The Crisis of Democratic Order, Class 12 Political Science

What The Crisis of Democratic Order is about

Weightage: Politics in India since Independence: The Crisis of Democratic Order carries 4 of the 80 theory marks.Source: CBSE Political Science (028) syllabus 2026-27, course structure

Key concepts

Background: political and economic context

NCERT section Background to Emergency; Economic Context

Political context: by the early 1970s Indira Gandhi was a towering, very popular leader. Party competition became bitter and polarised. The Supreme Court found many government initiatives unconstitutional; the Congress said the Court was against democracy and parliamentary supremacy, and a conservative obstacle to pro-poor programmes. Opponents felt politics was becoming too personalised and governmental authority was turning into personal authority.

Economic context:

• Despite 'garibi hatao', conditions did not improve much after 1971-72.
• The Bangladesh crisis strained the economy: about eight million people came into India from East Pakistan, followed by war.
• After the war the US stopped all aid.
• Oil prices rose manifold, pushing up all prices: inflation of 23 per cent in 1973 and 30 per cent in 1974.
• Low industrial growth; high unemployment, especially rural.
• The government froze salaries of its employees, causing dissatisfaction.
• Monsoons failed in 1972-73; food grain output fell by 8 per cent.
• Non-Congress parties organised effective protests; student unrest grew; armed Marxist-Leninist (Naxalite) groups, strong in West Bengal, rejected parliamentary politics.

Congress President D. K. Barooah's slogan (1974): 'Indira is India, India is Indira'.

Worked example

Describe the economic conditions that caused discontent in the early 1970s. (4 marks)

Try it first, then show the solutionSolution

1. The Bangladesh crisis (about eight million refugees) and war strained the economy, and the US stopped all aid afterwards.
2. A manifold rise in world oil prices led to inflation of 23 per cent in 1973 and 30 per cent in 1974.
3. Industrial growth was low and unemployment high, especially in rural areas; government salaries were frozen.
4. Monsoons failed in 1972-73 and food grain output fell by 8 per cent, so garibi hatao seemed unfulfilled.

Answer: War costs, loss of aid, oil-driven inflation, unemployment, salary freezes and a drought-hit harvest caused widespread discontent.

Gujarat and Bihar movements and the railway strike

NCERT section Gujarat and Bihar Movements; Railway Strike of 1974

Both Gujarat and Bihar were Congress-ruled states; student protests there shaped state and national politics.

Gujarat (January 1974):

• Students protested rising prices of food grains, cooking oil and essentials, and corruption in high places.
• Major opposition parties joined; President's rule was imposed.
• The opposition demanded fresh elections; Morarji Desai (Congress (O)) threatened an indefinite fast.
• Assembly elections were held in June 1975; the Congress was defeated.

Bihar (March 1974):

• Students protested rising prices, food scarcity, unemployment and corruption, and invited Jayaprakash Narayan (JP), who had left active politics for social work, to lead.
• JP accepted on condition the movement stay non-violent and not limited to Bihar; it became political with national appeal.
• JP demanded dismissal of the Bihar government and called for 'Total Revolution' (Sampoorna Kranti) in social, economic and political spheres to establish true democracy. Bandhs, gheraos and strikes followed; the government refused to resign.
• In 1975, JP led a people's march to Parliament, one of the largest rallies in the capital, supported by Bharatiya Jana Sangh, Congress (O), Bharatiya Lok Dal, Socialist Party and others, who projected JP as an alternative to Indira Gandhi.
• Critics questioned his ideas and the politics of mass agitation. The movements were seen as anti-Congress and against Indira Gandhi's leadership; she believed they were motivated by personal opposition to her.

Railway strike (May 1974): led by George Fernandes (National Coordination Committee for Railwaymen's Struggle) over bonus and service conditions. The government declared it illegal, arrested leaders, deployed the territorial army; it was called off after twenty days without settlement. It raised questions about workers' rights and strikes in essential services.

Worked example

What role did Jayaprakash Narayan play in the Bihar movement? (2 marks)

Try it first, then show the solutionSolution

1. Invited by students in 1974, JP agreed to lead on the condition that the movement remain non-violent and spread beyond Bihar, giving it a national, political character.
2. He demanded the dismissal of the Bihar government, called for 'Total Revolution', and in 1975 led a huge people's march to Parliament supported by opposition parties.

