n a m e l y , t h e powers o f t h e P r e s i d e n t . The Fr a m e r s o f t h e C o n s t i t u t i o n d i d n o t i n c l u d e a p r o v i s i o n o b l i g i n g t h e P r e s i d e n t t o f o l l o w t h e a d v i c e o f 18 the P r i m e M i n i s t e r and t h e C o u n c i l o f M i n i s t e r s . R e l a t i o n s between t h e P r e s i d e n t and t h e P r i m e M i n i s t e r and C o u n c i l o f M i n i s t e r s were t o be l e f t t o c o n s t i t u t i o n a l p r a c t i c e . S i n c e 1950, P r e s i d e n t s have g e n e r a l l y f o l l o w e d t h e c o n v e n t i o n o f a c t i n g on t h e a d v i c e o f t h e P r i m e M i n i s t e r , M r s . Gandhi was, however, f a c e d w i t h t h e p o s s i b i l i t y i n 1969 of the e l e c t i o n o f a p r e s i d e n t i a l c a n d i d a t e , S a n j i v a Reddy, who made known h i s i n t e n t i o n n o t t o f o l l o w t h i s c o n v e n t i o n once e l e c t e d . Under t h e 42nd amendment t h e P r e s i d e n t ' s o b l i g a t i o n t o f o l l o w t h e a d v i c e o f th e P r i m e - M i n i s t e r and C o u n c i l o f M i n i s t e r s was now made e x p l i c i t . A t a c i t c o n v e n t i o n was t r a n s f o r m e d i n t o a w r i t t e n p r o v i s i o n and i n t h i s r e s p e c t t h e 42nd amendment d i d n o t a l t e r c o n s t i t u t i o n a l p r a c t i c e . The amendment d i d e n l a r g e t h e f o r m a l powers o f t h e P r e s i d e n t . He c o u l d s e t t l e d i s p u t e s a r i s i n g o u t of t h e e l e c t i o n o f members of P a r l i a m e n t and o f t h e s t a t e l e g i s l a t u r e s ; he c o u l d d e c l a r e a s t a t e o f n a t i o n a l emergency i n a p a r t i c u l a r s t a t e o r t e r r i t o r y o f I n d i a ; and he c o u l d r e v i s e t h e p r o v i s i o n s o f t h e C o n s t i t u t i o n on h i s own a u t h o r i t y where t h e s e were f e l t t o be n e c e s s a r y . S i n c e t h e P r e s i d e n t was o b l i g e d t o a c t on t h e a d v i c e o f t h e P r i m e M i n i s t e r and t h e C o u n c i l : ? o f M i n i s t e r s , t h i s e n l a r g e m e n t o f power was i n f a c t an e x p a n s i o n o f t h e powers o f t h e P r i m e M i n i s t e r . 78 As r e g a r d s t h e powers: o f P a r l i a m e n t , t h e 42nd amendment r e a s s e r t e d P a r l i a m e n t ' s a u t h o r i t y t o amend t h e C o n s t i t u t i o n . C l a u s e 55 d e c l a r e d t h a t " f o r t h e r e m o v a l o f d o u b t s , i t i s h e r e b y d e c l a r e d t h a t t h e r e s h a l l be no l i m i t a t i o n w h a t e v e r on t h e c o n s t i t u e n t power o f P a r l i a m e n t t o amend, by way o f a d d i t i o n , v a r i a t i o n o r r e p e a l t h e p r o v i s i o n s o f t h i s 19 C o n s t i t u t i o n under A r t i c l e 368." Amendments made by P a r l i a m e n t t o t h e C o n s t i t u t i o n were a l s o p l a c e d o u t s i d e t h e scope o f j u d i c i a l r e v i e w . C l a u s e s 21 and 22 o f t h e 42nd amendment m o d i f i e d t h e a r t i c l e s o f t h e C o n s t i t u t i o n r e l a t i n g t o t h e quorum f o r m e e t i n g s o f P a r l i a m e n t and t h e s t a t e l e g i s l a t u r e s , and t h e powers and p r i v i l e g e s o f t h e members and com-m i t t e e s o f P a r l i a m e n t . The 42nd amendment a l s o changed t h e d u r a t i o n o f the terms o f t h e Lok Sabha and t h e s t a t e l e g i s l a t u r e s f r o m f i v e t o s i x y e a r s . B e s i d e s l i m i t i n g j u d i c i a l r e v i e w o f amendments t o t h e C o n s t i t u -t i o n , t h e 42nd amendment f u r t h e r l i m i t e d t h e powers o f t h e j u d i c i a r y i n t h a t c e n t r a l laws c o u l d now o n l y be d e c l a r e d i n v a l i d by t h e Supreme C o u r t i n s t e a d o f by b o t h t h e Supreme and H i g h C o u r t s . C l a u s e 25 s t a t e d t h a t a t w o - t h i r d s m a j o r i t y v e r d i c t o f a minimum o f seven j u d g e s o f t h e Supreme C o u r t was r e q u i r e d f o r v a l i d a t i n g and i n t e r p r e t i n g c e n t r a l and s t a t e laws* 2'"' I n o r d e r t o p r e v e n t a r e c u r r e n c e o f j u d i c i a l o b s t a c l e s t o t h e government's economic and s o c i a l programs, t h e 42nd amendment a l s o made i t c l e a r 'that t h e D i r e c t i v e P r i n c i p l e s o f S t a t e P o l i c y were t o t a k e p r e c e d e n c e o v e r t h e Fundamental R i g h t s o f t h e C o n s t i t u t i o n . The amend-ment was t h u s i n t e n d e d t o r e s o l v e t h e argument about t h e p r e c e d e n c e o f 79 t h e D i r e c t i v e P r i n c i p l e s o v e r t h e Fundamental R i g h t s ; an argument t h a t has been a k e y i s s u e s i n c e t h e C o n s t i t u t i o n was ado p t e d on J a n u a r y 26, 1950. I t i s i m p o r t a n t t o n o t e t h a t t h e r e was one e x c e p t i o n t o t h i s . Under t h e 42nd amendment no l a w c o u l d be made g i v i n g e f f e c t t o t h e D i r e c t i v e P r i n c i p l e s o f Part IV o f t h e C o n s t i t u t i o n i f i t c o n f l i c t e d w i t h t h e s p e c i a l s a f e g u a r d s o r r i g h t s c o n f e r r e d on m i n o r i t i e s s u c h as the s c h e d u l e d c a s t e s , t r i b e s o r o t h e r backward c l a s s e s under t h e Fundamental R i g h t s S e c t i o n o f P a r t I I I . These s p e c i a l p r o v i s i o n s , t h e r e -f o r e , were t o be t h e o n l y e n t r e n c h e d p o r t i o n o f t h e Fundamental R i g h t s . The 42nd amendment added s e v e r a l new a r t i c l e s t o the D i r e c t i v e P r i n c i p l e s o f S t a t e P o l i c y . A r t i c l e 39(a) r e q u i r e d t h e s t a t e t o s e c u r e t h a t t h e o p e r a t i o n o f t h e l e g a l s y s t e m promoted j u s t i c e on t h e b a s i s o f e q u a l o p p o r t u n i