NEW DELHI, July 10 — Congress leader and parliamentarian Shashi Tharoor has called for renewed vigilance to safeguard democracy, invoking the legacy and lessons of the Emergency imposed by former Prime Minister Indira Gandhi between 1975 and 1977.
In a strongly worded article published Thursday in Malayalam daily Deepika, Tharoor—also a member of the Congress Working Committee—reflected on the authoritarian excesses of that period, singling out the role of Sanjay Gandhi in the government’s forced sterilisation drives and slum demolitions.
“Sanjay Gandhi, the son of Indira Gandhi, led forced sterilisation campaigns which became a notorious example of this. In poor rural areas, violence and coercion were used to meet arbitrary targets. In cities like New Delhi, slums were mercilessly demolished. Thousands of people were rendered homeless, and their welfare was not taken into consideration,” Tharoor wrote.
While acknowledging that the Emergency was a dark chapter in India’s political history, he emphasised that it should not merely be remembered but also deeply understood for the dangers it represents. “Efforts undertaken for discipline and order often turned into acts of cruelty that could not be justified,” he stated.
Tharoor warned that the authoritarian impulses witnessed during the Emergency have not entirely vanished and may resurface under new pretexts. “The temptation to centralise power, silence dissent, and bypass constitutional safeguards may reappear in various forms,” he said. “Often, such tendencies may be justified in the name of national interest or stability. In this sense, the Emergency stands as a strong warning.”
Noting that India today is not the same as it was in 1975, Tharoor said the country has become “more self-confident, more developed, and in many ways a stronger democracy.” Yet, he stressed that these gains do not make the democratic system immune to erosion.
“Democracy is not something to be taken lightly; it is a precious legacy that must be constantly nurtured and preserved,” the Thiruvananthapuram MP said. “Let it serve as a lasting reminder to people everywhere.”
Tharoor’s remarks come at a time of heightened debate over institutional independence and civil liberties, with opposition leaders increasingly drawing parallels between contemporary politics and the Emergency era.
