Page 1
In this chapter…
We have seen in the last chapter that the Congress recovered after
1971, but was not the same kind of party. The difference became
clear in a series of events between 1973 and 1975 that brought new
challenges to India’s democratic politics and the institutional balance
sought by the Constitution. These developments led to the imposition of
‘emergency’ in June 1975. Normally, we would associate ‘emergency’
with war and aggression or with natural disaster. But this ‘emergency’
was imposed because of the perceived threat of internal disturbance.
The Emergency ended as dramatically as it had begun, resulting in a
defeat of the Congress in the Lok Sabha elections of 1977.
In this chapter we focus on this crucial phase in the history of democracy
in India and ask some questions that have remained controversial after
all these years.
• Why was Emergency imposed? Was it necessary?
• What did the imposition of Emergency mean in practice?
• What were the consequences of Emergency on party politics?
• What are the lessons of Emergency for Indian democracy?
The editorial page of
‘Nai Dunia’ of 27 June
1975 was like any other
day, except that the
space for editorial was
left blank. The editorial
was “censored” using
emergency powers.
Many other newspapers
also carried such blank
spaces–sometimes
to protest against
emergency. Later, leaving
blank space was also
banned.
chap 6_PF.indd 92 8/5/2022 2:03:26 PM
2024-25
Page 2
In this chapter…
We have seen in the last chapter that the Congress recovered after
1971, but was not the same kind of party. The difference became
clear in a series of events between 1973 and 1975 that brought new
challenges to India’s democratic politics and the institutional balance
sought by the Constitution. These developments led to the imposition of
‘emergency’ in June 1975. Normally, we would associate ‘emergency’
with war and aggression or with natural disaster. But this ‘emergency’
was imposed because of the perceived threat of internal disturbance.
The Emergency ended as dramatically as it had begun, resulting in a
defeat of the Congress in the Lok Sabha elections of 1977.
In this chapter we focus on this crucial phase in the history of democracy
in India and ask some questions that have remained controversial after
all these years.
• Why was Emergency imposed? Was it necessary?
• What did the imposition of Emergency mean in practice?
• What were the consequences of Emergency on party politics?
• What are the lessons of Emergency for Indian democracy?
The editorial page of
‘Nai Dunia’ of 27 June
1975 was like any other
day, except that the
space for editorial was
left blank. The editorial
was “censored” using
emergency powers.
Many other newspapers
also carried such blank
spaces–sometimes
to protest against
emergency. Later, leaving
blank space was also
banned.
chap 6_PF.indd 92 8/5/2022 2:03:26 PM
2024-25
Background to Emergency
We have already studied the changes that were taking place in Indian
politics since 1967. Indira Gandhi had emerged as a towering leader
with tremendous popularity. This was also the period when party
competition became bitter and polarised. This period also witnessed
tensions in the relationship between the government and the judiciary.
The Supreme Court found many initiatives of the government to be
violative of the Constitution. The Congress party took the position
that this stand of the Court was against principles of democracy
and parliamentary supremacy. The Congress also alleged that the
Court was a conservative institution and it was becoming an obstacle
in the way of implementing pro-poor welfare programmes. The
parties opposed to the Congress felt that politics was becoming too
personalised and that governmental authority was being converted
into personal authority. The split in the Congress had sharpened the
divisions between Indira Gandhi and her opponents.
Economic context
In the elections of 1971, Congress had given the slogan
of garibi hatao (remove poverty). However, the social and
economic condition in the country did not improve much
after 1971-72. The Bangladesh crisis had put a heavy strain
on India’s economy. About eight million people crossed
over the East Pakistan border into India. This was followed
by war with Pakistan. After the war the U.S government
stopped all aid to India. In the international market, oil
prices increased manifold during this period. This led to
an all-round increase in prices of commodities. Prices
increased by 23 per cent in 1973 and 30 per cent in 1974.
Such a high level of inflation caused much hardship to
the people.
Industrial growth was low and unemployment was
very high, particularly in the rural areas. In order to
reduce expenditure the government froze the salaries
of its employees. This caused further dissatisfaction
among government employees. Monsoons failed in 1972-
1973. This resulted in a sharp decline in agricultural
productivity. Food grain output declined by 8 per cent.
