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Vidhi Book Adda: Discussion on 'Emergency Chronicles: Indira Gandhi and Democracy's Turning Point' by Gyan Prakash

Join Vidhi for a discussion on the book 'Emergency Chronicles: Indira Gandhi and Democracy's Turning Point' by Gyan Prakash, part of the series of conversations titled 'Vidhi Book Adda'. The event will take place virtually on Friday, 29th April at 6pm.

On the night of June 25, 1975, Indira Gandhi declared a state of emergency in India, suspending constitutional rights and rounding up her political opponents in midnight raids across the country. In the twenty-one months that followed, her regime unleashed a brutal campaign of coercion and intimidation, arresting and torturing people by the tens of thousands, razing slums, and imposing compulsory sterilization on the poor. 'Emergency Chronicles' provides a comprehensive account of this period of modern Indian history. Gyan Prakash argues against the idea that the Emergency was an isolated event brought on solely by Gandhi’s desire to cling to power - instead being a product of Indian democracy’s troubled relationship with popular politics.

Placing the Emergency within the broader global history of democracy, this book confronts the dangers of authoritarianism and populist nationalism.

Speakers:
1. Gyan Prakash, Dayton-Stockton Professor of History, Princeton University
2. Justice Jasti Chelameswar, former judge of the Supreme Court of India

The Adda will be moderated by Arghya Sengupta, Founder and Research Director, Vidhi Centre for Legal Policy.

Apr 29, 2022 06:00 PM in India