t y and i t o b l i g e d t h e s t a t e t o p r o v i d e f r e e l e g a l a i d . A r t i c l e 43(a) sought t o s e c u r e t h e p a r t i c i p a t i o n o f w o r k e r s i n t h e 21 management o f i n d u s t r i a l o r g a n i z a t i o n s . The 42nd amendment f o l l o w e d the recommendations o f t h e A.I.C.C. s e s s i o n o f May 1976 by i n c l u d i n g a s e c t i o n on the f u n d a m e n t a l d u t i e s o f c i t i z e n s . T h i s s e c t i o n o f t h e C o n s t i t u t i o n was i n t e n d e d t o b a l a n c e t h e Fundamental R i g h t s and was i n a c c o r d a n c e w i t h Mrs. Gandhi's b e l i e f t h a t democracy e n t a i l s o b l i g a t i o n s as w e l l as r i g h t s . The 42nd amendment a l s o f r o z e u n t i l t h e y e a r 2001 t h e a l l o c a t i o n o f s e a t s i n t h e Lok Sabha t o t h e s t a t e s , t h e t o t a l number o f s e a t s i n the s t a t e a s s e m b l i e s , and t h e number o f Lok Sabha and s t a t e a s s embly s e a t s r e s e r v e d f o r t h e s c h e d u l e d c a s t e s and t r i b e s . T h i s c l a u s e was 22 i n t e n d e d t o f u r t h e r t h e government's f a m i l y p l a n n i n g program. 80 D i s t r i c t s and s t a t e s t h a t were s u c c e s s f u l i n t h e i r f a m i l y p l a n n i n g programs w o u l d , t h e r e f o r e , n o t Be p e n a l i z e d By h a v i n g t h e i r r e p r e -s e n t a t i o n i n t h e s t a t e a s s e m b l i e s and t h e L o k Sabha r e d u c e d . The government's major j u s t i f i c a t i o n f o r t h e r e v i s i o n o f t h e C o n s t i t u t i o n was t h a t i t w o u l d f a c i l i t a t e economic and s o c i a l r e f o r m by removing j u d i c i a l o b s t a c l e s t o s u c h r e f o r m and a l s o b y s t r e n g t h e n i n g the s t a b i l i t y o f t h e p o l i t i c a l s y s t e m on w h i c h s o c i a l and economic p r o g r e s s a r e dependent. However, c o n s t i t u t i o n a l r e v i s i o n w o u l d n o t by i t s e l f u s h e r i n a p e r i o d o f economic and s o c i a l p r o g r e s s . T h i s would depend on p o l i t i c a l , economic and s o c i a l as w e l l as c o n s t i t u t i o n a l f a c t o Much w o u l d depend, f o r example, on t h e p e r f o r m a n c e of t h e c e n t r a l and . s t a t e governments and t h e b u r e a u c r a c y and on economic f a c t o r s s u c h as th e r a t e o f growth o f i n d u s t r i a l and a g r i c u l t u r a l p r o d u c t i o n and t h e d i s t r i b u t i o n o f w e a l t h and income. The 42nd amendment m o d i f i e d t h e d i s t r i b u t i o n o f l e g i s l a t i v e powers between t h e c e n t e r and t h e s t a t e s by t r a n s f e r r i n g c e r t a i n m a t t e r s such as e d u c a t i o n and t h e a d m i n i s t r a t i o n o f j u s t i c e from t h e S t a t e L i s t t o t h e C o n c u r r e n t L i s t . The amendment s t r e n g t h e n e d t h e powers o f t h e C e n t e r , p a r t i c u l a r l y i n t h e powers r e l a t i n g t o " a n t i - n a t i o n a l a c t i v i -t i e s " , t h e r e g i o n a l i z a t i o n o f s t a t e s o f emergency and t h e deployment o f c e n t r a l p o l i c e and s p e c i a l f o r c e s by t h e c e n t e r w i t h i n a p a r t i c u l a r s t a t e . On t h e l a t t e r , t h e amendment gave t h e C e n t e r t h e a u t h o r i t y t o use c e n t r a l p o l i c e and s p e c i a l f o r c e s w i t h o u t p r i o r c o n s u l t a t i o n w i t h t h e s t a t e government; once d e p l o y e d , t h e s e f o r c e s were t o r e m a i n under t h e c o n t r o l o f t h e C e n t e r . M o r e o v e r , t h e amendment ex t e n d e d f r o m s i x 81 months t o one y e a r t h e p e r i o d i n w h i c h P r e s i d e n t ' s r u l e w o u l d r e m a i n i n f o r c e a f t e r b e i n g a p p r o v e d by P a r l i a m e n t . But t h e 42nd amendment made no r a d i c a l changes i n t h e f e d e r a l s t r u c t u r e of t h e I n d i a n p o l i t i c a l system. The Supreme C o u r t ' s a u t h o r -i t y t o d e c l a r e c e n t r a l and s t a t e l a w s i n v a l i d was n o t ended ended and t hus i t s f u n c t i o n as an a r b i t e r i n t h e f e d e r a l s y s t e m r e m a i n e d . F u r -t h e r m o r e , t h e d r o p p i n g o f t h e p r o p o s a l f o r a d d i n g a g r i c u l t u r e i n t h e C o n c u r r e n t L i s t a t t h e A.I.C.C. s e s s i o n o f May 1976 i l l u s t r a t e d t h e c o n t i n u i n g i m p o r t a n c e o f t h e s t a t e s i n I n d i a ' s f e d e r a l s y s tem. I n summary, th e 42nd C o n s t i t u t i o n '(Amendment) A c t , approved by t h e Lok Sabha on November 2, 1976, made i m p o r t a n t changes i n t h e Con-s t i t u t i o n r e g a r d i n g t h e powers o f t t h e P r e s i d e n t , t h e P r i m e M i n i s t e r and t h e C o u n c i l o f M i n i s t e r s . I t r e a s s e r t e d P a r l i a m e n t ' s a u t h o r i t y t o amend th e C o n s t i t u t i o n as i t sees f i t and f u r t h e r r e s t r i c t e d t h e powers o f t h e j u d i c i a r y . Changes were made i n t h e p r e a m b l e , t h e Fun-damental R i g h t s and t h e D i r e c t i v e P r i n c i p l e s o f S t a t e P o l i c y , and a s e c t i o n was i n s e r t e d on Fondamental D u t i e s . The a d d i t i o n o f t h e l a t t e r and new p r o v i s i o n s r e g a r d i n g " a n t i - n a t i o n a l a c t i v i t i e s " , t h e r e g i o n -a l i z a t i o n o f e mergencies and t h e use o f p o l i c e and o t h e r s p e c i a l f o r c e s by t h e C e n t e r a l l i n c r e a s e d t h e powers o f t h e e x e c u t i v e . I n i n c r e a s i n g t h e powers o f t h e e x e c u t i v e by c o n s t i t u t i o n a l amend-ment, P r i m e M i n i s t e r I n d i r a Gandhi hoped to a c h i e v e s e v e r a l o b j e c t i v e s . F i r s t , she s ought