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Explained

The story of the Emergency

UPSC Syllabus:

Preliminary Examination: Polity

Mains Examination: GS-II: Polity

What’s the ongoing story- On June 25, India entered the fiftieth year of the imposition of the Emergency, an extraordinary 21-month period from 1975 to 1977, which saw the suspension of civil liberties, curtailment of press freedom, mass arrests, the cancellation of elections, and rule by decree.

Prerequisites:

— What are the constitutional provisions related to the Emergency?

— How National Emergency Impact Fundamental Rights?

— What was the impact of the National Emergency in 1975?

Key takeaways: 

— Almost all opposition leaders were put in jail. Fundamental rights, including the freedom of speech and expression guaranteed under Article 19(1)(a), were curtailed, which led to pre-censorship of the press.

— Fundamental rights, including the freedom of speech and expression guaranteed under Article 19(1)(a), were curtailed, which led to pre-censorship of the press.

— The declaration of Emergency converts the federal structure into a de facto unitary one, as the Union acquires the right to give any direction to state governments, which, though not suspended, come under the complete control of the Centre.

— Parliament may by law extend the (five-year) term of Lok Sabha one year at a time, make laws on subjects in the State List, and extend the Union’s executive powers to the states.

— Under Article 352 of the Constitution, the President may, on the advice of the Council of Ministers headed by the Prime Minister, issue a proclamation of emergency if the security of India or any part of the country is threatened by “war or external aggression or armed rebellion”.

— In 1975, instead of armed rebellion, the ground of “internal disturbance” was available to the government to proclaim an emergency.

— This was the only instance of proclamation of emergency due to “internal disturbance”. The two occasions in which an emergency was proclaimed earlier, on October 26, 1962, and December 3, 1971, were both on grounds of war.

— This ground of “internal disturbance” was removed by The Constitution (Forty-fourth Amendment) Act, 1978 by the Janata government that came to power after the Emergency.

— Article 358 frees the state of all limitations imposed by Article 19 (“Right to freedom”) as soon as an emergency is imposed. Article 359 empowers the President to suspend the right of people to move court for the enforcement of their rights during an emergency…

For Your Information:

— Indira’s son Sanjay Gandhi pushed a “five-point programme” that included forced family planning and clearance of slums.

— With the opposition in jail, Parliament passed The Constitution (Thirty-eighth Amendment) Act that barred judicial review of the Emergency, and The Constitution (Thirty-ninth Amendment) Act that said the election of the Prime Minister could not be challenged in the Supreme Court.

— The Constitution (Forty-second Amendment) Act made changes to a range of laws, taking away the judiciary’s right to hear election petitions, widening the authority of the Union to encroach on State subjects…

— In the famous case of ADM Jabalpur vs Shivkant Shukla, 1976, a five-judge Bench of the Supreme Court ruled that detention without trial was legal during an emergency…

— For no apparent reason, Indira decided to lift the Emergency early in 1977…

— The Janata government reversed many of the constitutional changes effected by the 42nd Amendment Act of 1976…

— The 44th Amendment removed “internal disturbance” as a ground for the imposition of an emergency, meaning that armed rebellion alone would now be a ground, apart from war and external aggression. However, the 44th Amendment left the words ‘secular’ and ‘socialist’, inserted in the Preamble by the 42nd Amendment, untouched.

Points to Ponder: 

— How National Emergency is different from the emergency due to the failure of the constitutional machinery?

— What is the procedure for the removal of Emergency?

— What is the distinction between Article 358 and Article 359?

Post Read Question:

Prelims

If the President of India exercises his power as provided under Article 356 of the Constitution in respect of a particular State, then (UPSC CSE 2018)

(a) the Assembly of the State is automatically dissolved.

(b) the powers of the Legislature of that State shall be exercisable by or under the authority of the Parliament.

(c) Article 19 is suspended in that State.

(d) the President can make laws relating to that State.

Mains

Under what circumstances can the Financial Emergency be proclaimed by the President of India? What consequences follow when such a declaration remains in force? (UPSC CSE 2018)

Other Important Articles Covering the same topic:

49 years of Emergency: Here is what happened over the two years that changed India’s history

Behind Cong’s 1977 rout in North India: Sanjay’s family planning mission

UPSC Syllabus:

Preliminary Examination: Polity and Governance

Mains Examination: GS-II: Polity and Governance

What’s the ongoing story- The Emergency was declared on the midnight of June 24-25, exactly 49 years ago. In the 21 months that followed, Indira Gandhi ran India like a dictatorship. Among various excesses reported at the time, was the campaign of mass forced sterilisation, championed by her son, Sanjay.

Prerequisites:

— What is sterilisation?

— What is a vasectomy?

