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www.GOALias.blogspot.comthe crisis ofdemocratic orderchapter6Background to EmergencyWe have already studied the changes that were taking place in Indianpolitics since 1967. Indira Gandhi had emerged as a towering leaderwith tremendous popularity. This was also the period when partycompetition became bitter and polarised. This period also witnessedtensions in the relationship between the government and the judiciary.The Supreme Court found many initiatives of the government to beviolative of the Constitution. The Congress party took the positionthat this stand of the Court was against principles of democracyand parliamentary supremacy. The Congress also alleged that theCourt was a conservative institution and it was becoming an obstaclein the way of implementing pro-poor welfare programmes. Theparties opposed to the Congress felt that politics was becoming toopersonalised and that governmental authority was being convertedinto personal authority. The split in the Congress had sharpened thedivisions between Indira Gandhi and her opponents.Economic contextIn the elections of 1971, Congress had given the sloganof garibi hatao (remove poverty). However, the social andeconomic condition in the country did not improve muchafter 1971-72. The Bangladesh crisis had put a heavy strainon India’s economy. About eight million people crossed overthe East Pakistan border into India. This was followed by warwith Pakistan. After the war the U.S government stopped allaid to India. In the international market, oil prices increasedmanifold during this period. This led to an all-round increasein prices of commodities. Prices increased by 23 per cent in1973 and 30 per cent in 1974. Such a high level of inflationcaused much hardship to the people.Industrial growth was low and unemployment wasvery high, particularly in the rural areas. In order toreduce expenditure the government froze the salaries ofits employees. This caused further dissatisfaction amonggovernment employees. Monsoons failed in 1972-1973. Thisresulted in a sharp decline in agricultural productivity. Foodgrain output declined by 8 per cent. There was a generalatmosphere of dissatisfaction with the prevailing economicPM saysCredit: Abu