Credit: Abu
PM says
6
chapter
the crisis of
Democratic orDer
chap 6_PF.indd 93 8/5/2022 2:03:26 PM
2024-25
Page 3
In this chapter…
We have seen in the last chapter that the Congress recovered after
1971, but was not the same kind of party. The difference became
clear in a series of events between 1973 and 1975 that brought new
challenges to India’s democratic politics and the institutional balance
sought by the Constitution. These developments led to the imposition of
‘emergency’ in June 1975. Normally, we would associate ‘emergency’
with war and aggression or with natural disaster. But this ‘emergency’
was imposed because of the perceived threat of internal disturbance.
The Emergency ended as dramatically as it had begun, resulting in a
defeat of the Congress in the Lok Sabha elections of 1977.
In this chapter we focus on this crucial phase in the history of democracy
in India and ask some questions that have remained controversial after
all these years.
• Why was Emergency imposed? Was it necessary?
• What did the imposition of Emergency mean in practice?
• What were the consequences of Emergency on party politics?
• What are the lessons of Emergency for Indian democracy?
The editorial page of
‘Nai Dunia’ of 27 June
1975 was like any other
day, except that the
space for editorial was
left blank. The editorial
was “censored” using
emergency powers.
Many other newspapers
also carried such blank
spaces–sometimes
to protest against
emergency. Later, leaving
blank space was also
banned.
chap 6_PF.indd 92 8/5/2022 2:03:26 PM
2024-25
Background to Emergency
We have already studied the changes that were taking place in Indian
politics since 1967. Indira Gandhi had emerged as a towering leader
with tremendous popularity. This was also the period when party
competition became bitter and polarised. This period also witnessed
tensions in the relationship between the government and the judiciary.
The Supreme Court found many initiatives of the government to be
violative of the Constitution. The Congress party took the position
that this stand of the Court was against principles of democracy
and parliamentary supremacy. The Congress also alleged that the
Court was a conservative institution and it was becoming an obstacle
in the way of implementing pro-poor welfare programmes. The
parties opposed to the Congress felt that politics was becoming too
personalised and that governmental authority was being converted
into personal authority. The split in the Congress had sharpened the
divisions between Indira Gandhi and her opponents.
Economic context
In the elections of 1971, Congress had given the slogan
of garibi hatao (remove poverty). However, the social and
economic condition in the country did not improve much
after 1971-72. The Bangladesh crisis had put a heavy strain
on India’s economy. About eight million people crossed
over the East Pakistan border into India. This was followed
by war with Pakistan. After the war the U.S government
stopped all aid to India. In the international market, oil
prices increased manifold during this period. This led to
an all-round increase in prices of commodities. Prices
increased by 23 per cent in 1973 and 30 per cent in 1974.
Such a high level of inflation caused much hardship to
the people.
Industrial growth was low and unemployment was
very high, particularly in the rural areas. In order to
reduce expenditure the government froze the salaries
of its employees. This caused further dissatisfaction
among government employees. Monsoons failed in 1972-
1973. This resulted in a sharp decline in agricultural
productivity. Food grain output declined by 8 per cent.
Credit: Abu
PM says
6
chapter
the crisis of
Democratic orDer
chap 6_PF.indd 93 8/5/2022 2:03:26 PM
2024-25
94 Politics in India since Independence
There was a general atmosphere of dissatisfaction with the prevailing
economic situation all over the country. In such a context non-
Congress opposition parties were able to organise popular protests
effectively. Instances of students’ unrests that had persisted from
the late 1960s became more pronounced in this period. There was
also an increase in the activities of Marxist groups who did not
believe in parliamentary politics. These groups had taken to arms
and insurgent techniques for the overthrow of the capitalist order
and the established political system. Known as the Marxist-Leninist
(now Maoist) groups or Naxalites, they were particularly strong in
West Bengal, where the State government took stringent measures to
suppress them.
Gujarat and Bihar movements
Students’ protests in Gujarat and Bihar, both of which were Congress
ruled States, had far reaching impact on the politics of the two States
and national politics. In January 1974 students in Gujarat started
an agitation against rising prices of food grains, cooking oil and
other essential commodities, and against corruption in high places.
The students’ protest was joined by major opposition parties and
became widespread leading to the imposition of President’s rule in the
state. The opposition parties demanded fresh elections to the state
legislature. Morarji Desai, a prominent leader of Congress (O), who
was the main rival of Indira Gandhi when he was in the Congress,
announced that he would go on an indefinite fast if fresh elections
were not held in the State. Under intense pressure from students,
supported by the opposition political parties, assembly elections
were held in Gujarat in June 1975. The Congress was defeated in
this election.
