'Quest for discipline, order translated to unspeakable cruelty': Shashi Tharoor on 1975 Emergency
He also highlighted in an op-ed titled — Heeding the Lessons of India’s “Emergency” — that the world was unaware about a "horrifying litany of human-rights abuses".
- Jul 10, 2025,
- Updated Jul 10, 2025 11:26 AM IST
Congress MP Shashi Tharoor on Thursday condemned the 1975 Emergency and detailed how citizens' basic freedoms were taken away at the time. He also highlighted in an op-ed titled — Heeding the Lessons of India’s “Emergency” — that the world was unaware about a "horrifying litany of human-rights abuses".
In this op-ed, Tharoor said that the quest for having 'discipline' and 'order' in public life often translated into unspeakable human rights abuses. He was equally scathing in his assessment of former Prime Minister Indira Gandhi's son Sanjay Gandhi.
"In fact, the quest for “discipline” and “order” often translated into unspeakable cruelty, exemplified by the forced vasectomy campaigns led by Gandhi’s son, Sanjay, and concentrated in poorer and rural areas, where coercion and violence were used to meet arbitrary targets," Tharoor wrote.
He also talked about the slum demolitions that were carried out in urban centres such as New Delhi and rendered thousands of people homeless, with little to no concern about their welfare.
The Thiruvananthapuram MP noted in his op-ed that he was in India when the Emergency was declared but soon for his graduate studies in the US and observed the rest of it from there.
He further said that the then Prime Minister Indira Gandhi was able to convince the public that such draconian measures were necessary to "combat internal disorder and external threats, and bring discipline and efficiency to chaotic country".
In his piece, he also mentioned how the judiciary buckled under pressure to back the move to impose the draconian Emergency. Tharoor noted that at the time, the Supreme Court even upheld the suspension of the habeas corpus and citizens' fundamental right to liberty.
"Journalists, activists, and opposition leaders found themselves behind bars. The broad constitutional transgressions enabled a horrifying litany of human-rights abuses. Torture in detention and extrajudicial killings – though less publicized at the time – were dark realities for those who dared to defy the regime," Tharoor said of the atrocities that people faced during the Emergency.
He added that the government of the day downplayed these acts as instances of unfortunate excesses. "But the violence was a direct consequence of a system where unchecked power had become tyrannical, and whatever order the Emergency delivered came at a very high price: the soul of our republic."
Congress MP Shashi Tharoor on Thursday condemned the 1975 Emergency and detailed how citizens' basic freedoms were taken away at the time. He also highlighted in an op-ed titled — Heeding the Lessons of India’s “Emergency” — that the world was unaware about a "horrifying litany of human-rights abuses".
In this op-ed, Tharoor said that the quest for having 'discipline' and 'order' in public life often translated into unspeakable human rights abuses. He was equally scathing in his assessment of former Prime Minister Indira Gandhi's son Sanjay Gandhi.
"In fact, the quest for “discipline” and “order” often translated into unspeakable cruelty, exemplified by the forced vasectomy campaigns led by Gandhi’s son, Sanjay, and concentrated in poorer and rural areas, where coercion and violence were used to meet arbitrary targets," Tharoor wrote.
He also talked about the slum demolitions that were carried out in urban centres such as New Delhi and rendered thousands of people homeless, with little to no concern about their welfare.
The Thiruvananthapuram MP noted in his op-ed that he was in India when the Emergency was declared but soon for his graduate studies in the US and observed the rest of it from there.
He further said that the then Prime Minister Indira Gandhi was able to convince the public that such draconian measures were necessary to "combat internal disorder and external threats, and bring discipline and efficiency to chaotic country".
In his piece, he also mentioned how the judiciary buckled under pressure to back the move to impose the draconian Emergency. Tharoor noted that at the time, the Supreme Court even upheld the suspension of the habeas corpus and citizens' fundamental right to liberty.
"Journalists, activists, and opposition leaders found themselves behind bars. The broad constitutional transgressions enabled a horrifying litany of human-rights abuses. Torture in detention and extrajudicial killings – though less publicized at the time – were dark realities for those who dared to defy the regime," Tharoor said of the atrocities that people faced during the Emergency.
He added that the government of the day downplayed these acts as instances of unfortunate excesses. "But the violence was a direct consequence of a system where unchecked power had become tyrannical, and whatever order the Emergency delivered came at a very high price: the soul of our republic."