t o s a f e g u a r d h e r own p e r s o n a l p o s i t i o n as P r i m e M i n -i s t e r . The 42nd amendment i n c r e a s e d t h e powers o f t h e o f f i c e o f P r i m e M i n i s t e r by r e moving i n s t i t u t i o n a l r e s t r a i n t s f r o m t h e P r e s i d e n t and t h e 82 c o u r t s . S e c o n d l y , she sought t o make t h e s t a t e o f emergency permanent by w i d e n i n g t h e a l r e a d y l a r g e emergency powers o f t h e s t a t e , by s t r e n g t h -e n i n g t h e powers o f t h e C e n t e r v i s - a - v i s t h e s t a t e s , and by l i m i t i n g t h e Fundamental R i g h t s o f t h e C o n s t i t u t i o n . T h i r d l y , M r s . Gandhi a t t e m p t e d to e s t a b l i s h new norms o f o p p o s i t i o n a c t i v i t y t h r o u g h t h e " a n t i - n a t i o n a l a c t i v i t i e s " c l a u s e o f t h e 42nd amendment. The aim was t o s t r e n g t h e n t h e p o s i t i o n o f t h e Congress P a r t y and t o p r e v e n t a r e c u r r e n c e o f t h e p o l i -t i c a l i n s t a b i l i t y t h a t l e d t o t h e s t a t e o f emergency i n June 1975. The 42nd amendment t h u s p r o v i d e d t h e b a s i s f o r a " d i s c i p l i n e d democracy" i n I n d i a . F i n a l l y , Mrs. Gandhi sought t o l e g i t i m i z e t h e emergency. The government argued t h a t c o n s t i t u t i o n a l r e v i s i o n w o u l d promote s o c i a l j u s t i c e by removing o b s t a c l e s t o t h e government's economic and s o c i a l programs. S p e a k i n g i n t h e Lok Sabha on t h e Amendment B i l l , M r s . G a n d h i argued t h a t "a C o n s t i t u t i o n has a b i g g e r t e s t . t h a n a j u d i c i a l s c r u t i n y . And t h a t i s t h e s c r u t i n y o f h i s t o r y and i t s c a p a c i t y t o meet t h e c h a l -l e n g e s o f h i s t o r i c a l f o r c e s . T h e r e i s som e t h i n g b i g g e r t h a n a l l o f us and t h a t i s t h e n a t i o n and i t s f u t u r e . That i s t h e i m p o r t a n c e o f t h i s 23 B i l l . " I t was i n o r d e r t o f i n d o u t t h e v e r d i c t o f t h e I n d i a n p e o p l e , a t l e a s t , t h a t Mrs. Gandhi c a l l e d . t h e March e l e c t i o n i n 1977. The c o n -c l u d i n g c h a p t e r examines t h e impact of t h e March 1977 e l e c t i o n and a s -s e s s e s M r s . Gandhi's emergency r u l e and t h e c o n s t i t u t i o n a l amendments p a s s e d under i t . CHAPTER V I C o n c l u s i o n 83 With, t h e v i c t o r y o f t h e J a n a t a P a r t y and t h e Co n g r e s s f o r Democracy (C.F.D.) i n t h e M a r c h 1977 g e n e r a l e l e c t i o n , t h i r t y y e a r s o f C o n g r e s s dominance have come t o an end. D u r i n g t h e e l e c t i o n campaign t h e J a n a t a and C.F.D. c o a l i t i o n p l e d g e d t h e m s e l v e s t o d i s m a n t l e t h e a u t h o r i t a r i a n s y s t e m under t h e emergency, w h i l e t h e Congress P a r t y made s u p p o r t f o r t h e emergency and t h e c o n s t i t u t i o n a l amendments a k e y p a r t o f i t s own m a n i f e s t o . The March 1977 e l e c t i o n r e s u l t s t h u s c o n s t i t u t e a d e c i s i v e judgment o f t h e I n d i a n e l e c t o r a t e a g a i n s t M r s . G a n d h i ' s emergency r u l e and t h e c o n s t i t u t i o n a l amendments p a s s e d under i t . I t r e m a i n s now t o c o n c l u d e w i t h an assessment o f t h e emergency and w i t h a g e n e r a l d i s c u s s i o n o f t h e c o n t i n u i t i e s and changes i n t h e c o n s t i t u t i o n a l and p o l i t i c a l s y s t e m i n t h e p e r i o d s 1950-75 and 1975-77. F i n a l l y , t h e v a l i d i t y o f K o t h a r i ' s model o f o n e - p a r t y dominance and t h e M a r x i s t model w i l l be r e - e x a m i n e d i n t h e l i g h t o f t h e emergency and i t s e n d i n g i n March 1977. D u r i n g t h e emergency t h e government a r g u e d t h a t the new amend-ments t o t h e C o n s t i t u t i o n d i d n o t change t h e " b a s i c s t r u c t u r e " o f t h a t document. R a t h e r , t h e amendments r e a f f i r m e d t h e v a l i d i t y o f t h i s " b a s i c s t r u c t u r e " . The P r i m e M i n i s t e r a r g u e d t h a t t h e r e v i s i o n o f t h e C o n s t i -t u t i o n was more o f a ' r e n o v a t i o n ' t h a n a ' r e b u i l d i n g ' and t h a t c o n s t i t u -t i o n s a r e n o t meant t o be r i g i d and s a c r o s a n c t b u t need t o be c o n t i n u a l l y r e a s s e s s e d i n t h e l i g h t o f c h a n g i n g economic, s o c i a l and p o l i t i c a l c i r -cumstances .""" The government's c l a i m t h a t c o n s t i t u t i o n a l r e v i s i o n d i d n o t a l t e r t h e " b a s i c s t r u c t u r e " o f t h e C o n s t i t u t i o n was somewhat d u b i o u s . The 84 r e a f f i r m a t i o n o f t h e p r i n c i p l e o f s e c u l a r i s m and P a r l i a m e n t ' s a u t h o r i t y t o amend t h e C o n s t i t u t i o n , t h e s a f e g u a r d i n g o f m i n o r i t y r i g h t s and t h e P r e s i d e n t ' s o b l i g a t i o n t o f o l l o w t h e a d v i c e o f t h e C o u n c i l o f M i n i s t e r s , c e r t a i n l y r e p r e s e n t e d no r a d i c a l b r e a k i n c o n s t i t u t i o n a l and p o l i t i c a l p r a c t i c e . B u t t h e c e n t r a l i z a t i o n o f t h e p o l i t i c a l s y s t e m , t h e c u r t a i l -ment o f i n d i v i d u a l r i g h t s and t h e r e d u c t i o n i n t h e powers o f t h e j u d i c i a r y d i d c o n s t i t u t e i m p o r t a n t d e p a r t u r e s f r o m t h e " b a s i c s t r u c t u r e " o f t h e C o n s t i t u t i o n between 1950 and 1975. As shown i n C h a p t e r I V , M r s . Gandhi f o l l o w e d t h e ' l e t t e r ' o f t h e C o n s t i t u t i o n b u t n o t i t s ' s p i r i t ' . C o n s t i t u t i o n a