In March 1974 students came together in Bihar to protest against
rising prices, food scarcity, unemployment and corruption. After
a point they invited Jayaprakash Narayan (JP), who had given up
active politics and was involved in social work, to lead the student
movement. He accepted it on the condition that the movement will
remain non-violent and will not limit
itself to Bihar. Thus the students’
movement assumed a political
character and had national appeal.
People from all walks of life now
entered the movement. Jayaprakash
Narayan demanded the dismissal of
the Congress government in Bihar
and gave a call for total revolution
in the social, economic and political
spheres in order to establish what he
considered to be true democracy. A
series of bandhs, gehraos, and strikes
Sampoorna Kranti
ab nara hai, bhavi itihas
hamara hai [With Total
Revolution as our motto, the
future belongs to us]
A slogan of the Bihar
movement, 1974
“
“
Indira is India,
India is Indira
A slogan given by
D. K. Barooah, President of the
Congress, 1974
“
“
Poor
people must have
had a tough time. What
happened to the promise
of garibi hatao?
chap 6_PF.indd 94 8/5/2022 2:03:26 PM
2024-25
Page 4
In this chapter…
We have seen in the last chapter that the Congress recovered after
1971, but was not the same kind of party. The difference became
clear in a series of events between 1973 and 1975 that brought new
challenges to India’s democratic politics and the institutional balance
sought by the Constitution. These developments led to the imposition of
‘emergency’ in June 1975. Normally, we would associate ‘emergency’
with war and aggression or with natural disaster. But this ‘emergency’
was imposed because of the perceived threat of internal disturbance.
The Emergency ended as dramatically as it had begun, resulting in a
defeat of the Congress in the Lok Sabha elections of 1977.
In this chapter we focus on this crucial phase in the history of democracy
in India and ask some questions that have remained controversial after
all these years.
• Why was Emergency imposed? Was it necessary?
• What did the imposition of Emergency mean in practice?
• What were the consequences of Emergency on party politics?
• What are the lessons of Emergency for Indian democracy?
The editorial page of
‘Nai Dunia’ of 27 June
1975 was like any other
day, except that the
space for editorial was
left blank. The editorial
was “censored” using
emergency powers.
Many other newspapers
also carried such blank
spaces–sometimes
to protest against
emergency. Later, leaving
blank space was also
banned.
chap 6_PF.indd 92 8/5/2022 2:03:26 PM
2024-25
Background to Emergency
We have already studied the changes that were taking place in Indian
politics since 1967. Indira Gandhi had emerged as a towering leader
with tremendous popularity. This was also the period when party
competition became bitter and polarised. This period also witnessed
tensions in the relationship between the government and the judiciary.
The Supreme Court found many initiatives of the government to be
violative of the Constitution. The Congress party took the position
that this stand of the Court was against principles of democracy
and parliamentary supremacy. The Congress also alleged that the
Court was a conservative institution and it was becoming an obstacle
in the way of implementing pro-poor welfare programmes. The
parties opposed to the Congress felt that politics was becoming too
personalised and that governmental authority was being converted
into personal authority. The split in the Congress had sharpened the
divisions between Indira Gandhi and her opponents.
Economic context
In the elections of 1971, Congress had given the slogan
of garibi hatao (remove poverty). However, the social and
economic condition in the country did not improve much
after 1971-72. The Bangladesh crisis had put a heavy strain
on India’s economy. About eight million people crossed
over the East Pakistan border into India. This was followed
by war with Pakistan. After the war the U.S government
stopped all aid to India. In the international market, oil
prices increased manifold during this period. This led to
an all-round increase in prices of commodities. Prices
increased by 23 per cent in 1973 and 30 per cent in 1974.
Such a high level of inflation caused much hardship to
the people.
Industrial growth was low and unemployment was
very high, particularly in the rural areas. In order to
reduce expenditure the government froze the salaries
of its employees. This caused further dissatisfaction
among government employees. Monsoons failed in 1972-
1973. This resulted in a sharp decline in agricultural
productivity. Food grain output declined by 8 per cent.
