Fifty years ago, Indira Gandhi-led emergency (1975–77) reconstructed India’s democracy and freedom of press. More than 200 journalists were jailed, newspapers were censored, and news outlets forced into one entity called “Samachal” to control public discourse. | Photo Credit: Hinduism
Censoring newspapers, arresting journalists, and mergers of press are the ways Indira Gandhi-led government tried to control public discourse during the 21-month emergency imposed exactly 50 years ago.
More than 200 journalists have been jailed along with opposition leaders for rejecting government boundaries on their toes during the emergency declared by President Fakhruddhin Ali Ahmed at Gandhi’s request, according to government data.
“The government has relied on the merger of four news agencies, Indian news organizations, India’s United News, Hindustan Samachal and Samachalbarti shotguns, forming a single news agency, “Samachal.”
He remembered that news reports were subject to harsh scrutiny, and IPS officers published in the Press Information Bureau used proverb a to ensure that government reports reach the newspapers.
Editors were censored and rewritten the news in the news office
“The journalists were forced to praise Sanjay Gandhi and his family planning program for men’s forced sterilization program and in some paragraphs dismiss reports relating to the opposition,” Razdan said.
Veteran journalist Venkat Narayan, who was the editor of the “Onlooker” magazine in an emergency, recalled how he had to send a manuscript of what he wanted to publish to the Press Information Bureau for Press Information Bureau clearance.
Editors, including Kurdip Nayar of the Indian Express and Kr Markani of “Homeland,” have been arrested for sympathetic news reports by Jayaprakash Narayan, the socialist leader who leads anti-government protests and sensational stories about Gandhi and her son Sanjay.
Mahatma Gandhi’s legacy has been silent
The Nabajivan Press, founded by Mahatma Gandhi, saw the printing facility confiscated, and the weekly “Himat” compiled by Mahatma Gandhi’s grandson, Rajmohan Gandhi, was asked to make a substantial deposit for certain unpleasant reports.
Narayan, who was working with London’s Sunday Times, portrayed the rage of Gandhi’s intelligence advisor, Hai Sharada Prasad, and reviewed a book written by Kurdip Nayar.
Indian journalists tracked it overseas and harassed it on their way home.
“When I returned to India after a three-month scholarship on Sunday, I found a bunch of police officers from Delhi police waiting for me at the airport.
In New Delhi, the government cut off power to the newspaper office in Bahadur Shah Zafar Marg on June 26th and 27th to delay or force cancellation of the edition.
Newspapers are separated from electricity and advertising revenue
The government also blocked advertisements in newspapers that were critical of the policy of suffocating large revenues and manipulating them.
“There were four newspapers in Goa during the emergency. The owners were either industrialists or printing press operators. Everyone was following the government’s lines,” said Dalman Mandkamat, who worked in the news services division of Goa’s All India Radio when the emergency was announced.
Censorship, Threats, NEWSPrint Control Crippled Media
“As the newspaper sought clearance from media censors to release the next day’s edition, “skirmishes with officials from the Press Information Bureau were routine,” recalls Ak Chakraborty, who worked as a Delhi correspondent for the Nagpur-based Daily “Hitabada.”
Several journalists faced tax evasion charges, prison term, notices to close printing presses, and threats of eviction from government housing.
Another decision the government made was to regulate the supply of newsprint to media houses through monopoly and restrictive trade practices laws and limit the scope of newspapers.
“In February 1976, he enacted the prevention of the publication of offensive issues laws against the printing of “inciting crime and other offensive issues,” wrote Gyan Prakash in his book Indira Gandhi and the Turning Point of Democracy.
“In addition, daily censorship orders will prevent newspapers from calling and communicating to disagree with the government or making embarrassing announcements,” Prakash wrote in the book.
The government also warned the newspapers against the publication of blank editorials, along with mass arrests made after the emergency, as did the Indian Express in its June 28, 1975 edition.
Government-controlled “Samachal” disregarded the protest
Razdan recalled how the forced merger of four news outlets formed the “Samachar” that reported on the event in emergencies.
“Reporters had to be careful not to bother the government. For example, there was a large gathering by Jayaprakash Narayan on the Ramrira ground in Delhi. “Summercha” had to dismiss it in a few paragraphs, but many newspapers have exhibited it well-known,” Razdan said.
He recalled the Shah’s committee of investigative works that went too far committed during an emergency griller at the Press Information Bureau due to media censorship.
Lk Advani, government’s Minister of Information and Broadcasting for Morarji Desai, has secured the revival of four news outlets.
“We’ve gained independence again,” recalled Razdan.
Narayan, editor of Mumbai-based Onlooker Magazine in an emergency, recalled the press conference Advani gave a speech during his visit to Financial Capital.
“Advani’s famous quote” When Mrs Gandhi asked the media to bend, it was “raw” and was answering a question he asked during his visit to Mumbai,” Narayan said.
Kamat remembers asking Gandhi about the need to impose an emergency when he visited Goa for a campaign during the 1980 Lok Sabha election.
Indira Gandhi justified the emergency as a constitutional obligation
“I followed the Indian Constitution. There are provisions that impose emergency situations both inside and outside the country. As the chief of the government, when I am calling on the police and the army to resist the orders of the government, it is my duty to exercise the powers I have at my disposal under the Constitution.
“We cannot tolerate calls to the Army and the police,” Gandhi said, according to Kamato.
Released on June 24, 2025