Answer: He led the movement non-violently, made it national, and called for Total Revolution.

Conflict with the judiciary

NCERT section Conflict with Judiciary

Three constitutional issues:
1. Can Parliament abridge Fundamental Rights? The Supreme Court said no.
2. Can Parliament curtail the right to property by amendment? Again, the Court said Parliament cannot amend the Constitution so as to curtail rights.
3. Parliament amended the Constitution to allow abridging Fundamental Rights to give effect to Directive Principles; the Court rejected this too.

This crisis culminated in the Kesavananda Bharati case (1973): the Court held that the Constitution has a basic structure that Parliament cannot amend.

Two more developments:

• Supersession (1973): breaking the practice of appointing the senior-most judge as Chief Justice, the government set aside three senior judges and appointed Justice A. N. Ray. It was controversial because the superseded judges had ruled against the government.
• People close to the PM spoke of a 'committed' judiciary and bureaucracy, loyal to the executive's vision.
• Climax: the High Court ruling declaring Indira Gandhi's election invalid.

Worked example

Why did the appointment of Justice A. N. Ray as Chief Justice in 1973 become controversial? (2 marks)

Try it first, then show the solutionSolution

1. The usual practice was to appoint the senior-most Supreme Court judge as Chief Justice, but the government set aside the seniority of three judges.
2. All three superseded judges had given rulings against the government's stand, so the move was seen as mixing constitutional interpretation with politics.

Answer: Because it broke the seniority convention and superseded judges who had ruled against the government.

Declaration of Emergency

NCERT section Declaration of Emergency; Crisis and Response

The Allahabad verdict:

• On 12 June 1975, Justice Jagmohan Lal Sinha of the Allahabad High Court declared Indira Gandhi's Lok Sabha election invalid, on an election petition by Raj Narain (a socialist who had contested against her in 1971), on the ground that she had used government servants in her campaign.
• Legally she was no longer an MP and could stay PM only if re-elected within six months.
• On 24 June the Supreme Court gave a partial stay: until her appeal was decided she could remain an MP but not take part in Lok Sabha proceedings.

Crisis:

• The opposition, led by JP, demanded her resignation and held a massive rally at Delhi's Ramlila grounds on 25 June 1975.
• JP announced a nationwide satyagraha and asked the army, police and government employees not to obey 'illegal and immoral orders'.

Response:

• On 25 June 1975 the government invoked Article 352, which allows an emergency on grounds of external threat or internal disturbances. Technically this was within the government's powers.
• Effects of an emergency under the Constitution: federal distribution of powers is practically suspended and powers are concentrated in the Union government; the government can curtail any Fundamental Rights.
• That night the PM recommended Emergency to President Fakhruddin Ali Ahmed, who proclaimed it immediately. Electricity to major newspaper offices was cut after midnight; many opposition leaders and workers were arrested by morning; the Cabinet was informed at 6 a.m. on 26 June, after all this.

Worked example

What reasons did the government give for declaring Emergency in 1975? (2 marks)

Try it first, then show the solutionSolution

1. It declared that there was a threat of internal disturbances, such as JP's call to the army, police and employees not to obey orders, and a nationwide satyagraha threatening to paralyse government.
2. It invoked Article 352, saying a grave crisis had arisen that made the proclamation necessary.

Answer: A threat of internal disturbance creating a grave crisis, under Article 352.

Consequences of Emergency

NCERT section Consequences

Immediate effects: agitations stopped; strikes banned; many opposition leaders jailed; the situation became quiet but tense.

Press censorship: freedom of the press was suspended; newspapers needed prior approval for all material.

Bans: fearing social and communal disharmony, the government banned the RSS and Jamait-e-Islami; protests, strikes and agitations were disallowed.

Fundamental Rights: various Fundamental Rights were suspended, including the right to move the courts to restore them.

