Identify the correct statement:
Answer & explanation
Correct answer: option 1
The correct answer is Option (1) → During emergency, people experienced authoritarian rule
Option (1) During emergency, people experienced authoritarian rule — True. An authoritarian state is one in which the people have no voice and those in power are not accountable to anyone; such states limit or abolish civil liberties. The Indian people had a brief experience of authoritarian rule during the Emergency, enforced between June 1975 and January 1977, when Parliament was suspended and the government made laws directly.
Option (2) During elections, immediately after the emergency, people voted overwhelmingly for Congress party — False. When elections were held unexpectedly in early 1977, the people voted overwhelmingly against the ruling Congress Party. The option turns ‘against’ into ‘for’.
Option (3) The Civil liberties of people remain unaffected during the emergency — False. Civil liberties were revoked, and a large number of politically active people were arrested and jailed without trial.
Option (4) Press was given freedom of speech during emergency — False. Censorship was imposed on the media; the Emergency of 1975 was the gravest challenge the Indian media ever faced.
Note: The paragraph on the Emergency (1975-77), in the section ‘State and Civil Society’ of the chapter ‘The Challenges of Cultural Diversity’, was there in the pre-rationalised NCERT, the textbook of 2022. This portion has been deleted from the NCERT book (2025-26), though the chapter is still there and keeps the meaning of an authoritarian state.
NCERT (2025-26): “6.4 State and Civil Society … To the extent that the state structure – the legislature, bureaucracy, judiciary, armed forces, police and other arms of the state – becomes insulated from the people, it also has the potential of turning authoritarian. An authoritarian state is the opposite of a democratic state. It is a state in which the people have no voice and those in power are not accountable to anyone. Authoritarian states often limit or abolish civil liberties like freedom of speech, freedom of the press, freedom of political activity, right to protection from wrongful use of authority, right to the due processes of the law, and so on.…” “Social Change and Development in India, Chapter 7 (Mass Media and Communications): The gravest challenge that the media faced was with the declaration of Emergency in 1975 and censorship of the media. Fortunately, the period ended and democracy was restored in 1977. India with its many problems can be justifiably proud of a free media.…” NCERT (Pre-rationalised): “6.4 State and Civil Society … The Indian people had a brief experience of authoritarian rule during the ‘Emergency’ enforced between June 1975 and January 1977. Parliament was suspended and new laws were made directly by the government. Civil liberties were revoked and a large number of politically active people were arrested and jailed without trial. Censorship was imposed on the media and government officials could be dismissed without normal procedures. The government coerced lower level officials to implement its programmes and produce instant results. The most notorious was the forced sterilisation campaign in which large numbers died due to surgical complications. When elections were held unexpectedly in early 1977, the people voted overwhelmingly against the ruling Congress Party.…” |