The first phase of the proceedings, 30th September 1977 to 23rd November 1977 of the one man commission headed by retired Chief Justice of India, Jayantilal Chottalal Shah, b. 1906, to enquire into the excesses of the emergency during the prime ministership of Indira Nehru Gandhi, b. 1917.

Defying the dire predictions that attended its birth as an independent nation-state in 1947, the Indian republic is more than seventy-five years old. And yet, it is a place where criticisms of actually existing democracy are intense and strident. In recent years, the trope of victimized people suffering at the hands of a predatory elite and political dysfunction has reaped rewards. The populist language of redemptive outsiders pledging to combat a corrupt system has been harnessed in successful electoral campaigns, like the majoritarian regime of Narendra Modi. Tracking the shift from postcolonial nation-building to democracy-rebuilding, Srirupa Roy shows how the political outsider came to be a valorized figure of late-twentieth century Indian democracy, tasked with the urgent mission of curing a broken democratic system—what Roy terms "curative democracy." Drawing attention to an ambivalent political field that folds together authoritarian and democratic forms and ideas, Roy argues that the long 1970s were a crucial turning point in Indian politics, when democracy was suspended by the declaration of a national emergency and then subsequently restored. By tracing the crooked line that connects the ideals of curative democracy and the political outsider to the populist antipolitics and strongman authoritarian rule in present times, this book revisits democracy from India, and asks what the Indian experience tells us about the trajectory of global democratic politics.

In June 1975 Prime Minister Indira Gandhi imposed a 'State of Emergency', resulting in a 21-month suspension of democracy. Jaffrelot and Anil explore this black page in India's history, a constitutional dictatorship of unequal impact, with South India largely spared thanks to the resilience of Indian federalism. India's First Dictatorship focuses on Mrs Gandhi and her son, Sanjay, who was largely responsible for the mass sterilisation programmes and deportation of urban slum-dwellers. However, it equally exposes the facilitation of authoritarian rule by Congressmen, Communists, trade unions, businessmen and the urban middle class, as well as the complacency of the judiciary and media. While opposition leaders eventually closed ranks in jail, many of them collaborated with the new regime--including the RSS. Those who resisted the Emergency, in the media or on the streets, were few in number. This episode was an acid test for India's political culture. While a tiny minority of citizens fought for democracy during the Emergency, in large numbers the people bowed to a strong woman, even worshipped her. Equally importantly, Hindu nationalists were endowed with a new legitimacy. The Emergency was not a parenthesis, but a turning point; its legacy is very much alive today.

This book details the movement against India's Emergency based on newly uncovered archival evidence and oral histories.

Every nation arrives at a crossroads when the existing regime becomes oppressive and people start looking for an alternative. At this juncture, they abandon the uneasy security of a longstanding governing dispensation and opt for the risky experiment of a new political combination. This, the Indian people did in 1977 and again in1989. These two political experiments were eventful periods in the history of Indian democracy. In 1989 as in 1977, the people voted for a broad-based alliance of political interests with contradictory socio-economic ambitions. However, the disintegration of the Janata experiment in 1979, the collapse of the National Front Government in 1990 and the decline of the Left show that the Indian democratic political process is still in the realm of basic experimenting and learning. In this respect, elections in India can now be seen not merely as useful indicators but as the events through which the party system and hence in a measure the political system achieve their evolution.

This book is about public administration in India, which is often synonymous with the role and performance of the Indian Administrative Service (IAS). The author stresses the indispensability of the civil service in a democratic polity like India and the decisive role it plays in assisting with the social and economic development of the country. He also examines the corruption in the bureaucracy and the question of ethics and morality and analyses elaborate and competitive recruitment process of the Union Public Service Commission (UPSC) of India.

A loving daughter, a caring mother, an affectionate grandmother a confident globetrotter and finally prime minister, Indira slipped into each role with ease.’ The story of India's first woman prime minister is no ordinary story. It is the story of a girl for whom sacrifice and loss came early. For whom growing up meant seeing her father drift in and out of jail and a mother in and out of hospital. Wearing khadi and organizing her own band of troops. Combating loneliness and giving up the things she loved for a bigger cause. With the freedom struggle playing out in the background Indira Gandhi's life was inextricably linked to the politics and destiny of her country. In this compelling biography, Sreelata Menon vividly recreates the life and times of a young girl who goes on to become one of the most powerful and charismatic leaders of the world. Filled with little-known facts about Indira Gandhi’s life this book is a fascinating read that brings to light the different facets of her personality.