Preventive detention: people were arrested not for an offence but on apprehension they might commit one. Large-scale arrests followed; detainees could not challenge arrest through habeas corpus. Several High Courts said habeas corpus petitions could still be heard, but in April 1976 a constitution bench of the Supreme Court overruled them, accepting the government's plea: the government could take away the right to life and liberty during Emergency. This is regarded as one of the Court's most controversial judgments.

Resistance: activists went underground; the Indian Express and Statesman left blank spaces where news was censored; Seminar and Mainstream chose to close; journalists were arrested; underground newsletters circulated; writers Shivarama Karanth and Fanishwarnath Renu returned their Padma awards. But open defiance was rare.

Constitutional changes: an amendment barred court challenges to elections of the PM, President and Vice-President. The 42nd Amendment made many changes, including extending legislatures' term from five to six years (meant to be permanent); elections could also be postponed by a year during Emergency, so after 1971 elections were due only in 1978, not 1976.

Worked example

What is preventive detention? How was it used during the Emergency? (2 marks)

Try it first, then show the solutionSolution

1. Preventive detention means arresting and detaining people not for an offence committed but on the apprehension that they may commit one.
2. During Emergency the government made large-scale arrests under it; in April 1976 the Supreme Court accepted that detainees could not use habeas corpus, effectively allowing the right to life and liberty to be taken away.

Answer: Detention on suspicion of future offences; widely used, with habeas corpus denied after the 1976 Supreme Court ruling.

Lessons of the Emergency

NCERT section Lessons of the Emergency

The Emergency showed both the weaknesses and the strengths of Indian democracy.

Lessons:
1. Democracy is hard to end in India: many think India ceased to be democratic, but normal functioning resumed quickly.
2. Ambiguities in the Emergency provision were corrected: an 'internal' emergency can now be proclaimed only on grounds of 'armed rebellion', and the advice to the President must be given in writing by the Union Cabinet.
3. Greater awareness of civil liberties: courts have since taken an active role in protecting individual liberties, and many civil liberties organisations were formed.

Unresolved issues:

• The balance between routine democratic government and continuous political protest: how much freedom to protest, and what limits?
• Emergency was implemented through the police and administration, which became political instruments of the ruling party; according to the Shah Commission Report, the administration and police became vulnerable to political pressure, a problem that did not vanish.

Most lasting lesson: the 1977 election became a referendum on the Emergency, especially in north India; the opposition's slogan was 'save democracy'. Voters punished a government seen as anti-democratic, so 1975-77 ended up strengthening democracy's foundations.

Constitutional vs political crisis: the period was a constitutional crisis (battle over Parliament's and judiciary's jurisdiction) and a political crisis: a party with an absolute majority suspended democratic processes. The Constitution's makers trusted parties to follow democratic norms and the rule of law even in emergencies; these wide powers were abused. The political crisis was more serious. It also raised the tension between institution-based democracy and spontaneous popular participation.

Worked example

What lessons were learnt from the Emergency? (4 marks)

Try it first, then show the solutionSolution

1. It is extremely difficult to do away with democracy in India: normal democratic functioning resumed within a short time.
2. Ambiguities were removed: internal emergency now only for 'armed rebellion', and only on written advice of the Union Cabinet.
3. People became more aware of civil liberties; courts became more active in protecting them and civil liberties organisations grew.
4. Voters in 1977 punished a government seen as anti-democratic, strengthening democracy; but issues like limits of protest and politicisation of police and administration remained.

Answer: Democracy proved resilient, emergency provisions were tightened, civil liberties gained value, and voters showed they punish anti-democratic rule.

The 1977 election, Janata government and legacy

NCERT section Politics after Emergency: Lok Sabha Elections 1977; Janata Government; Legacy

Elections announced: in January 1977, after eighteen months of Emergency, elections were called and leaders released; polling was in March 1977.

• Opposition parties formed the Janata Party, accepting JP's leadership; some Congress leaders opposed to Emergency joined. Jagjivan Ram formed Congress for Democracy, which later merged with Janata.
• Janata made it a referendum on Emergency, highlighting its non-democratic character and excesses; JP became the symbol of restoring democracy; the party ensured non-Congress votes were not divided.

