Is it 1975 or 2018? Emergency anniversary cartoons point to an eerie similarity with present times
Thursday, June 28, 2018 IST
On the 43rd anniversary of the event, several political cartoons likened Narendra Modi to Indira Gandhi.
As India marked the 43rd anniversary of the Emergency on Sunday, Prime Minister Narendra Modi of the Bharatiya Janata Party did not miss the opportunity to point fingers at the Congress for that dark period between June 25, 1975, and March 23, 1977, which saw a series of curbs on civil liberties and constitutional rights. Imposed by Congress Prime Minister Indira Gandhi ostensibly because of internal disturbances in the country and threats to natural security, the period saw clampdowns on political opposition, press freedom as well as other democratic processes and human rights. The prime minister had unprecedented power during that period, which helped her secure her reign that had been threatened by civil unrest and economic distress.
However, several commentators have claimed that the current situation in India in several ways mirrors those dark days. They have drawn parallels between Indira Gandhi and Modi, as well as alleging that press freedom is shrinking and that the insecurity of minority communities and the economic discontent in the country ie growing.
As the BJP and Modi started a campaign on the weekend to criticise the Congress for the Emergency, some cartoonists tried to draw parallels between the state of democratic freedoms in 1975 and 2018. The current agrarian distress and economic slowdown were other themes of the cartoons.
Maharashtra Navnirman Sena Chief Raj Thackeray also took potshots at the BJP in a cartoon and made a veiled reference to Finance Minister Arun Jaitley’s remarks likening Indira Gandhi to Adolf Hitler.
A BBC Hindi cartoon showed how the Indian Constitution is being subverted in present-day India just as it was in 1975.
Related Topics
Trending News & Articles
While the Uttarakhand High Court has asked to block 857 websites, the Ministry of Electronics and IT (Meity) found 30 portals without any pornographic content.
...
Recently posted . 64K views . 1 min read
The four boys as well as five school officials, including the director and principal, were arrested after the incident. The minors were presented before the Juvenil...
Recently posted . 10K views . 1 min read
Rahul was having an Italian passport and was carrying suitcase full of dollars. Some say it was about was it $2 million.
Rahul and his girl friend was th...
Recently posted . 9K views . 7 min read
True – Tr...
Recently posted . 8K views . 83 min read
More in National
Major General Asif Ghafoor said Indian Air Force jets tried to get inside Pakistan through three separate routes and was engaged by Pakistani forces on all three.
Recently posted. 620 views . 1 min read
The farmer from Khajuri Kalan area in Bhopal district said he purchased 1 kg seeds from an agricultural research institute in Varanasi. "In around 40 days, it ...
Recently posted. 1K views . 1 min read
Members of the new GoM include Amit Shah, Nirmala Sitharaman, Ramesh Pokhriyal ‘Nishank’, and Smriti Irani.
Recently posted. 643 views . 1 min read
Recently posted . 603 views
Recently posted . 1K views
Recently posted . 1K views
Recently posted . 2K views
Recently posted . 3K views . 34 min read
Recently posted . 3K views . 19 min read
The Bihar School Examination Board (BSEB) will pronounce the Class 10 or matriculation result 2017 today. Check biharboard.ac.in for your result.
A...
Recently posted. 1K views . 9 min read
If you are on Twitter or any other social media platform, there is a strong possibility that you have read something about Congress president Rahul Gandhi's m...
Recently posted. 1K views . 3 min read