l government i n t h e sense o f l i m i t e d government d i d n o t o p e r a t e during t h e p e r i o d o f emer-gency because n o r m a l c o n s t i t u t i o n a l p r o v i s i o n s were t e m p o r a r i l y s u s -pended and t h e government o b t a i n e d w i d e r powers. However, M r s . Gandhi used t h e emergency as an o p p o r t u n i t y t o p e r m a n e n t l y e n l a r g e t h e powers o f t h e e x e c u t i v e . The 42nd amendment, f o r i n s t a n c e , added t o t h e a l -r e a d y l a r g e emergency powers a t t h e d i s p o s a l o f t h e government such as t h e M a i n t e n a n c e of I n t e r n a l S e c u r i t y A c t , t h e Defense o f I n d i a R u l e s and P r e s i d e n t ' s R u l e . I t w o u l d , t h e r e f o r e , have been p o s s i b l e f o r th e government t o l i f t t h e s t a t e o f emergency y e t r e t a i n l a r g e emer-gency powers. I t i s n o t s u r p r i s i n g t h e n t h a t t h e non-communist oppo-s i t i o n and t h e C.P.M. saw t h e 42nd Amendment as a c o d i f i c a t i o n o f t h e measures o f t h e emergency. T h i s i s n o t t o s u g g e s t t h a t t h e power o f t h e I n d i a n government become u n l i m i t e d d u r i n g t h e emergency. A d i s t i n c t i o n must be drawn between c o n s t i t u t i o n a l and n o n - c o n s t i t u t i o n a l r e s t r a i n t s on t h e gov-ernment . Even though t h e emergency measures and amendments t o t h e 85 C o n s t i t u t i o n removed c e r t a i n f o r m a l r e s t r a i n t s on t h e powers o f t h e government, o t h e r i m p o r t a n t economic, s o c i a l and p o l i t i c a l r e s t r a i n t s r e m a i n e d . Among t h e s e were t h e r e s t r a i n t s on t h e c e n t r a l government e x c e r c i s e d b y t h e s t a t e s w h i c h c o n t i n u e d t o have i m p o r t a n t p o l i t i c a l r e s o u r c e s v i s - a - v i s New D e l h i . L i m i t a t i o n s on e x e c u t i v e power a l s o a r o s e f r o m t h e i n a d e q u a c y o f m a t e r i a l and s k i l l e d human r e s o u r c e s a t the d i s p o s a l o f t h e government and t h e b u r e a u c r a c y , as shown f o r example, b y t h e f a i l u r e o f t h e government's f a m i l y p l a n n i n g program. F i n a l l y , what a r e t h e i m p l i c a t i o n s o f t h e emergency p e r i o d f o r K o t h a r i ' s model o f o n e - p a r t y dominance and t h e M a r x i s t model? I n t h e t h e o r e t i c a l d i s c u s s i o n o f t h e model o f o n e — p a r t y dominance i t was seen t h a t K o t h a r i was c o n c e r n e d w i t h e x p l a i n i n g why c e r t a i n p o l i t i c a l i n s t i -t u t i o n a l arrangements have d e v e l o p e d i n I n d i a and why p a r t i c u l a r econo-m i c , s o c i a l and p o l i t i c a l s t r a t e g i e s have been p u r s u e d by t h e I n d i a n e l i t e . He arg u e d t h a t a d i s t i n c t i v e I n d i a n model o f development had a r i s e n w h i c h c o n t r a s t e d s h a r p l y w i t h t h e model o f development f o l -lowed by, f o r example, t h e P e o p l e ' s R e p u b l i c o f C h i n a . And K o t h a r i p o i n t e d o u t t h e u n i q u e c h a r a c t e r i s t i c s o f t h e I n d i a n model. The p o i n t about I n d i a n development w h i c h g i v e s i t t h e c h a r a c t e r o f an un p r e c e n d e n t e d un d e r t a k i n g i s t h a t w h i l e economic and s o c i a l change i s i n i m p o r t a n t r e s p e c t s p l a n n e d and d i r e c t e d f r o m above, i t i s n o n e t h e l e s s c a r -r i e d on w i t h i n t h e framework o f an open and u n d i r e c t e d p o l i t y . T h i s means t h a t manipu-l a t i o n o f change i n t h e image o f a few dominant i d e a s g e t s c o n d i t i o n e d by an a c -c e l e r a t e d pace o f p o l i t i c a l c o m p e t i t i o n , a c h a n g i n g s t r u c t u r e o f power and i n f l u e n c e , and a w i d e n i n g base o f p o l i t i c a l c o n s u l t a -t i o n and p e r s u a s i o n . ^ 86 The emergency and t h e r e v i s i o n o f t h e C o n s t i t u t i o n d e n oted a m a j o r change from an open c o m p e t i t i v e p o l i t y t o a g u i d e d s y s t e m i n w h i c h t h e government had w i d e r powers and s t r e s s e d d u t i e s and d i s -c i p l i n e . But as l a t e as. December 1974 K o t h a r i r e s t a t e d t h e v a l i d i t y 3 of h i s model o f t h e 'Congress System'. B e f o r e t h e emergency he d i d p o i n t t o a p e r c e p t i b l e d e c l i n e i n t h e l e g i t i m a c y o f t h e c o n s t i t u t i o n a l and p o l i t i c a l s y s t e m and t r a c e d t h i s d e c l i n e t o c e r t a i n t r e n d s i n I n d i a n s o c i e t y and p o l i t i c s — n o t a b l y , e x c e s s i v e c e n t r a l i z a t i o n i n t h e l e v e l s of government* t h e absence o f a r e a l p o p u l a r base f o r t h e I n d i a n p o l i t i c a l 4 p a r t i e s , c o r r u p t i o n and f a i l u r e s o f p e r f o r m a n c e . K o t h a r i , however, c o n c l u d e d t h a t t h e Congress P a r t y and M r s . Gandhi were l i k e l y t o c o n -s o l i d a t e t h e i r p o s i t i o n b u t d i d n o t make i t c l e a r how t h i s c o n s o l i d a t i o n would t a k e p l a c e . The v i c t o r y o f t h e J a n a t a P a r t y and t h e Congress f o r Democracy poses t h e q u e s t i o n o f whether t h e r e w i l l be a new dominant p a r t y , a t w o - p a r t y s y s t e m , o r a fragmented m u l t i - p a r t y system. W i l l t h e r e now be a ' J a n a t a S y s t e m ' — a 'Congress System' w i t h o u t t h e Congress? C e r t a i n f e a t u r e s o f t h e p o l i t i c a l s y s t e m under Congress dominance a r e l i k e l y t o r e m a i n . G i v e n I n d i a ' s s i z e and d i v e r s i t y , and t h e f e d e r a l s y s t e m , t h e r u l i n g p a r t