Results:

• For the first time since Independence, the Congress lost the Lok Sabha: only 154 seats, under 35 per cent votes.
• Janata and allies won 330 of 542; Janata alone 295, a clear majority.
• In north India a massive wave: Congress lost every seat in Bihar, UP, Delhi, Haryana and Punjab, and won just one each in Rajasthan and MP. Indira Gandhi lost at Rae Bareli and Sanjay Gandhi at Amethi.
• But the Congress kept many seats in Maharashtra, Gujarat and Orissa and nearly swept the south: Emergency's impact (forced relocation, forced sterilisations) was concentrated in the north, and north Indian middle castes were moving away from the Congress. So 1977 was not only about Emergency.

Janata government:

• Not cohesive: contest for PM among Morarji Desai, Charan Singh (Bharatiya Lok Dal, farmers' leader) and Jagjivan Ram; Morarji Desai became PM, the first non-Congress PM.
• Critics said it lacked direction, leadership and a common programme, and did not fundamentally change Congress policies.
• It split; Desai's government lost majority in under 28 months; Charan Singh's government, backed by the Congress, lasted about four months before support was withdrawn.
• January 1980 elections: Janata suffered a comprehensive defeat; the Congress under Indira Gandhi won 353 seats. Lesson: voters punish unstable, quarrelsome governments.

Legacy:

• Since 1969 the Congress had shed its umbrella character, claiming to be the only socialist, pro-poor party, relying on sharp social and ideological divisions and one leader.
• Opposition parties relied more on non-Congressism and avoiding division of votes, crucial in 1977.
• Backward castes' welfare began to dominate politics: their shift helped Janata in 1977; northern states elected non-Congress governments with backward caste leaders; OBC reservations became controversial in Bihar, and the Janata government appointed the Mandal Commission.

Worked example

What were the reasons for the defeat of the Congress in 1977? (4 marks)

Try it first, then show the solutionSolution

1. The election became a referendum on the Emergency: arrests, press censorship and excesses turned opinion against the Congress, especially in the north.
2. Opposition parties united in the Janata Party under JP's leadership, so non-Congress votes were not divided; Jagjivan Ram's Congress for Democracy also joined.
3. Forced relocation and sterilisations were concentrated in north India, where the Congress was wiped out.
4. Long-term change: north Indian middle and backward castes were moving away from the Congress and found a platform in the Janata Party.

Answer: Anger at the Emergency, opposition unity, northern excesses and a shift of middle castes away from the Congress.

The Crisis of Democratic Order in real life

Each concept, met in an everyday situation. Read the situation, answer the question in your own words, then compare with the model answer. The one-line hook is what to remember.

Topics in this chapter

• Background to the Emergency
• Declaration of the Emergency and Its Lessons

The Crisis of Democratic Order: key facts

Economic crisis

Refugees	~8 million
US aid	stopped
Oil prices	up
Inflation	23% (1973), 30% (1974)
Food grain output	down 8% after 1972-73 monsoon failure

Garibi hatao unfulfilled.

Movements

Gujarat	Jan 1974, President's rule, elections June 1975 (Congress lost)
Bihar	Mar 1974, JP, Total Revolution
Railway strike	May 1974, George Fernandes, 20 days

JP's march to Parliament, 1975.

Judiciary conflict

Fundamental Rights, property, DPSP amendments rejected; Kesavananda Bharati 1973 (basic structure); A. N. Ray appointed over three seniors (1973)

'Committed judiciary'.

Declaration

12 June 1975	Allahabad HC (Justice Sinha, Raj Narain petition)
24 June	SC partial stay
25 June	Ramlila rally
25 June	Emergency under Article 352 (President Fakhruddin Ali Ahmed)
26 June, 6 a.m.	Cabinet told

Internal disturbance ground.

Consequences

• •Press censorship
• •RSS and Jamait-e-Islami banned
• •Fundamental Rights suspended
• •preventive detention
• •April 1976 SC habeas corpus ruling
• •42nd Amendment (term 5 to 6 years)

Elections pushed to 1978.

Lessons

Democracy hard to end; internal emergency only for 'armed rebellion' on written Cabinet advice; civil liberties valued

Shah Commission: police and administration politicised.

