India, June 26 -- It's that time again-June 25. The annual constitutional weep-fest. The government is out with its banners, hashtags, and pious speeches about "dark times," the Congress is squirming in selective amnesia, and Twitter is ablaze with black-and-white photos of Atal Bihari Vajpayee behind bars. We're told to "Never Forget." Fair enough. But while we're lighting digital candles for democracy's past, maybe-just maybe-we should take a long, hard look at democracy present.

Let's rewind to 1975.

Indira Gandhi, cornered by a court verdict that declared her election invalid, chose not to step down, not to appeal for calm-but to shut the nation down. Using Article 352, she declared a national Emergency citing "internal disturbance"...