y o r c o a l i t i o n w i l l have t o c o n t i n u e t o a g g r e g a t e i n t e r e s t s . And i t i s i m p o r t a n t t o n o t e t h a t t h e J a n a t a P a r t y i s a c o a l i t i o n o f d i f -f e r e n t i d e o l o g i c a l components r a n g i n g f r o m c o n s e r v a t i v e s t o s o c i a l i s t s . I t i s t h e r e f o r e s i m i l a r t o t h e i d e o l o g i c a l amorphousness o f t h e C o n g r e s s P a r t y . The emphasis on p e r f o r m a n c e w i l l a l s o r e m a i n and t h e r e i s no doubt t h a t t h e v i a b i l i t y o f I n d i a ' s c o n s t i t u t i o n a l o r d e r w i l l depend 87 t o a g r e a t e x t e n t on t h e economic, s o c i a l and p o l i t i c a l p e r f o r m a n c e o f t h e government. The l e g i t i m a c y o f t h e c o n s t i t u t i o n a l and p o l i t i c a l o r d e r w i l l a l s o depend on t h e frameworks o f c o n s e n s u s and t h e o p e r a t i v e mechanisms o f t h e p o l i t i c a l s y s t e m d e s c r i b e d by K o t h a r i . The s i g n i f i c a n c e o f t h e Marc h 1977 g e n e r a l e l e c t i o n i s t h a t t h e e l e c t o r a l s y s t e m (one o f t h e o p e r a t i v e mechanisms) has r e — i n t e g r a t e d t h e former non-communist and C.P.M. o p p o s i t i o n p a r t i e s i n t o t h e c o n s t i t u t i o n a l and p o l i t i c a l s ystem. But t h e March e l e c t i o n r e s u l t s w i l l n o t e n s u r e t h e l e g i t i m a c y o f I n d i a ' s c o n s t i t u t i o n a l and p o l i t i c a l system. The a n a l y s i s o f t h e e f f e c t o f t h e 1971 g e n e r a l e l e c t i o n and t h e 1972 s t a t e a s s embly e l e c t i o n s has demon-s t r a t e d t h i s . A l t h o u g h M r s . Gandhi and t h e Congress P a r t y o b t a i n e d l a r g e e l e c t o r a l m a j o r i t i e s i n 1971-72, c o r r u p t e l e c t o r a l p r a c t i c e s a l s o s e r v e d t o r e d u c e t h e l e g i t i m a c y o f t h e p o l i t i c a l s ystem. E l e c t o r a l r e f o r m , p a r t i c u l a r l y t h e f i n a n c i n g o f e l e c t i o n s became a key demand of t h e non-communist o p p o s i t i o n p a r t i e s and t h e C.P.M. a f t e r 1971-72. An a n a l y s i s o f g o v e r n m e n t - o p p o s i t i o n r e l a t i o n s between 1971 and 1975 has p r o v e d t h e h y p o t h e s i s o f C h a p t e r I t h a t t h e l e g i t i m a c y o f c o n -s t i t u t i o n a l government i s dependent on t h e a c c e p t a n c e o f t h e r u l e s o f t h e c o n s t i t u t i o n a l and p o l i t i c a l s ystem by t h e government and o p p o s i -t i o n p a r t i e s . The s t u d y o f g o v e r n m e n t - o p p o s i t i o n r e l a t i o n s i n t h e p e r i o d between 1971 and t h e d e c l a r a t i o n o f t h e s t a t e o f emergency a l s o showed t h a t t h e 'margin o f p r e s s u r e ' d i d n o t o p e r a t e t o m a i n t a i n t h e openness o f t h e p o l i t i c a l system. I t r e m a i n s t o be seen w h e t h e r t h e post-emergency 88 p e r i o d w i l l be accompanied b y t h e development o f a new 'margin o f p r e s s u r e ' between t h e J a n a t a P a r t y , t h e C.F.D. and t h e o p p o s i t i o n p a r t i e s . I t depends, f i r s t of a l l , on whether t h e Co n g r e s s ( R ) , now out o f power, l o s e s i t s s t r e n g t h , and becomes a ' p a r t y o f p r e s s u r e ' . S e c o n d l y , much depends on t h e f a c t i o n a l a l i g n m e n t s w i t h i n t h e dominant c o a l i t i o n and t h e i r r e l a t i o n s h i p t o t h e o p p o s i t i o n p a r t i e s , and on whether t h e J a n a t a P a r t y i s p r e p a r e d t o seek consensus w i t h t h e op-p o s i t i o n p a r t i e s . K o t h a r i ' s model o f o n e - p a r t y dominance and t h e M a r x i s t model s h a r e t h e common a s s u m p t i o n t h a t c o n s t i t u t i o n a l and p o l i t i c a l i n s t i t u t i o n s a r e h i s t o r i c a l l y n e c e s s a r y f o r t h e i r t i m e . But i n t h e M a r x i s t model l e g a l and p o l i t i c a l i n s t i t u t i o n s a r e l o g i c a l l y n e c e s s a r y g i v e n t h e p a r t i c u l a r economic s t r u c t u r e o f s o c i e t y and t h e p r e v a i l i n g c l a s s r e l a t i o n s h i p s . I n t h e M a r x i s t model t h e r e a l s t r u g g l e i s n o t between i n s t i t u t i o n s s u c h as t h e e x e c u t i v e , l e g i s l a t u r e and t h e j u d i c i a r y b u t between c l a s s e s ; i n s t i t u t i o n s a r e t r a n s f o r m e d o r a b o l i s h e d as t h e y s u i t t h e economic and s o c i a l i n t e r e s t s o f t h e dominant c l a s s e s . The emergency, i n t h i s a n a l y s i s , a r o s e f r o m t h e c r i s i s f a c i n g I n d i a ' s r u l i n g c l a s s e s and t h e f a c a d e o f l i b e r a l c o n s t i t u t i o n a l democracy was q u i c k l y dropped. I n t h e t h e o r e t i c a l d i s c u s s i o n o f t h e M a r x i s t model some of t h e problems o f a p p l y i n g t h i s c l a s s a n a l y s i s t o t h e p e r i o d 1947-75 were m e n t i o n e d . The s t u d y o f t h e p e r i o d between t h e 1971 g e n e r a l e l e c t i o n s and t h e s t a t e o f emergency o f June 1975 a l s o showed t h e i n a d e q u a c i e s o f c l a s s and economic d e t e r m i n i s t e x p l o r a t i o n s . Not o n l y a r e t h e r e d i f -f i c u l t i e s o f i d e n t i f y i n g t h e r u l i n g c l a s s , b u t a l s o t h e breakdown o f 89 consensus i n v o l v e d b o u r g e o i s p a r t i e s such, as t h e C o n g r e s s (R) and t h e o p p o s i t i o n B.L.D., J a n a Sangh. and Congress ( 0 ) . I t i s a l s o d i f f i c u l t t o speak o f t h e emergency a s t h e outcome o f a p u r e c l a s s s t r u g g l e because o f t h e r e f o r m i s t p o s i t i o n o f t h e C.P.I, and i t s s u p p o r t f o