Book Indira Gandhi Era – “Indira Gandhi and the Years that Transformed India”

Current Context: Historian T.C.A. Srinivasa Raghavan released “Indira Gandhi and the Years that Transformed India”, timed ahead of the Emergency’s 50th anniversary (26 June 1975–1977), offering an objective account of 1970s Indian politics.

ABOUT the Book

• Scope & Focus:
  • Constitutional Struggle: Examines the executive-legislature-judiciary dynamics during the Emergency.
  • Key Personalities: Profiles N. Haksar, Sanjay Gandhi, Nani Palkhivala, A.N. Ray, and other decision-makers.
  • Post-Emergency Policies:
    • 1970s: Adoption of leftist economic policies (bank nationalization, poverty alleviation).
    • 1980s: Shift towards secularism and foreign policy reorientation.
  • Historical Context:
    • Emergency Imposed: 26 June 1975, following Allahabad HC verdict (12 June 1975) invalidating Indira Gandhi’s 1971 election.
    • End of Emergency: 21 March 1977.
    • Critique: Analyzes state coercion, press censorship, and legacy of citizen rights sensitivity in modern India.