— Why National Emergency was proclaimed in 1975?

— What was the National Family Planning Programme of 1952?

Key takeaways: 

— Overpopulation has long been a concern for the Indian intelligentsia, which largely agreed with the classic Western perspective on the matter which associated overpopulation with economic underdevelopment.

— In 1951, when India’s population was approximately 361 million, ace demographer R A Gopalswami estimated that it would rise by roughly 500,000 every year. At this rate, he believed that India would perennially struggle to meet its food demand, even after millions of tons of imports. Gopalswami’s solution: mass sterilisation, something no other country had previously tried, certainly at this scale.

— Paying heed to its top demographer, the government launched the National Family Planning Programme in 1952, which introduced awareness campaigns and monetary incentives for getting sterilised.

— The years preceding the Emergency had been rough for the Indian economy — below average rainfall in 1972 and 1973 had led to food shortage…

— For Sanjay Gandhi, who had quickly become very influential in the government despite holding no official position, this was a big personal mission — the lynchpin of his 5-point programme which also included afforestation, abolition of dowry, removal of illiteracy, and slum clearance.

— There is no accurate data regarding the true scale of the campaign, most estimates put the number of sterilisations between 6-8 million in 1977, and lower in 1975 and 1976. Whatever the scale might have been, nasbandi was undoubtedly a pivotal contributor to Indira Gandhi’s 1977 defeat.

For Your Information:

— The first public expression of the need for family planning in the country was carried out by Pyare Kishen Wattal with the publication of a book, ‘The Population Problem in India’ in 1916 in which he advocated family limitation. A pioneering effort was led by Professor Raghunath Dhondo Karve when he opened the country’s first birth control clinic in Bombay in 1925.

Points to Ponder: 

— What is the status of India’s population growth?

— Why do countries like India and China implement National family planning?

— What is the impact of mass sterilization on India today?

— What initiatives can be taken by the government to control population growth?

Post Read Question:

“Empowering women is the key to control the population growth.’’ Discuss. ( UPSC CSE 2019)

Other Important Articles Covering the same topic:

Why experts say India does not need a population policy

Editorial

Why the hurry?

UPSC Syllabus:

Preliminary Examination: Current events of national and international importance

Mains Examination: GS-II: Government policies and intervention

What’s the ongoing story- Anup Surendranath and Neetika Vishwanath write: As we stand at the cusp of the new criminal laws coming into force — on July 1 — it would be naive to ignore the colossal confusion that awaits us in the administration of criminal justice. Of equal concern must also be the regressive provisions that confer expanded police powers and dilute civil liberties.

Prerequisites:

— What are the new criminal laws introduced in the country?

— What was the reason for replacing the old criminal laws?

Key takeaways: 

— The Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS), the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita (BNSS), and the Bharatiya Sakshya Adhiniyam (BSA) will replace the Indian Penal Code, 1860 (IPC), the Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973 (CrPC), and the Indian Evidence Act, 1872 (IEA) respectively.

— Seventy five per cent of the existing provisions have been retained verbatim in the new laws, making any claim of decolonisation difficult to sustain. Besides, decolonisation cannot be understood as merely legislative changes. Our criminal justice institutions continue to be afflicted by colonial legacies and are in need of fundamental institutional reform.

— Certain new provisions that confer excessive police power using vague definitions of offences, enhance durations of police custody and permit trials in-absentia are regressive.

— Some changes are alarming in terms of the police powers they confer. Section 187 of the BNSS substantially increases police powers by expanding the maximum limit of police custody from 15 days to either 60 days or 90 days.

— The proviso to Section 167(2)(a) of the CrPC allows the magistrate to extend custody of an arrested person beyond 15 days as long as it is not in police custody, meaning that beyond 15 days the person has to be in prison and not within police custody.

— The provisions on “false and misleading information” (section 197) and “acts endangering sovereignty, unity, and integrity of India” (section 152 as the replacement for sedition) are extraordinarily vague with no real indication of when the police can initiate action under these provisions. Reading these two provisions will not give any reasonable individual an idea of what exactly is being criminalised and the potential for grave abuse is evident.

— Worryingly, the BNSS also permits trials in-absentia, that is, prosecution and adjudication of complete trials against absconding proclaimed offenders in their absence. While the CrPC only allowed for the evidence to be recorded in the absence of the accused, the BNSS completely suffocates the accused’s right to defend themselves.

— Retention of large parts of the existing laws also raises another set of crucial questions. What was the need to repeal the existing laws? Could the changes have not come in the form of amendments?

—  The institutional readiness for these laws coming into force is a serious cause for concern. Police personnel in every single police station need to be ready with the knowledge of these laws for even the very first step of registering FIRs from July 1. Multiple levels of judicial officers, court staff and prison officials are required to be prepared… The implementation of these laws must be postponed until there is a thorough and independent audit of the preparedness of our criminal justice institutions across the states.

