Tag: Indira Gandhi

Kuldip Nayar, former resident editor with The Statesman, passes away at 95

Kuldip Nayar was among the journalists who had staunchly opposed Emergency, imposed by the then Prime Minister Indira Gandhi in 1975. He had been jailed under MISA during the time

August 23, 2018

Karunanidhi responsible for CMs unfurling tricolour

After India got independence, only the Governors unfurled the national flag on Republic Day and Independence Day.

August 15, 2018

Veteran Congress leader, close aide to Indira Gandhi, R K Dhawan passes away

From the year 1962 to 1984, serving as Indira Gandhi's personal secretary, Dhawan reportedly wielded immense clout, with some claiming that he controlled information and access to the then prime minister.

August 7, 2018

Much too simple…

Political speeches are tailor-made for the occasion, and who dare deny that Mr Narendra Modi comes close to being the consummate politician ~ although that description does not always sparkle with pristine attributes. Hence his lauding the industrial/business community at a function in Lucknow has to be perceived in context: it was an industry-related event,...

July 31, 2018

Open Sesame

Decades after Indira Gandhi as Prime Minister was denied entry to the Jagannath temple in Puri, Thursday’s directive of the Supreme Court is concordant with the noblest traditions of secularism and richly deserves unqualified endorsement. The judiciary has taken a while to react to the temple being kept out of bounds for the former Prime...

July 7, 2018

Bengal Governor Tripathi terms Emergency as ‘the dark hour’

Recalling the Emergency clamped by Indira Gandhi, Bengal Governor Keshari Nath Tripathi on Tuesday described it as “the dark hour.” He recalled his own experiences as a lawyer in Allahabad High Court when he had to file several writ petitions in the Allahabad High Court against the detentions and proposed detentions. The Emergency, Mr Tripathi’s...

June 27, 2018

Ruckus in MP House over Emergency

The ruling BJP in Madhya Pradesh came under a scathing attack from the Opposition Congress in the state Assembly on Tuesday during a discussion on the Emergency imposed in 1975 and also from one of its own BJP woman MLAs who accused a senior minister of threatening her family members. As soon as the proceedings...

June 27, 2018

Indira Gandhi imposed Emergency out of political vendetta: Odisha Governor

Odisha Governor Ganeshi Lal has said the then Prime Minister Indira Gandhi’s “personal and political vendetta” prompted her to declare Emergency in 1975. “Mrs Indira Gandhi misguided the country with a fake democracy and it was purely personal and political vendetta that led her to take such a drastic decision,” Lal said in a statement...

June 26, 2018

PM Modi recalls ‘dark period’ of Emergency, says nothing can trample Constitution

The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) maintained the intensity of its ‘Emergency’ charge on Tuesday with Prime Minister Narendra Modi calling it a “dark period” during which “an atmosphere of fear” was created.

June 26, 2018

On 43rd anniversary of Emergency, Arun Jaitley compares Indira Gandhi to Hitler

Union Minister Arun Jaitley on Monday launched a scathing attack on the Congress and compared former Prime Minister Indira Gandhi, who imposed Emergency, to Adolf Hitler, alleging that both leaders used the Constitution “to transform democracy into dictatorship”. On the 43rd anniversary of imposition of Emergency, Jaitley noted that unlike the German dictator, Gandhi went...

June 25, 2018

China readies for war

Kings and emperors are known to wear a crown of thorns. The prickliest of them in their headgear is an uncertainty about their popular appeal because, unlike democracies, there is no way for the monarchs to know whether they are liked or disliked by hoi polloi. There is always the fear, therefore, that unknown to...

March 28, 2018

Making her life more accessible

It’s the season of Kolkata’s annual tryst with books and ideas. Venues across the city are brimming with words as literary festivals draw a steady stream of eager attendees and interesting speakers. Devapriya Roy and Priya Kurian launched the cover of their graphic biography on former Prime Minister Indira Gandhi, which will be out next...

February 11, 2018

All Prime Ministers contributed in promoting science, technology: Pranab

Former President Pranab Mukherjee on Thursday said that almost all the Prime Ministers have had their contribution in promoting science and technology in the country. He particularly highlighted the roles of Jawaharlal Nehru, Indira Gandhi, Rajiv Gandhi and Manmohan Singh in particular in advancing penetration of technology in the common people’s lives. “From the very...

February 9, 2018

Don’t forget Indira, Rajiv are martyrs: Trinamool Congress

Trinamool Congress MP Dinesh Trivedi on Thursday said former Prime Ministers Indira Gandhi and Rajiv Gandhi are martyrs, and while criticising them, this should be kept in mind. Participating in a debate on the Budget in Lok Sabha, Trivedi said even though politicians may not agree with them on ideological level, it should not be...

February 8, 2018

84 riots: Badal seeks fresh inquiry into Rajiv Gandhi’s role

Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) president Sukhbir Singh Badal on Tuesday said there was a strong case for a fresh and full scale inquiry into the mysterious movements and activities of the late Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi during the 1984 anti-Sikh riots in Delhi. “The Congress leader Jagdish Tytler’s revelations on Rajiv Gandhi’s mysterious presence on...

January 30, 2018

No women empowerment story complete without mentioning Indira Gandhi: Congress

The Congress on Sunday hit out at Prime Minister Narendra Modi for “not mentioning” India’s first and only woman Prime Minister Indira Gandhi in his monthly radio programme speech while talking of “Nari Shakti” or woman power in the country’s transformation. The Grand Old Party of Indian politics said no story of women empowerment in...

January 29, 2018

‘84 stench persists

A pinch of scepticism must necessarily be added to the welcome decision of the Supreme Court to appoint its own Special Investigation Team into 186 cases relating to the politically-endorsed carnage in the Capital, and elsewhere, following the assassination of then prime minister Indira Gandhi. Scepticism because there have been so many inquiries that have...

January 12, 2018