Credit: Abu
PM says
6
chapter
the crisis of
Democratic orDer
chap 6_PF.indd 93 8/5/2022 2:03:26 PM
2024-25
94 Politics in India since Independence
There was a general atmosphere of dissatisfaction with the prevailing
economic situation all over the country. In such a context non-
Congress opposition parties were able to organise popular protests
effectively. Instances of students’ unrests that had persisted from
the late 1960s became more pronounced in this period. There was
also an increase in the activities of Marxist groups who did not
believe in parliamentary politics. These groups had taken to arms
and insurgent techniques for the overthrow of the capitalist order
and the established political system. Known as the Marxist-Leninist
(now Maoist) groups or Naxalites, they were particularly strong in
West Bengal, where the State government took stringent measures to
suppress them.
Gujarat and Bihar movements
Students’ protests in Gujarat and Bihar, both of which were Congress
ruled States, had far reaching impact on the politics of the two States
and national politics. In January 1974 students in Gujarat started
an agitation against rising prices of food grains, cooking oil and
other essential commodities, and against corruption in high places.
The students’ protest was joined by major opposition parties and
became widespread leading to the imposition of President’s rule in the
state. The opposition parties demanded fresh elections to the state
legislature. Morarji Desai, a prominent leader of Congress (O), who
was the main rival of Indira Gandhi when he was in the Congress,
announced that he would go on an indefinite fast if fresh elections
were not held in the State. Under intense pressure from students,
supported by the opposition political parties, assembly elections
were held in Gujarat in June 1975. The Congress was defeated in
this election.
In March 1974 students came together in Bihar to protest against
rising prices, food scarcity, unemployment and corruption. After
a point they invited Jayaprakash Narayan (JP), who had given up
active politics and was involved in social work, to lead the student
movement. He accepted it on the condition that the movement will
remain non-violent and will not limit
itself to Bihar. Thus the students’
movement assumed a political
character and had national appeal.
People from all walks of life now
entered the movement. Jayaprakash
Narayan demanded the dismissal of
the Congress government in Bihar
and gave a call for total revolution
in the social, economic and political
spheres in order to establish what he
considered to be true democracy. A
series of bandhs, gehraos, and strikes
Sampoorna Kranti
ab nara hai, bhavi itihas
hamara hai [With Total
Revolution as our motto, the
future belongs to us]
A slogan of the Bihar
movement, 1974
“
“
Indira is India,
India is Indira
A slogan given by
D. K. Barooah, President of the
Congress, 1974
“
“
Poor
people must have
had a tough time. What
happened to the promise
of garibi hatao?
chap 6_PF.indd 94 8/5/2022 2:03:26 PM
2024-25
The Crisis of Democratic Order 95
Credit: R. K. Laxman in The Times of India, 16 April 1974
were organised in protest against the
Bihar government. The government,
however, refused to resign.
The movement was beginning to
influence national politics. Jayaprakash
Narayan wanted to spread the Bihar
movement to other parts of the
country. Alongside the agitation led by
Jayaprakash Narayan, the employees of
the Railways gave a call for a nationwide
strike. This threatened to paralyse the
country. In 1975, JP led a peoples’
march to the Parliament. This was one
of the largest political rallies ever held
in the capital. He was now supported
by the non-Congress opposition parties
like the Bharatiya Jana Sangh, the
Congress (O), the Bharatiya Lok Dal,
the Socialist Party and others. These
Loknayak
Jayaprakash
Narayan (JP)
(1902-1979):
A marxist in his
youth; founder
general secretary
of the Congress
Socialist Party
and the Socialist Party; a hero of the 1942 Quit
India movement; declined to join Nehru’s cabinet;
after 1955 quit active politics; became a Gandhian
and was involved in the Bhoodan movement,
negotiations with the Naga rebels, peace initiative
in Kashmir and ensured the surrender of decoits in
Chambal; leader of Bihar movement, he became
the symbol of opposition to Emergency and was the
moving force behind the formation of Janata Party.
chap 6_PF.indd 95 8/5/2022 2:03:27 PM
2024-25
Page 5
In this chapter…
We have seen in the last chapter that the Congress recovered after
1971, but was not the same kind of party. The difference became
clear in a series of events between 1973 and 1975 that brought new
challenges to India’s democratic politics and the institutional balance
sought by the Constitution. These developments led to the imposition of
‘emergency’ in June 1975. Normally, we would associate ‘emergency’
with war and aggression or with natural disaster. But this ‘emergency’
was imposed because of the perceived threat of internal disturbance.
