A coterie had taken over to exercise power through Sanjay Gandhi, younger son of Indira Gandhi by ensuring him to be power beyond constitution. He had tendency to be abrupt though he sought to pursue few major social concerns of perceptible reduction in birth rate, spread of education and protection of environment. The general belief that he used strong-hand methods to enforce them had converted his otherwise vital programme into a vicious agenda. His enforced cleansing of Jama Masjid and adjoining Turkman gate both dense areas invited public wrath and defame the entire period of 21 months regime.

By assuming supreme power, Indira Gandhi had captivated herself in complete isolation. No one from politics, administration or intelligence services wanted to invite her displeasure by mention of bad or harmful events. The media was shut down from reporting political events. No one can claim that she was unaware of escapades of her son. She had a test of it at the Chandigarh session of her party. She had chosen PV Narsimha Rao to replace DK Barooah as the party chief. Printed copies of his address were ready for distribution but her son forced her to abandon her plans and continue with Barooah. The coteries had defeated her.

It also wanted to perpetuate its hold over power structure through a new constitution to ensure permanent rule in hands of the Gandhi family. Even though Swaran Singh a neutral pawn headed the committee, core work was by Rajani Patel. Three assemblies, Punjab, Haryana and Bengal were used to adopt resolution demanding a new constitution. The then defence minister Bansi Lal was assigned the mission to know whether she wanted a new constituent assembly or get new constitution adopted by the joint session of two Houses in Parliament. In the evening of last week October 1976 Bansi Lal approached her as she was getting her car to ask her wish for adoption of new constitution. Without turning her face, she asked what is wrong with the present constitution. Without waiting for answer she drove off. Dazed Bansi Lal was escorted back to his friends waiting in adjoining bungalow by the Private Secretary PN Dhar.

It as a clear indication of her developing urge to get out of the mess of her politics she had invited by her step on emergency. The collapse of the Congress government in Gujarat in February 1974 due to the Nav Nirman movement, the August Kranti moved in Bihar, the rail strike in May 74, but above all the Tribal groups of Bastar raising not only their voice but resorting to anti-government actions led her to believe that without her in saddle, India would collapse. Above all, she did not feel need to step down as political morality over the verdict of single judge. She sought time to reach the Supreme Court through use of emergency powers.

As her private secretary PN Dhar, her only window to the world, noted in his memoirs, she had been brooding of a fresh step out of the political mess around her. She had got the term of Lok Sabha extended to March 1978. She made changes in her cabinet on December 18, 1976 and called conference of chief ministers for January 18, 1977 to discuss the issue of land reforms. In those thirty days she made up her mind on her future course of action.

She took everyone by surprise with her announcement of elections in March 1977 on conclusion of the chief ministers’ conference. She had not discussed it with her senior colleagues in cabinet or in the party. Only two persons Dhar and Uma Shankar Dikshit were aware of her musings. Jagjivan Ram was also surprised by her announcement. Her son Sanjay Gandhi angrily fought with her that night in seeking cancellation of her decision. Apparently he was also not taken in her confidence. Their fight continued for a week but she did not budge from her decision though she had become aware that she might not win her gamble.

The former chief minister of Uttar Pradesh Hemvati Nandan Bahuguna waited for three hours in her office to meet her but she did not call him on January 24 though she did give me 15 minutes as she had sent two members of Parliament Sushila Adivarekar and Pratibha Singh to bring me to her. In that encounter she did tell us there that even though intelligence bureau put figure of her victory at 293, she did not believe she would win a clear majority.

Disappointed and dejected Bahuguna went directly from her office to meet Jagjivan Ram. It turned into their decision to break away from her. Disappointed leaders left in the Congress also joined the new wagon. Chandra Shekhar was suddenly released from his solitary confinement on January 5, 1977, and efforts of former socialist from Gujarat Jaswant Mehta to win him back to the Congress camp had given Chandra Shekhar an idea of what bird was humming in her mind. He was mainly her advisor to fight her battle after her defeat in Parliamentary board over the party nominee for the presidential election in June 1969. She wanted him back. But he refused to come back to the party that had smothered the democracy.

She stands condemned even today for imposing the emergency regime of 21 months in most eyes. Most leaders overlook that she restored the democracy back on rails by her decision to hold the election. And she did not revoke it after the results were out as many in her party wanted her to or believed. She obeyed the popular verdict and spent two years and ten months in wilderness.