For Your Information:

— Chief Justice of India D Y Chandrachud said, “These laws aim at digitising various aspects of criminal procedure. This is a significant step towards modernising the justice system. From the initial registration of a first information report (FIR) to the final delivery of judgment, every stage of a criminal investigation is slated to be recorded digitally under the purview of the proposed legislation.”

Points to Ponder: 

— What are the major provisions of the new criminal law?

— What are the criticisms of the new criminal law?

— What are the issues with the implementation?

— What are the recommendations of the various committees on the criminal justice system of India?

Post Read Question:

Which of the following committees was constituted to deal with the reform in the Indian Criminal Justice System?

(a) Malimath Committee

(b) Rangarajan Committee

(c) Sachar Committee

(d) Deepak Parekh committee

Other Important Articles Covering the same topic:

New criminal laws ‘significant step’ towards modernising justice system, says CJI Chandrachud

 

Economy

FATF says India compliant with requirements, flags concerns

UPSC Syllabus:

Preliminary Examination: Economy

Mains Examination:  GS-III: Economy

What’s the ongoing story- India has achieved “high level of technical compliance” with the requirement of global anti-money laundering watchdog FATF, the agency said on Friday even as it listed a number of measures that are needed to strengthen supervision and implementation of preventive measures in some of the non-financial sectors.

Prerequisites:

— What is the Financial Action Task Force (FATF)?

— What is money laundering?

— What is the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA)?

Key takeaways: 

— The Financial Action Task Force (FATF) in a statement said that India’s anti-money laundering and counter-terrorist financing (AML/CFT) regime is achieving “good results”. The FATF will publish the report after its quality and consistency review is completed, it stated.

— The watchdog said that India needs to address delays relating to concluding money laundering (ML) and terrorist financing (TF) prosecutions and ensure that CFT measures aimed at preventing the non-profit sector from being “abused” for TF are implemented in line with risk-based approach.

For Your Information:

— India has achieved an outstanding outcome in the Mutual Evaluation conducted during 2023-24 by Financial Action Task Force (FATF). The Mutual Evaluation Report of India, which was adopted in the FATF plenary held in Singapore between June 26th and June 28th, 2024, places India in the ‘regular follow-up’ category, a distinction shared by only four other G20 countries.

— This marks a significant milestone in the nation’s efforts to combat money laundering (ML) and terrorist financing (TF).

Points to Ponder: 

— What is the objective of FATF?

— What are the Grey and Black list of FATF?

— Which countries are members of FATF?

— What are the issues related to FATF?

Post Read Question:

Prelims

Consider the following countries:

1. India

2. Russia

3. China

4. Germany

5. Saudi Arabia

How many of the above countries are members of FATF?

(a) Only two

(b) Only three

(c) Only four

(d) All five

Mains

Discuss how emerging technologies and globalisation contribute to money laundering. Elaborate measures to tackle the problem of money laundering both at national and international levels. (UPSC CSE 2021)

Other Important Articles Covering the same topic:

FATF adopts India’s mutual evaluation report

In Parliament

Process begins to reconstitute Parliamentary Committees 

UPSC Syllabus:

Preliminary Examination: Constitution

Mains Examination: GS-II: Constitution and Polity

What’s the ongoing story- The process to reconstitute Parliamentary panels was set rolling Friday with Parliamentary Affairs Minister Kiren Rijiju moving two motions to set up the Public Accounts and Estimates committees.

Prerequisites:

— What are the Parliamentary committees?

— What are the purposes of these committees?

— What are the differences between the Public Accounts Committee and the Estimates Committee?

Key takeaways: 

— The Estimates Committee is tasked with suggesting alternative policies to bring about efficiency and economy in administration, examine whether the money is well laid out within the limits of the policy implied in the estimates, and recommend the form in which estimates are to be presented to Parliament.

For Your Information:

— Legislative business begins when a Bill is introduced in either House of Parliament. But the process of lawmaking is often complex, and Parliament has limited time for detailed discussions… As a result of which a great deal of legislative business ends up taking place in the Parliamentary Committees instead.

— A Parliamentary Committee is a panel of MPs that is appointed or elected by the House or nominated by the Speaker, and which works under the direction of the Speaker. It presents its report to the House or to the Speaker.

— Parliamentary Committees have their origins in the British Parliament. They draw their authority from Article 105, which deals with the privileges of MPs, and Article 118, which gives Parliament authority to make rules to regulate its procedure and conduct of business.

— Broadly, Parliamentary Committees can be classified into Financial Committees, Departmentally Related Standing Committees, Other Parliamentary Standing Committees, and Ad hoc Committees.