1977 results

Congress 154, <35% votes; Janata + allies 330/542; Janata 295; Congress zero in Bihar, UP, Delhi, Haryana, Punjab

Congress strong in south, Maharashtra, Gujarat, Orissa.

Janata period

Morarji Desai PM (<28 months); Charan Singh ~4 months; Jan 1980 Congress 353 seats

Unstable governments punished.

Legacy

Non-Congressism; backward castes' rise; Mandal Commission appointed by Janata government

Party system changed.

How the board asks The Crisis of Democratic Order

The question patterns to expect, and the method that works for each.

Tricks to remember The Crisis of Democratic Order

Short memory aids. Say each one aloud once, then use it on a question the same day.

• June 1975 dates

  "12-24-25": HC verdict, SC partial stay, Emergency.

  Use it when: Declaration timeline.

• Background

  "EGBRJ": Economy, Gujarat, Bihar, Railway strike, Judiciary.

  Use it when: Causes.

• Lessons

  "Hard to kill, Armed rebellion only, Liberty valued, Voters punish".

  Use it when: 4-mark lessons answer.

• 1977 numbers

  "154 vs 295 (330 with allies)".

  Use it when: Results.

The Crisis of Democratic Order: board-level solved questions

Ordered from board level to HOTS. Cover the solution, write your own, then compare step by step.

Case-study practice (Section E style)

Read the situation, then answer every part. In the board paper this is a 4-mark question split into 1 + 1 + 1 + 1 marks.

Where the marks are

How a typical answer is split into step marks. Show every step: a right final answer alone rarely earns full marks.

Where students lose marks in The Crisis of Democratic Order

The slips examiners see most often, and what to write instead.

• ✗Mistake: Citing the economy as the official ground for Emergency

  Economic crisis was background.

  ✓Do this: Official ground: threat of internal disturbances under Article 352.

  Usually costs: 1 mark.

• ✗Mistake: Mixing Article 352 and 356

  Both emergency provisions.

  ✓Do this: 352: national emergency (used in 1975); 356: President's rule in states (used in Kerala 1959).

  Usually costs: 1 mark.

• ✗Mistake: Saying the Congress lost everywhere in 1977

  Overgeneralising the wave.

  ✓Do this: It nearly swept the south and kept seats in Maharashtra, Gujarat and Orissa.

  Usually costs: 1 mark.

• ✗Mistake: Writing about the dropped 'Controversies regarding Emergency' section

  Older guides include it.

  ✓Do this: It is not in the 2026-27 syllabus.

  Usually costs: Wasted time.

• ✗Mistake: Putting the Shah Commission before Emergency

  Odd-one-out confusion.

  ✓Do this: It was appointed in 1977 by the Janata government.

  Usually costs: 1 mark.

NCERT exercise guide: The Crisis of Democratic Order

What each exercise in the NCERT chapter tests, how to approach it, and a question of the same kind solved step by step. Questions here are written in our own words.

Practice questions on The Crisis of Democratic Order

Write each answer on paper first. Open the hint only if you are stuck, and the answer only when you have finished.

1. Q1 · 1 mark · MCQBoard level

   Emergency in 1975 was declared under:
   (a) Article 356
   (b) Article 352
   (c) Article 360
   (d) Article 51

   Hint

   External threat or internal disturbance.

   Answer

   (b).

2. Q2 · 1 mark · MCQBoard level

   Which case established that Parliament cannot amend the basic structure of the Constitution?
   (a) Raj Narain's election petition
   (b) Kesavananda Bharati
   (c) Shah Commission inquiry
   (d) The April 1976 habeas corpus case

   Hint

   1973.

   Answer

   (b).

3. Q3 · 1 mark · Assertion-reasonHarder board level

   Assertion (A): The Congress lost every Lok Sabha seat in Bihar and Uttar Pradesh in 1977.
   Reason (R): The impact of the Emergency, including forced sterilisations, was felt most in the northern states.
   Choose (a)-(d).

   Hint

   North-south difference.

   Answer

   (a) Both are true and R explains A (with the shift of middle castes as a further reason).