r t h e Congress (R) and a l s o because o f t h e s o c i a l i s t and p o p u l i s t r h e t o r i c o f t h e Congress P a r t y . But t h e M a r x i s t a n a l y s i s o f d i c t a t o r s h i p does n o t r e l y on t h e e x i s t e n c e o f an open c l a s s s t r u g g l e . D i c t a t o r s h i p s a r e seen t o a r i s e when ' b o u r g e o i s ' i n s t i t u t i o n s a r e t h r e a t e n e d b u t r e v o l u t i o n a r y movements weak. But i s t h e emergency a p r e l u d e t o r e v o l u t i o n a r y change? The March 1977 g e n e r a l e l e c t i o n seems t o have g i v e n a new l e a s e o f l i f e t o I n d i a ' s ' b o u r g e o i s democracy'. A r e v o l u t i o n a r y movement g u i d e d by a r e v o l u -t i o n a r y p a r t y w h i c h w i l l e s t a b l i s h i t s own a l t e r n a t i v e c o n s t i t u t i o n a l and p o l i t i c a l i n s t i t u t i o n s i s , however, a b s e n t i n I n d i a t o d a y . I t i s l i k e l y t o r e m a i n so as l o n g as t h e C.P.I, and t h e C.P.M. c o n t i n u e t h e i r r e f o r m i s t p o l i c i e s . A l t h o u g h i t i s s t i l l t o o e a r l y t o a s s e s s t h e e f f e c t o f t h e v i c t o r y o f t h e J a n a t a P a r t y and t h e C.F.D. on I n d i a ' s c o n s t i t u t i o n a l and p o l i t i c a l s y s t e m , c e r t a i n t r e n d s a r e c l e a r . The new government has made known i t s i n t e n t i o n t o d i s m a n t l e t h e a u t h o r i t a r i a n s y s t e m o f Mrs. Gandhi's emer-gency r u l e . I t has been seen t h a t t h e Congress P a r t y i n p a s s i n g t h e c o n s t i t u t i o n a l amendments s i n c e June 1975 assumed t h a t i t w o u l d r e m a i n i n power i n d e f i n i t e l y . I r o n i c a l l y , w i t h t h e s h i f t i n f o r t u n e s , i t i s now t h e C o n g r e s s P a r t y w h i c h i s i n a d i s a d v a n t a g e d p o s i t i o n under t h e r e v i s e d c o n s t i t u t i o n . The new government o f P r i m e M i n i s t e r D e s a i , 90 however, h a s announced t h a t c i v i l l i b e r t i e s and t h e independence o f th e j u d i c i a r y w i l l be r e s t o r e d . I n C h a p t e r I i t was h y p o t h e s i z e d t h a t t h e C o n s t i t u t i o n had i n s u f f i c i e n t s a f e g u a r d s a g a i n s t t h e development o f a u t h o r i t a r i a n r u l e . I t rema i n s t o be seen whether t h e J a n a t a and C.F.D. w i l l r e d u c e t h e emergency powers o f t h e e x e c u t i v e — p a r t i c u l a r l y t h e emergency p r o v i s i o n s o f t h e C o n s t i t u t i o n and s t a t u t e s s u c h as M.I.S.A. and t h e Defence o f I n d i a R u l e s — w h i c h e n a b l e d M r s . Ga n d h i to impose h e r a u t h o r i t a r i a n r u l e i n t h e f i r s t p l a c e . The r e p e a l o f s t a t u t e s s u c h as t h e M a i n t e n a n c e o f I n t e r n a l S e c u r i t y A c t and t h e Defen s e o f I n d i a R u l e s i s l i k e l y t o be more s t r a i g h t -f o r w a r d f o r t h e J a n a t a government t h a n t h e r e p e a l o f t h e 3 9 t h , 4 0 t h , 4 1 s t and 42nd c o n s t i t u t i o n a l amendments. R e p e a l o f t h e s e amendments w i l l r e q u i r e a m a j o r i t y o f t w o - t h i r d s o f L o k Sabha and R a j y a Sabha members p r e s e n t and v o t i n g and r a t i f i c a t i o n by a m a j o r i t y o f t h e s t a t e l e g i s l a t u r e s . I n o r d e r t o re-amend t h e C o n s t i t u t i o n , t h e J a n a t a gov-e r n m e n t h a s , a t t h e t i m e o f w r i t i n g , announced t h e d i s s o l u t i o n o f n i n e s t a t e a s s e m b l i e s c o n t r o l l e d by t h e Con g r e s s P a r t y . The outcome o f t h e s e e l e c t i o n s and t h e a b i l i t y o f t h e J a n a t a government t o s e c u r e t h e n e c e s -s a r y m a j o r i t i e s i n P a r l i a m e n t w i l l , t h e r e f o r e , d e t e r m i n e t h e s u c c e s s o f the new government i n a b o l i s h i n g t h e s e amendments t o t h e C o n s t i t u t i o n . The emergency t h u s a p p e a r s t o have been an a b e r r a t i o n i n I n d i a ' s c o n s t i t u t i o n a l and p o l i t i c a l s y s t e m s i n c e i n d e p endence. But Mrs. Gan d h i has l e f t i m p o r t a n t p r e c e d e n t s e s p e c i a l l y t h e a r r e s t o f o p p o s i t i o n l e a d e r s , p r e s s c e n s o r s h i p and t h e p r e c e d e n t s o f c o n s t i t u t i o n a l r e v i s i o n under emergency r u l e . An e x a m i n a t i o n o f I n d i a ' s f u t u r e c o n s t i t u t i o n a l 91 and p o l i t i c a l development may t h e r e f o r e answer t h e q u e s t i o n o f whether t h e emergency was i n f a c t an a b e r r a t i o n o r whether i t was t h e p r e c u r s o r o f f u r t h e r p e r i o d s o f a u t h o r i t a r i a n r u l e I n I n d i a . 91a FOOTNOTES 92 FOOTNOTES CHAPTER I "'"For a d i s c u s s i o n of i n s t a b i l i t y i n I n d i a see A l a n W e l l s , "Mass V i o l e n c e i n I n d i a s i n c e 1960," I n d i a n P o l i t i c a l S c i e n c e Review 7 ( O c t o b e r 1972 - September 1973): 125-130 and B a l d e r Raj N a y a r , " V i o l e n c e , " Seminar 173 ( J a n u a r y 1974): 33-37. 2 R o b e r t L. H a r d g r a v e , J r . , I n d i a : Government and P o l i t i c s i n  a D e v e l o p i n g N a t i o n , 2nd ed. (New Y o r k : H a r c o u r t B r a c e J o v a n o v i c h , 1 9 75), p. 87. CHAPTER I I """Tvo D. Duchacek, " N a t i o n a l C o n s t i t u t i o n s : A F u n c t i o n a l Ap-p r o a c h , " C o m p a r a t i v e P o l i t i c s 1 ( O c t o b e r 1968) p. 91, n . l . 2 See, f o r example, B e n j a m i n A k z i n ' s c o m p a r a t i v e s u r v e y o f t h e ' n o m i n a l i t y ' o f c o n s t i t u t i o n s , "On t h e S t a b i l i t y and R e a l i t y of Con-s t i t u t i o n s , " i n S t u d i e s i n Economic and S o c i a l S c i e n c e s , V o l . 