— The Financial Committees include the Estimates Committee, Public Accounts Committee, and the Committee on Public Undertakings. These committees were constituted in 1950.

Points to Ponder: 

— How do the Parliamentary committees act as a check on the government?

— What are the issues and challenges associated with the Parliamentary committees?

— What are the necessary measures to overcome those challenges?

Post Read Question:

With reference to the Parliament of India, which of the following Parliamentary Committees scrutinizes and reports to the House whether the powers to make regulations, rules, sub-rules, by-laws, etc., conferred by the Constitution or delegated by the Parliament are being properly exercised by the Executive within the scope of such delegation? (UPSC CSE 2018)

(a) Committee on Government Assurances

(b) Committee on Subordinate Legislation

(c) Rules Committee

(d) Business Advisory Committee

Mains

Explain the structure of the Parliamentary Committee system. How far have the financial committees helped in the institutionalisation of Indian Parliament? (UPSC CSE 2023)

Other Important Articles Covering the same topic:

Parliament Committees, their leaders, and their role in law-making

 

Govt & Politics

Jaishankar to lead Indian delegation to attend SCO summit in Astana

UPSC Syllabus:

Preliminary Examination: Current events of national and international importance

Mains Examination: GS-II: International Relations

What’s the ongoing story- Prime Minister Narendra Modi will not attend the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) summit this year. External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar is set to lead the Indian delegation to Kazakhstan capital Astana next week.

Prerequisites:

— What is the SCO summit?

— What is the objective of SCO?

Key takeaways: 

— The summit will take place from July 3-4 in Astana. Kazakhstan took over the SCO presidency from India, which was the president last year. India hosted the SCO summit virtually in July 2023.

— The SCO, comprising India, China, Russia, Pakistan, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan, is considered an influential economic and security bloc. The summit hosted by Kazakhstan is expected to see participation by Putin, Chinese President Xi Jinping and Pakistan PM Shehbaz Sharif.

For Your Information:

— After the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991, the then security and economic architecture in the Eurasian region dissolved and new structures had to come up. The original Shanghai Five were China, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Russia and Tajikistan. The SCO was formed in 2001, with Uzbekistan included. It expanded in 2017 to include India and Pakistan.

— Since its formation, the SCO has focused on regional non-traditional security, with counter-terrorism as a priority: The fight against the “three evils” of terrorism, separatism and extremism has become its mantra. Today, areas of cooperation include themes such as economics and culture.

Points to Ponder: 

— What are the issues among the SCO members?

— How is SCO significant for India?

— Do you think SCO has lost relevance in the current times?

Post Read Question:

Critically examine the aims and objectives of SCO. What importance does it hold for India? (UPSC CSE 2021)

Other Important Articles Covering the same topic:

India and the SCO: Takeaways from the recent summit

World

Scientists inject rhinos with radioactive material to fight poaching

UPSC Syllabus:

Preliminary Examination: Current events of national and international importance

Mains Examination: GS-III: Environment and Conservation

What’s the ongoing story- Researchers in South Africa have injected radioactive material into the horns of 20 rhinos as part of a research project aimed at reducing poaching. The idea is that radiation detectors already in place at national borders would detect the horns and help authorities arrest poachers and traffickers.

Prerequisites:

— What is poaching?

— What are radioactive materials?

Key takeaways: 

—  According to figures from the International Union for Conservation of Nature, an international conservation body, the global rhino population stood at around 500,000 at the beginning of the 20th century. It now stands at around 27,000 due to continued demand for rhino horns on the black market.

— South Africa has the largest population of rhinos, an estimated 16,000, making it a hotspot with more than 500 rhinos killed every year.

For Your Information:

— Rhino horn is used in traditional medicine, as it is believed to cure ailments such as cancer, displayed as a show of wealth and given as gifts.

— The Indian rhino is listed as vulnerable (better than endangered, worse than near threatened) in the IUCN Red List; it was earlier placed in the endangered category. The WWF says the “recovery of the greater one-horned rhino is among the greatest conservation success stories in Asia”.

Points to Ponder: 

— What are the various species of rhinos?

— What is the IUCN red list status of various species of Rhino?

— What is the conservation status of one-horned rhinos in India?

Post Read Question:

Consider the following statements: (UPSC CSE 2019)

1. Asiatic lion is naturally found in India only.

2. Double-humped camel is naturally found in India only.

3. One-horned rhinoceros is naturally found in India only.

Which of the statements given above is/are correct?

(a) 1 only

(b) 2 only

(c) 1 and 3 only

(d) 1, 2 and 3

Other Important Articles Covering the same topic:

For first time in many years, no rhinos poached in Assam in 2022

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