MEME Thread: 45 years of Emergency. Timeline of events.

12 June, 1975: The event that triggered the Emergency. Allahabad high court found Indira Gandhi guilty of electoral malpractice. She was disqualified, and barred from holding an elected office for six years.

22 June, 1975: Opposition leaders addressed a public rally, after calling for daily anti-government protests after the high court judgment.

24 June, 1975: The Supreme Court granted a conditional stay on the high court ruling. It allowed Indira Gandhi to remain as prime minister until her appeal was reviewed.

25 June, 1975: Led by Jayaprakash Narayan, a large protest took place in Delhi. Indira Gandhi feels that the things are really out of control.

June 25, 1975: A few minutes before midnight, a state of emergency was declared by President Fakhruddin Ali Ahmed.

30 June, 1975: The Maintenance of Internal Security Act (MISA) was amended through an ordinance to allow the detention of any person who may pose a political threat by voicing opposition, without a trial.

5 July, 1975: Twenty six political organisations, including the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) gets banned.

1 September, 1976: Sanjay Gandhi’s mandatory sterilisation programme was introduced to control the population. The programme was revealed to have forced thousands of men to get vasectomies, often against their will.

16 March, 1977: Elections held finally. Both Indira Gandhi and Sanjay Gandhi lost their seats. The Janata Party and its alliance partners won 345 seats and came to power.

21 March, 1977: The Emergency was officially withdrawn. Morarji Desai was sworn in as the Prime Minister of India. The darkest chapter in Indian Independence history came to an end.

LONG LIVE DEMOCRACY