The Emergency ended as dramatically as it had begun, resulting in a
defeat of the Congress in the Lok Sabha elections of 1977.
In this chapter we focus on this crucial phase in the history of democracy
in India and ask some questions that have remained controversial after
all these years.
• Why was Emergency imposed? Was it necessary?
• What did the imposition of Emergency mean in practice?
• What were the consequences of Emergency on party politics?
• What are the lessons of Emergency for Indian democracy?
The editorial page of
‘Nai Dunia’ of 27 June
1975 was like any other
day, except that the
space for editorial was
left blank. The editorial
was “censored” using
emergency powers.
Many other newspapers
also carried such blank
spaces–sometimes
to protest against
emergency. Later, leaving
blank space was also
banned.
chap 6_PF.indd 92 8/5/2022 2:03:26 PM
2024-25
Background to Emergency
We have already studied the changes that were taking place in Indian
politics since 1967. Indira Gandhi had emerged as a towering leader
with tremendous popularity. This was also the period when party
competition became bitter and polarised. This period also witnessed
tensions in the relationship between the government and the judiciary.
The Supreme Court found many initiatives of the government to be
violative of the Constitution. The Congress party took the position
that this stand of the Court was against principles of democracy
and parliamentary supremacy. The Congress also alleged that the
Court was a conservative institution and it was becoming an obstacle
in the way of implementing pro-poor welfare programmes. The
parties opposed to the Congress felt that politics was becoming too
personalised and that governmental authority was being converted
into personal authority. The split in the Congress had sharpened the
divisions between Indira Gandhi and her opponents.
Economic context
In the elections of 1971, Congress had given the slogan
of garibi hatao (remove poverty). However, the social and
economic condition in the country did not improve much
after 1971-72. The Bangladesh crisis had put a heavy strain
on India’s economy. About eight million people crossed
over the East Pakistan border into India. This was followed
by war with Pakistan. After the war the U.S government
stopped all aid to India. In the international market, oil
prices increased manifold during this period. This led to
an all-round increase in prices of commodities. Prices
increased by 23 per cent in 1973 and 30 per cent in 1974.
Such a high level of inflation caused much hardship to
the people.
Industrial growth was low and unemployment was
very high, particularly in the rural areas. In order to
reduce expenditure the government froze the salaries
of its employees. This caused further dissatisfaction
among government employees. Monsoons failed in 1972-
1973. This resulted in a sharp decline in agricultural
productivity. Food grain output declined by 8 per cent.
Credit: Abu
PM says
6
chapter
the crisis of
Democratic orDer
chap 6_PF.indd 93 8/5/2022 2:03:26 PM
2024-25
94 Politics in India since Independence
There was a general atmosphere of dissatisfaction with the prevailing
economic situation all over the country. In such a context non-
Congress opposition parties were able to organise popular protests
effectively. Instances of students’ unrests that had persisted from
the late 1960s became more pronounced in this period. There was
also an increase in the activities of Marxist groups who did not
believe in parliamentary politics. These groups had taken to arms
and insurgent techniques for the overthrow of the capitalist order
and the established political system. Known as the Marxist-Leninist
(now Maoist) groups or Naxalites, they were particularly strong in
West Bengal, where the State government took stringent measures to
suppress them.
Gujarat and Bihar movements
Students’ protests in Gujarat and Bihar, both of which were Congress
ruled States, had far reaching impact on the politics of the two States
and national politics. In January 1974 students in Gujarat started
an agitation against rising prices of food grains, cooking oil and
other essential commodities, and against corruption in high places.
The students’ protest was joined by major opposition parties and
became widespread leading to the imposition of President’s rule in the
state. The opposition parties demanded fresh elections to the state
legislature. Morarji Desai, a prominent leader of Congress (O), who
was the main rival of Indira Gandhi when he was in the Congress,
announced that he would go on an indefinite fast if fresh elections
were not held in the State. Under intense pressure from students,
supported by the opposition political parties, assembly elections
were held in Gujarat in June 1975. The Congress was defeated in
this election.
In March 1974 students came together in Bihar to protest against
rising prices, food scarcity, unemployment and corruption. After
a point they invited Jayaprakash Narayan (JP), who had given up
active politics and was involved in social work, to lead the student
movement. He accepted it on the condition that the movement will
remain non-violent and will not limit
itself to Bihar. Thus the students’
movement assumed a political
character and had national appeal.
