Dark days of the Indian media

Himadri Kalita

(kalitahimadri04@gmail.com)

The 1975 Indian Emergency was the only time in independent India's history that the press was censored. Many leaders have referred to the Emergency as the darkest period in Indian democracy's history. The Indian press was restricted for nineteen months, and it was forbidden to print even vague objections. Indira Gandhi, India's then Prime Minister, restricted the press and the fundamental rights of freedom of expression, peaceful public gatherings, and protesting against government action were all forbidden by the Maintenance of Internal Security Act of 1975 (MISA). Citizens and politicians saw the Emergency as a blemish on India's otherwise seamless democratic functioning.

Gandhi appointed officers to establish a new department, the Press Information Bureau (PIB), to enforce censorship on newspapers as soon as the Emergency was declared. Television had not yet been widely available in the country; therefore, it was not necessary to supervise it. Gandhi, on the other hand, was not willing to take any chances. She proposed that the four major Indian news agencies, the Press Trust of India (PTI), the United News of India (UNI), Samachar Bharati (News line), and Hindustan Samachar (Indian News), consolidate into a single agency, Samachar (News). The new agency would be closely supervised by the government, with the PIB monitoring its newscasts and radio broadcasts. As a result of the consolidation, little information on what happened in the Indian government's offices at the time has been released.

Gandhi attempted to censor newspapers in a variety of ways. The power to most newspapers in Delhi, most of which had offices next to each other, was cut on the evening of June 25, 1975. An hour later, the Indian Express and The Statesman, which were located further away, lost electricity. Although The Statesman had printed a few hundred copies before the power went out, other publications were unable to produce their issues. When the newspaper's management attempted to distribute them, the police, who had arrived at all press outlets to ensure an information blackout, had them confiscated at the office gates. The newspapers regained their power supply after two days, with a censorship mechanism in place.

When The Indian Express resumed publication on June 28, it apologised on the front page for being out of circulation for two days. It went on to detail the mass arrests that had occurred in the previous two days. It was, however, its framed blank editorial, which represented censorship by the Indira Gandhi government in the name of Emergency, that drew the most attention and would be remembered for years to come. Other newspapers, including The Statesman, quickly adopted the blank editorial metaphor for censorship. Ramnath Goenka, the head of the Indian Express at the time, was well-known for fighting press censorship since the country was ruled by the British. His firm opposition to the Emergency was quickly met with a strong response from the government. Goenka, on the other hand, stayed firm and continued to publish critical news reports on the government, challenging their policies in newspaper editorials, and drawing a number of anti-censorship cartoons. "I had two options: to listen to the dictates of my heart or my purse. I chose to listen to my heart," he said later when asked how he managed to keep opposing the government under the huge pressure.

Ramesh Gune, a journalist for The Indian Express during the Emergency, recalled, "It was a complete censorship. We had an officer stationed in all our bureaus. Anything related to politics was censored. The people too, were scared into submission by the police. Any movement which had to be done had to be clandestine."

Kuldip Nayar, a journalist, was arrested by the police in Delhi for protesting the Emergency with other journalists. Across the country, opposition leaders were fighting for the same cause. One of them was LK Advani, the then-leader of the Bharatiya Janata Party, who spent months in jail during the Emergency.After the Emergency was lifted, Advani's words rang in every Indian's ears."You were asked only to bend, but you crawled,"he stated to the press.

While, on the other hand, The Hindustan Times, a leading English-language daily led by Mr. KK Birla, a prominent Indian industrialist, became a staunch supporter of the government during this period. The Times of India, whose board of directors included one-third government nominees, quickly surrendered its independence and became a mouthpiece for the government. Political cartoons disappeared overnight, and no one dared to publish a negative depiction of Mrs Gandhi. In south India, The Hindu felt that caution was the better part of valour and acted accordingly.

Even journalists like Khushwant Singh, the editor of "The Illustrated Weekly of India" at the time, supported the Emergency. He remarked, "By May 1975 public protests against Mrs Gandhi's government had assumed nationwide dimensions and often turned violent. With my own eyes I saw slogan-chanting processions go down Bombay thoroughfares smashing cars parked on the roadsides and breaking shop-windows as they went along. Leaders of opposition parties watched the country sliding into chaos as bemused spectators hoping that the mounting chaos would force Mrs Gandhi to resign."

"Indira Gandhi did not accept the basic philosophy of a newspaper is that it has to convey the people's problems, not the government view, that a columnist must carry the voice of dissent in the corridors of power," said Durga Das, the head of India News and Feature Alliance. Her policy and attitude toward the media in India had been this since the beginning of her reign, so her blatant abuse of authority during the Emergency is unsurprising.

Much of the democratic values, as well as press freedom, were restored in the aftermath of the Emergency. The two commissions set up by the following Janata Party government to investigate the excesses committed by Mrs Gandhi and her government against the print media during the Emergency have codified them. The Shah Commission's findings highlighted government involvement in the media that was planned and unabashed.