3, pp. 313-339. E d i t e d by R o b e r t B a c h i ( J e r u s a l e m : Magnes P r e s s , 1 9 5 6 ) . 3 C h a r l e s B e t t e l h e i m , I n d i a Independent (New Y o r k : M o n t h l y Review P r e s s , 1 9 7 1 ) , p. 106. 4 G r a n v i l l e A u s t i n , The I n d i a n C o n s t i t u t i o n : C o r n e r s t o n e o f a  N a t i o n ( O x f o r d : C l a r e n d o n P r e s s , 1966, pp. 8-17. 5 I b i d . , p. 10, n. 38. ^ I b i d . , p. 5, n. 19. ^ S h i v a B. Rao, The F r a m i n g o f I n d i a ' s C o n s t i t u t i o n ( N a s i k : Government o f I n d i a P r e s s , 1 968), p. 101. 8 A u s t i n , The I n d i a n C o n s t i t u t i o n , pp. 68-69. 9 1 s t Amendment (1951) ; 4 t h Amendment ( 1 9 5 5 ) ; and 1 7 t h Amend-ment ( 1 9 6 4 ) . "'"^ K.C. Wheare, Modern C o n s t i t u t i o n s , 2nd ed., (London: O x f o r d U n i v e r s i t y P r e s s , 1 966), p. 140. """"'"Article 352 (3) . R e f e r e n c e s t o t h e C o n s t i t u t i o n a r e t o I n d i a , M i n i s t r y o f Law and J u s t i c e , The C o n s t i t u t i o n o f I n d i a as M o d i f i e d up  to t h e 1 5 t h o f May, 1972 (New D e l h i : M i n i s t r y o f I n f o r m a t i o n and B r o a d c a s t i n g , 1 9 7 2 ) . 93 12 A u s t i n , The I n d i a n C o n s t i t u t i o n , pp. 207-8. 1 3 A r t i c l e 356. 1 4 A r t i c l e 360 CHAPTER I I I "*"Rajni K o t h a r i , "The Congress 'System' i n I n d i a , " A s i a n S u rvey 4 (December 1 9 6 4 ) : 1161-1173; W.H. M o r r i s - J o n e s , " P a r l i a m e n t and Dominant P a r t y : The I n d i a n E x p e r i e n c e , " P a r l i a m e n t a r y A f f a i r s 17 (Summer 1964): 296-307. 2 R a j n i K o t h a r i , "The Congress System R e v i s i t e d : A D e c e n n i a l Review," A s i a n Survey 14 (December 1974): p. 1052. 3 I b i d . , p. 1036. 4 I b i d . , p. 1036. 5 K o t h a r i , "The Congress 'System' i n I n d i a , " p. 1162. K a r l Marx. " P r e f a c e t o a C o n t r i b u t i o n t o t h e C r i t i q u e o f P o l i -t i c a l Economy, 1859," i n K. Marx and F. E n g e l s , S e l e c t e d Works i n One  Volume (London: Lawrence and W i s h a r t , 1 9 7 0 ) , p. 181; ^J.D. S e t h i , I n d i a i n C r i s i s ( D e l h i : V i k a s P u b l i s h i n g House, 1 9 7 5 ) , p. 21. Q A r t i c l e s 264-300. 9 Meghnad D e s a i , " I n d i a : Emerging C o n t r a d i c t i o n s o f Slow C a p i t a l i s t Development," i n E x p l o s i o n i n a S u b - C o n t i n e n t , e d . R o b i n B l a c k b u r n (London: P e n g u i n P r e s s , 1 975), p. 23. " ^ K a r l Marx, "The C i v i l War i n F r a n c e , " i n Marx and E n g e l s S e l e c t e d Works i n One Volume, p. 285. "''"'"Desai, " I n d i a : Emerging C o n t r a d i c t i o n s , " pp. 17-18. 12 K o t h a r i , P o l i t i c s i n I n d i a (New D e l h i : O r i e n t Longman, 1 9 7 2 ) , p. 424. 13 R a n a j i t Guha, " I n d i a n Democracy: Long Dead, Now B u r i e d , " J o u r n a l o f Contemporary A s i a 6 (1976) pp. 40-41. 14 K o t h a r i , P o l i t i c s i n I n d i a , p. 6. "*"^See, f o r example, C P . Bhambri's c r i t i c i s m o f K o t h a r i ' s f r a m e -work i n " F u n c t i o n a l i s m i n P o l i t i c s : A R e j o i n d e r , " I n d i a n J o u r n a l o f  P o l i t i c a l S c i e n c e 35 ( A p r i l - June 1 9 7 4 ) " 186-187. 94 """ """Kothari, "The C ongress System R e v i s i t e d , " pp. 1047-8. 1 7 I b i d . , p. 1051. 18 D e s a i , " I n d i a : Emerging C o n t r a d i c t i o n s , ' , 1 p. 13. 19 K o t h a r i , "The F a i l u r e o f a System," Times o f I n d i a (New D e l h i ) A p r i l 10, 1975. CHAPTER I V "'"Minister o f F i n a n c e , "Review o f C u r r e n t Economic S i t u a t i o n , " J u l y 30, 1975. Y o j a n a 19 (15 A u gust 1975), p. 81. W h o l e s a l e p r i c e s i n c r e a s e d by 9.9 p e r c e n t i n 1972-73, 22.7 p e r c e n t i n 1973-74 and 23.1 p e r c e n t i n 1974-75. The A l l - I n d i a consumer p r i c e i n d e x f o r i n d u s t r i a l w o r k e r s i n c r e a s e d by 6.3 p e r c e n t i n 1972, 15.8 p e r c e n t i n 1973 and by 28.8 p e r c e n t i n 1974. Economic and P o l i t i c a l Weekly V o l . X I , No. 16, ( A p r i l 17, 1976) p. 610. 2 Government o f I n d i a , M i n i s t r y o f F i n a n c e , Economic S u r v e y : 1972-73 (New D e l h i : Government o f I n d i a P r e s s , 1 9 7 3 ) , p. '4. 3 The Statesman ( D e l h i ) , A p r i l 24, 1975. 4 D a v i d H. B a y l e y , " I n d i a : War and P o l i t i c a l A s s e r t i o n , " A s i a n S u r v e y 12 ( F e b r u a r y 1972), p. 91. "^Susanne Hoeber R u d o l p h , "The W r i t from D e l h i : The I n d i a n Government's C a p a b i l i t i e s a f t e r t h e 1971 E l e c t i o n , " A s i a n Survey 11 ( O c t o b e r 1971), p. 958. 6 I b i d . , p. 961. ^John R. Wood, " E x t r a - P a r l i a m e n t a r y O p p o s i t i o n i n I n d i a : An A n a l y s i s of P o p u l i s t A g i t a t i o n s i n G u j a r a t and B i h a r , " P a c i f i c A f f a i r s 48 ( F a l l 1 9 7 5 ) , p. 314. 8 I b i d . , pp. 320-1. 9 The Statesman ( D e l h i ) , J a n u a r y 30, 1975. """^For example, on A p r i l 7, 1975 M o r a r j i D e s a i began a f a s t t o t h e d e a t h u n l e s s two o f h i s c o n d i t i o n s were met by Mrs. G a n d h i — t h a t f r e s h e l e c t i o n s be h e l d i m m e d i a t e l y i n G u j a r a t and t h a t t h e n a t i o n a l emergency d e c l a r e d i n December 1971 s h o u l d be l i f t e d . The Statesman ( D e l h i ) A p r i l 8, 1975. "'""'"Times o f I n d i a (Ahmedabad), May 8, 1975. 12 Times o f I n d i a (New D e l h i ) , A p r i l 1, 1975. 95 13 The Statesman ( D e l h i ) , A p r i l 23, 1975. 14 The Statesman ( D e l h i ) , J a n u a r y 6, 1975. 1 5 T h e Statesman ( D e l h i ) , M a r c h 8, 1975. 1 f\ The Statesman ( D e l h i ) , March 5, 1975. 