4. Q4 · 1 mark · MCQHarder board level

   Arrange in order: (i) Allahabad High Court verdict (ii) Kesavananda Bharati judgment (iii) Gujarat student agitation begins (iv) Supreme Court's habeas corpus ruling
   (a) ii, iii, i, iv
   (b) iii, ii, i, iv
   (c) ii, i, iii, iv
   (d) i, ii, iii, iv

   Hint

   1973, Jan 1974, June 1975, April 1976.

   Answer

   (a).

5. Q5 · 2 marks · Very short answerBoard level

   Why was the Shah Commission appointed and what did it find, as per the textbook? (2 marks)

   Hint

   Janata government, 1977.

   Answer

   It was appointed by the Janata Party government in 1977 to inquire into the Emergency period. The textbook cites its report as finding that the administration and police became vulnerable to political pressures and were turned into political instruments of the ruling party.

6. Q6 · 4 marks · Short answerHOTS / competency

   Suppose a school principal suspends the student council, bans the school magazine from printing anything without approval and punishes students for what they might do. When the council is restored, students vote out the principal's supporters. What lessons from 1975-77 does this mirror? (4 marks)

   Hint

   Censorship, preventive detention, 1977 verdict.

   Answer

   It mirrors suspension of democratic processes (Emergency), press censorship (prior approval), and preventive detention (punishing for apprehended acts). The vote mirrors 1977, when voters punished a government seen as anti-democratic, showing democracy is hard to end and voters value civil liberties. It also shows why safeguards matter: after 1977, internal emergency was limited to armed rebellion on written Cabinet advice.

7. Q7 · 4 marks · Short answerHarder board level

   In what way did the Emergency affect the party system in India? (4 marks)

   Hint

   Janata, non-Congressism, backward castes.

   Answer

   Opposition parties merged into the Janata Party to avoid dividing votes, and the Congress lost power at the Centre for the first time in 1977. Non-Congressism became a key opposition strategy. The Congress, no longer an umbrella party, relied on ideology and one leader. Backward castes gained importance: their shift helped Janata, northern states elected governments with backward caste leaders, and the Janata government appointed the Mandal Commission. Janata's instability and 1980 defeat showed voters also punish quarrelsome governments.

8. Q8 · 2 marks · Very short answerHarder board level

   Why did JP's call to the army, police and government employees worry the government? (2 marks)

   Hint

   Standstill.

   Answer

   JP asked them not to obey 'illegal and immoral orders' while announcing a nationwide satyagraha; this threatened to bring government activity to a standstill, and the government cited such threats of internal disturbance to declare Emergency.

Test your recall

Answer in your head or on paper first, then open the card. Pulling an answer out of memory makes it stick far better than re-reading.

1. 1.What was D. K. Barooah's slogan in 1974?Show answer

   'Indira is India, India is Indira'.

2. 2.Who led the 1974 railway strike?Show answer

   George Fernandes.

3. 3.Which President proclaimed the Emergency?Show answer

   Fakhruddin Ali Ahmed.

4. 4.Which organisations were banned during the Emergency?Show answer

   The RSS and Jamait-e-Islami.

5. 5.Which writers returned their awards in protest?Show answer

   Shivarama Karanth (Padma Bhushan) and Fanishwarnath Renu (Padma Shri).

6. 6.What did the 42nd Amendment do to legislatures' terms?Show answer

   Extended them from five to six years.

7. 7.What party did Jagjivan Ram form in 1977?Show answer

   Congress for Democracy, which later merged with the Janata Party.

8. 8.Which commission on backward classes did the Janata government appoint?Show answer

   The Mandal Commission.

Quick revision checklist

The night before the exam: can you do each of these without looking?

• ☐Can you list the economic causes of discontent?
• ☐Can you describe the Gujarat and Bihar movements and JP's role?
• ☐Can you explain the railway strike of 1974?
• ☐Can you state the three constitutional issues and Kesavananda Bharati?
• ☐Can you narrate events from 12 to 26 June 1975?
• ☐Can you list the consequences of Emergency?
• ☐Can you explain preventive detention and the 1976 ruling?
• ☐Can you state the lessons of Emergency?
• ☐Can you give the 1977 results and reasons?
• ☐Can you explain the Janata government's fall and the legacy?

The Crisis of Democratic Order: frequently asked questions