India’s Undeclared Emergency: Democracy Without A Formal Proclamation

Fifty years after the infamous Emergency of 1975, India in 2025 finds itself staring at a grim paradox. The Constitution remains intact, elections are held, and courts function — yet, democratic values are being systematically hollowed out. What unfolded in 1975 with a formal declaration by Indira Gandhi has now returned in a far more insidious form: an undeclared Emergency marked by coercion without notification, fear without jail, and submission without censorship orders.

In the absence of tanks on the street or presidential proclamations, many remain oblivious to the transformation. But India’s democracy today bears a chilling resemblance to that dark chapter — only this time, it wears the mask of electoral legitimacy and institutional process.

Déjà Vu: The 1975 Emergency and Its Modern Reflection

The 1975 Emergency invoked by Indira Gandhi was a desperate act of political survival, triggered by a court verdict and a mass uprising led by Jayaprakash Narayan. Overnight, civil liberties were suspended, press freedom curtailed, and thousands imprisoned without trial. The Constitution was mutilated, and institutions became handmaidens of authoritarianism.

Fast forward to 2025 — the methods are more sophisticated, but the objectives remain eerily similar. Power is being centralised, dissent criminalised, and institutions neutralised. There is no formal emergency, but its ecosystem thrives — engineered through legal instruments, manipulated media, and executive overreach.

Press Freedom: From Censorship to Capture

In 1975, censorship was direct and brutal. Editors had to submit proofs for government approval. Today, the state doesn’t need to issue gag orders — a combination of ownership takeovers, financial strangulation, legal harassment, and intimidation has ensured obedience.

The 2025 World Press Freedom Index ranks India at 161, a staggering fall for a country that prides itself on being the mother of democracy. Independent portals like News Click, The Wire, and Alt News face tax raids and arrests. NDTV, once a beacon of independent journalism, has been subdued after a change in ownership linked to corporate allies of the government.

Journalists such as Siddique Kappan and Paranjoy Guha Thakurta have faced jail and harassment merely for reporting uncomfortable truths. The chilling effect is real — today, silence is self-imposed, headlines are sanitised, and newsrooms are governed by fear, not editorial judgment.

ED, CBI, IT: The New Faces of Political Repression

In 1975, the Maintenance of Internal Security Act (MISA) was the blunt weapon used to imprison dissenters. In 2025, the trinity of the Enforcement Directorate (ED), Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI), and Income Tax Department functions as the state’s preferred instruments of intimidation. The ED alone has launched over 6,000 investigations since 2014, but its conviction rate remains under 1%.

The pattern is unmistakable — leaders like Sanjay Raut, Hemant Soren, and Manish Sisodia are arrested or raided for alleged corruption. However, once these same individuals join the BJP, legal heat mysteriously evaporates. Ajit Pawar, Suvendu Adhikari, and others have gone from the accused to the acquitted simply by changing political stripes.

The message is clear: loyalty is immunity. Corruption is secondary; obedience is supreme.

Bulldozer Justice: A New Low in Extra-Judicial Tyranny

One of the most disturbing developments of recent years is the emergence of bulldozer justice — the demolition of homes and businesses of alleged offenders, often without legal notice or due process. This tactic, pioneered in BJP-ruled states like Uttar Pradesh and Madhya Pradesh, has disproportionately targeted Muslims, Dalits, and protesters.

In the name of “instant accountability,” state machinery bypasses courts and acts as judge, jury, and executioner. The very notion of rule of law is being replaced with brute symbolism. Even Indira Gandhi’s Emergency did witness such open public spectacle of state vengeance.

This modern ‘justice’ has drawn criticism from human rights bodies and the international community. But the judiciary, unfortunately, has largely looked away or responded with delay.

Judiciary: The Quiet Collapse of Constitutional Firewalls

If the ADM Jabalpur judgment of 1976 marked the lowest ebb of judicial independence, the current phase signals an equally alarming regression — not through overt surrender, but by silent abdication. The courts today are cautious to the point of irrelevance on matters of fundamental rights.

From Teesta Setalvad to Umar Khalid, the pattern is grim — activists and dissenters face prolonged incarceration, while sedition and anti-terror laws like UAPA are routinely misused to criminalise protest. Crucial cases like electoral bonds, hate speech, and internet shutdowns have been endlessly delayed.  Post-retirement appointments of judges to political or quasi-judicial roles only deepen public mistrust.

Governors as Partisan Agents: Echoes of 1980 Return

Indira Gandhi had infamously dismissed Opposition governments using pliant Governors. In 2025, the same office has been weaponised again — not to dismiss, but to derail. Governors in Opposition-ruled states like Tamil Nadu, Kerala, Punjab, and West Bengal have obstructed legislation, sat on bills indefinitely, and triggered constitutional crises.

Governors have stalled budget approvals, interfered in university appointments, and acted as direct political agents of the Centre. The Supreme Court has had to rebuke some of them for exceeding their mandate, but the trend remains unchanged.

Federalism, once the bedrock of Indian unity, is now being eroded by design.

Democratic Decline: The World Watches in Dismay

India’s global democratic standing has taken a hit. In its latest report, Freedom House categorised India as “Partly Free,” while the V-Dem Institute has labelled it an “Electoral Autocracy.” These aren’t partisan jibes — they reflect real concerns over declining freedoms, institutional collapse, and democratic regression.

Civil society is gasping. NGOs face FCRA cancellations, student protests are criminalised, and activists are harassed through state power. Universities, once hotbeds of thought, are being tamed into bureaucratic silence.

Conclusion: Silence Is the New Emergency

The Emergency of 1975 had an end date. The political backlash was swift, and democracy rebounded with vigour in 1977. But this undeclared Emergency of 2025 is different — it is slow-burning, persistent, and more difficult to dismantle because it wears constitutional garb.

Institutions haven’t collapsed — they’ve been compromised. Laws haven’t been suspended — they’ve been subverted. The press isn’t gagged — it is owned. This is not a dictatorship by decree, but a democracy by design — one that breeds fear, demands conformity, and punishes defiance.

As history warns us, democracies don’t always fall with a bang. Sometimes, they are quietly strangled by those sworn to protect them. India must decide — will it resist this silent emergency or sleepwalk into irreversible authoritarianism?

(Writer is senior political analyst and strategic affairs columnist based in Shimla)

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