1 7 T h e Statesman ( D e l h i ) , March 6, 1975. 18 R a j n i K o t h a r i , "End o f an E r a " , Seminar 197 ( J a n u a r y 1 9 7 6 ) , pp. 22-23. 19 Times o f I n d i a (Ahmedabad), June 25, 1975. 20 Times o f I n d i a (Ahmedabad), June 16, 1975. 2 1 M a r c u s F. F r a n d a , " I n d i a ' s Double Emergency Democracy", F i e l d  S t a f f R e p o r t s ( A m e r i c a n U n i v e r s i t i e s F i e l d S t a f f ) , S o u t h A s i a S e r i e s , V o l . 19, No. 17 (December 1975), p. 14. 22 I b i d . , p. 11. 23 Lok Sabha D e b a t e s , V o l . 53, No. 3, c o l s . 31-42. 2 4 A r t i c l e 3 5 2 ( 2 ) . 2 5 L o k Sabha D e b a t e s , V o l . 53, No. 3, c o l s . 123-158. 2 6 L o k Sabha D e b a t e s , V o l . 54, No. 14, c o l s . 106-116. 27 R i c h a r d L. P a r k , " P o l i t i c a l C r i s i s i n I n d i a , 1975," A s i a n  Survey 25 (November 1975), p. 1011. 2 8 H i g h Commission of I n d i a , Ottawa, "Recent Developments i n I n d i a - a B a c k g r o u n d e r , " I n d i a News No. 2 ( J a n u a r y 20, 1 9 7 6 ) , p. 1: 29 Speech i n R a j y a Sabha, J u l y 22, 1975. I n d i r a G a n d h i , Democracy  and D i s c i p l i n e : Speeches o f I n d i r a Gandhi (New D e l h i : Government o f I n d i a , M i n i s t r y o f I n f o r m a t i o n and B r o a d c a s t i n g , n . d . ) , p. 37. 30 Speech i n Lok Sabha, J u l y 22, 1975, i n G a n d h i , Democracy and  D i s c i p l i n e , p. 36. CHAPTER V "''See, f o r example, C l a i r e S t e r l i n g ' s a r t i c l e , " R u l e r o f 600 M i l l i o n , and A l o n e , " The New Y o r k Times M a g a z i n e , August 10, 1975; and N e v i l l e M a x w e l l , "Woman on a W h i t e H o r s e : I n d i a 1975," Round T a b l e No. 260. ( O c t o b e r 1975): 357-368. 96 2 Gand h i , Democracy and D i s c i p l i n e , pp. 63-64. 3 I b i d . , pp. 103-4. 4"A F r e s h Look a t our C o n s t i t u t i o n : Some S u g g e s t i o n s " , d i s t r i -b u t e d by C T . Daru, A d v o c a t e Ahmedabad, December 9, 1975 (Mimeo-g r a p h e d ) , p. 1. ^ I b i d . , p. 2. Ma n c h e s t e r G u a r d i a n Weekly, J a n u a r y 11, 1976. ^Other members o f t h e Committee were: A.R. A n t u l a y , C o n g r e s s G e n e r a l S e c r e t a r y ; S i d d h a r t h a Shankar Ray, C h i e f M i n i s t e r o f West B e n g a l ; H.R. G o k h a l e , U n i o n Law M i n i s t e r ; R a j n i P a t e l , P r e s i d e n t o f t h e Bombay P r a d e s h Congress Committee; V.A. Seyed Mohammed, M i n i s t e r o f S t a t e f o r Law; V.N. G a d g i l , M i n i s t e r o f S t a t e f o r Defense P r o d u c t i o n ; and t h e M.P.s C M . Step h e n , V.P. S a t h e , D.C Goswami, K r i s h n a M a n i , B.N. B a n n e r j i , and D.P. S i n g h . Times o f I n d i a (Bombay), May 23, 1976. g K e e s i n g ' s Contemporary A r c h i v e s ( L o n d o n ) , A p r i l 1976, p. 27783. 9 T i m e s o f I n d i a (Bombay), May 23, 1976. 1 0 A s i a n R e c o r d e r (New D e l h i ) June 24-30, 1976, p. 13221. ''""'"For example, t h e Law M i n i s t e r , H.R. G o k h a l e , on i n t r o d u c i n g the 4 4 t h C o n s t i t u t i o n (Amendment) B i l l i n the Lok Sabha i n O c t o b e r 1976, c r i t i c i z e d t h e o p p o s i t i o n p a r t i e s f o r f a i l i n g t o p a r t i c i p a t e i n t he forums f o r d e b a t i n g c o n s t i t u t i o n a l r e v i s i o n . G o khale a l s o s a i d t h a t t h e Swaran S i n g h Committee had r e c e i v e d f o u r thousand memo-ra n d a and had i n t e r v i e w e d a l a r g e number o f p e o p l e b e f o r e f i n a l i z i n g i t s r e p o r t i n May 1976. " P a r l i a m e n t Approves C o n s t i t u t i o n Amendments", I n d i a n and F o r e i g n Review, V o l . 14, No. 3, (15 November 1 9 7 6 ) , pp. 5-6. 12 Times o f I n d i a (Bombay) O c t o b e r 17, 1976. 13 Times o f I n d i a (Bombay) O c t o b e r 10, 1976. 14 I b i d . " ^ K e e s i n g ' s Contemporary A r c h i v e s , J a n u a r y 14, 1977, p. 28142. 16 C h r i s t i a n S c i e n c e M o n i t o r , June 7, 1976. " ^ K e e s i n g ' s Contemporary A r c h i v e s , J a n u a r y 14, 1977, p. 281^1. 18 A r t i c l e 74 (1) s t a t e s o n l y t h a t "There s h a l l be a C o u n c i l o f M i n i s t e r s w i t h t h e P r i m e M i n i s t e r a t t h e head t o a i d and a d v i s e t h e P r e s i d e n t i n t h e e x e r c i s e o f h i s f u n c t i o n s " . 97 I n d i a n and F o r e i g n Review, V o l . 14, No. 2 (1 November 1 9 7 6 ) , p. 22. 20 K e e s i n g ' s Contemporary A r c h i v e s , J a n u a r y 14, 1977, p. 28141. 21 S.C. A g r a w a l , " P r o p o s e d C o n s t i t u t i o n a l Amendments: A Comment," I n d i a n and F o r e i g n Review, V o l . 14, No. 2 (1 November 1 9 7 6 ) , p. 11. 22 K e e s i n g ' s Contemporary A r c h i v e s , J a n u a r y 14, 1977, p. 28141. 23 H i g h Commission o f I n d i a , Ottawa, I n d i a News No. 12 ( O c t o b e r 1976), p. 8. CHAPTER V I "'""Parliament Approves C o n s t i t u t i o n Amendments," I n d i a n and  F o r e i g n Review, V o l . 14, No. 3 (15 November 1 9 7 6 ) , pp. 5-6. 2 K o t h a r i , P o l i t i c s i n I n d i a , pp. 8-9. 3 K o t h a r i , "The Congress 'System' R e v i s i t e d : A D e c e n n i a l Review," A s i a n S u r v e y 14 (December 1974): 1035-1054. ^"The F a i l u r e o f a System: P o l i t i c s as a P r i v a t e E n t e r p r i s e , " Times o f I n d i a , (New Delh i ) A p r i l 10, 1975. SELECT BIBLIOGRAPHY 98 SELECT BIBLIOGRAPHY GOVERNMENT OF INDIA PUBLICATIONS H i g h Commission, Ottawa. 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UBC Theses and Dissertations

UBC Theses and Dissertations

The emergency and constitutional change in India Johal, Sarbjit Singh 1977

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The emergency and constitutional change in India Johal, Sarbjit Singh 1977

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