India, June 27 -- When the Emergency was declared on June 25, 1975 the CPI(M) leadership, at first, viewed it as a draconian measure to permanently enforce an authoritarian set-up. It was felt that parliamentary democracy would remain truncated for a long period of time. However, after the first few weeks, it became clear that the Emergency was a manoeuvre resorted to by a beleaguered Indira Gandhi to outwit and thwart the opposition.

Soon after the big "Garibi Hatao" victory in the Lok Sabha elections of 1971, popular discontent grew due to the failure of the government to fulfil the promises made during the elections. The JP movement and the historic railway strike of 1974 marked the growing opposition. The Allahabad high court judgmen...