People from all walks of life now
entered the movement. Jayaprakash
Narayan demanded the dismissal of
the Congress government in Bihar
and gave a call for total revolution
in the social, economic and political
spheres in order to establish what he
considered to be true democracy. A
series of bandhs, gehraos, and strikes
Sampoorna Kranti
ab nara hai, bhavi itihas
hamara hai [With Total
Revolution as our motto, the
future belongs to us]
A slogan of the Bihar
movement, 1974
“
“
Indira is India,
India is Indira
A slogan given by
D. K. Barooah, President of the
Congress, 1974
“
“
Poor
people must have
had a tough time. What
happened to the promise
of garibi hatao?
chap 6_PF.indd 94 8/5/2022 2:03:26 PM
2024-25
The Crisis of Democratic Order 95
Credit: R. K. Laxman in The Times of India, 16 April 1974
were organised in protest against the
Bihar government. The government,
however, refused to resign.
The movement was beginning to
influence national politics. Jayaprakash
Narayan wanted to spread the Bihar
movement to other parts of the
country. Alongside the agitation led by
Jayaprakash Narayan, the employees of
the Railways gave a call for a nationwide
strike. This threatened to paralyse the
country. In 1975, JP led a peoples’
march to the Parliament. This was one
of the largest political rallies ever held
in the capital. He was now supported
by the non-Congress opposition parties
like the Bharatiya Jana Sangh, the
Congress (O), the Bharatiya Lok Dal,
the Socialist Party and others. These
Loknayak
Jayaprakash
Narayan (JP)
(1902-1979):
A marxist in his
youth; founder
general secretary
of the Congress
Socialist Party
and the Socialist Party; a hero of the 1942 Quit
India movement; declined to join Nehru’s cabinet;
after 1955 quit active politics; became a Gandhian
and was involved in the Bhoodan movement,
negotiations with the Naga rebels, peace initiative
in Kashmir and ensured the surrender of decoits in
Chambal; leader of Bihar movement, he became
the symbol of opposition to Emergency and was the
moving force behind the formation of Janata Party.
chap 6_PF.indd 95 8/5/2022 2:03:27 PM
2024-25
96 Politics in India since Independence
parties were projecting JP as an alternative to Indira Gandhi. However,
there were many criticisms about his ideas and about the politics of
mass agitations that he was employing. Both the Gujarat and Bihar
agitations were seen as anti-Congress and rather than opposing the
State governments, they were seen as protests against the leadership
of Indira Gandhi. She believed that the movement was motivated by
personal opposition to her.
Do ‘committed
judiciary’ and
‘committed bureaucracy’
mean that the judges
and government officials
should be loyal to the
ruling party?
Railway Strike of 1974
What would happen when the railways stop running? Not for one or
two days, but for more than a week? Of course, many people would be
inconvenienced; but more than that, the economy of the country would
come to a halt because goods are transported from one part to another
by trains.
Do you know that such a thing actually happened in 1974? The National
Coordination Committee for Railwaymen’s Struggle led by George
Fernandes gave a call for nationwide strike by all employees of the
Railways for pressing their demands related to bonus and service
conditions. The government was opposed to these demands. So, the
employees of India’s largest public sector undertaking went on a strike in
May 1974. The strike by the Railway employees added to the atmosphere
of labour unrest. It also raised issues like rights of the workers and whether
employees of essential services should adopt measures like strikes.
The government declared the strike illegal. As the government refused
to concede the demands of the striking workers, arrested many of their
leaders and deployed the territorial army to protect railway tracks, the
strike had to be called off after twenty days without any settlement.
Conflict with Judiciary
This was also the period when the government and the ruling party
had many differences with the judiciary. Do you remember the
discussion about the long drawn conflict between the Parliament and
the judiciary? You have studied this last year. Three constitutional
issues had emerged. Can the Parliament abridge Fundamental Rights?
The Supreme Court said it cannot. Secondly, can the Parliament
curtail the right to property by making an amendment? Again, the
Court said that Parliament cannot amend the Constitution in such
a manner that rights are curtailed. Thirdly, the Parliament amended
the Constitution saying that it can abridge Fundamental Rights for
giving effect to Directive Principles. But the Supreme Court rejected
this provision also. This led to a crisis as far as the relations between
the government and the judiciary were concerned. You may remember
chap 6_PF.indd 96 8/5/2022 2:03:27 PM
2024-25
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