CBSE Class 12 · The Crisis of Democratic Order

Background to the Emergency: Why 1975 Became a Crisis (Class 12 Political Science)

Updated 16 October 2026 · Fact-checked

Before June 1975, prices rose by 23 per cent in 1973 and 30 per cent in 1974, the monsoon failed and unemployment was high. Students in Gujarat and Bihar protested, Jayaprakash Narayan called for Total Revolution, railway workers struck in May 1974, and government and judiciary clashed over rights and the Constitution.

Notice how price rise, failed monsoon and joblessness fed the protests, and with the clash with the courts, led to the Emergency.

Illustration drawn for QuestionBuddy.

Understand Background to the Emergency

Why this topic matters. Chapter 6 carries 4 of the 80 theory marks, and the background to the Emergency supplies many of its questions: the Gujarat and Bihar movements, JP, the railway strike and the conflict with the judiciary. NCERT sections: 'Background to Emergency', 'Economic context', 'Gujarat and Bihar movements', 'Conflict with Judiciary'.

1. The political mood after 1971. Indira Gandhi had emerged as a towering leader with tremendous popularity, but party competition became bitter and polarised. Opposition parties felt politics was becoming too personalised and governmental authority was being converted into personal authority; the Congress split had sharpened the divide. NCERT also prints a 1974 slogan of the Congress President, D.K. Barooah: 'Indira is India, India is Indira'.

2. The economic context.

Pressure	Detail
Bangladesh crisis	A heavy strain on the economy; about eight million people crossed from East Pakistan; war followed; the US stopped all aid
Oil and prices	Oil prices rose manifold; prices rose 23 per cent in 1973 and 30 per cent in 1974
Growth and jobs	Low industrial growth, very high unemployment, especially in rural areas
Government employees	To cut spending the government froze salaries, causing more dissatisfaction
Monsoon	Monsoons failed in 1972-73; food grain output fell by 8 per cent

In this setting non-Congress opposition parties could organise popular protest effectively. Student unrest of the late 1960s grew, and Marxist-Leninist (now Maoist) groups, or Naxalites, who did not believe in parliamentary politics, took to arms; they were particularly strong in West Bengal, where the State government took stringent measures to suppress them.

3. Gujarat (1974-75). In January 1974 students started an agitation against rising prices of food grains, cooking oil and other essentials, and against corruption in high places. Major opposition parties joined; President's rule was imposed. Morarji Desai, a prominent Congress (O) leader, said he would go on an indefinite fast if fresh elections were not held. Elections were held in June 1975 and the Congress was defeated.

4. Bihar (from March 1974).

Students protested against rising prices, food scarcity, unemployment and corruption, and invited Jayaprakash Narayan (JP), who had given up active politics for social work. He agreed on condition that the movement stayed non-violent and did not limit itself to Bihar.
JP demanded the dismissal of the Bihar Congress government and called for Total Revolution in the social, economic and political spheres. Bandhs, gehraos and strikes followed; the government refused to resign. In 1975 JP led a people's march to Parliament, backed by the Jana Sangh, Congress (O), Bharatiya Lok Dal, Socialist Party and others.
Both movements were seen as protests against Indira Gandhi's leadership rather than only against State governments. She believed the movement was motivated by personal opposition to her.

5. The railway strike (May 1974). The National Coordination Committee for Railwaymen's Struggle, led by George Fernandes, called a nationwide strike on bonus and service conditions. The government declared it illegal, arrested leaders and deployed the territorial army on tracks. It was called off after twenty days without settlement. It raised the question of workers' rights and whether employees of essential services should strike.

6. Conflict with the judiciary. The Supreme Court ruled that Parliament cannot abridge Fundamental Rights, nor curtail the right to property by amendment, and rejected a provision allowing Fundamental Rights to be abridged to give effect to Directive Principles; this culminated in the Kesavananda Bharati case and its doctrine that some basic features of the Constitution cannot be amended. The Congress alleged the Court was a conservative institution blocking pro-poor programmes. In 1973 the government set aside the seniority of three judges, who had all ruled against its stand, and appointed Justice A.N. Ray Chief Justice. People close to the Prime Minister spoke of a judiciary and bureaucracy 'committed' to the vision of the executive and legislature. The climax was the Allahabad High Court judgment of 12 June 1975 (see the next topic).

Key quotations

Short lines worth knowing by heart: who says them, when, and why they matter.

Indira is India, India is Indira
D. K. Barooah, President of the Congress, 1974, as cited in NCERT Chapter 6: A slogan of the period.
A slogan reproduced in the chapter; quote it with its author and year, without adding a judgement.
committed
People close to the Prime Minister, as reported in NCERT Chapter 6: A judiciary and bureaucracy committed to the vision of the executive and legislature.
Names the idea that alarmed the judiciary and critics.

Background to the Emergency: key facts

Economy numbers: About 8 million refugees
US aid stopped
Prices +23% in 1973
Prices +30% in 1974
Food grain output -8% in 1972-73
Salaries frozen; Four-mark answers need two figures.
The two movements: Gujarat: January 1974, prices and corruption, President's rule, elections June 1975, Congress defeated | Bihar: March 1974, JP, Total Revolution, march to Parliament 1975; Students led both.
Railway strike: May 1974
George Fernandes
Declared illegal
Territorial army
Called off after twenty days; No settlement.
Judiciary: Fundamental Rights issues
Kesavananda Bharati
1973 supersession of three judges
A.N. Ray
Committed judiciary; Constitutional crisis.

How to answer Background to the Emergency questions

Background answers are strongest when they show how separate pressures built on each other, with a figure or name for each.

1List the four pressures: economy, student movements, labour unrest, the clash with the judiciary.
2Give one number: 23 and 30 per cent price rise, or 8 per cent fall in food grains, or eight million refugees.
3Name leaders and dates: JP in Bihar, Morarji Desai in Gujarat, George Fernandes and May 1974.
4Mention that the movements were read as protests against the leadership of the Prime Minister.
5For the judiciary give Kesavananda Bharati, the 1973 supersession and the word "committed".
6Write about parties and leaders in the neutral way the book does.

Background to the Emergency in real life

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

Imported inflation

A school canteen buys its cooking gas from outside. When the gas price shoots up, the canteen raises the price of almost every item: by nearly a quarter one year and by nearly a third the next.

Which price rise of the early 1970s does this resemble, and which international factor did NCERT link to it? (2 marks)

Try it first, then show the solutionSolution

Prices rose by 23 per cent in 1973 and 30 per cent in 1974.
NCERT says oil prices increased manifold in the international market in this period.
This led to an all-round increase in the prices of commodities, causing much hardship.

Answer: It resembles the inflation of 1973-74, when prices rose by 23 per cent in 1973 and 30 per cent in 1974. NCERT links it to the manifold increase in oil prices in the international market, which led to an all-round rise in the prices of commodities and caused much hardship to the people.

Memory hook: Oil up, everything up.

A movement widening beyond its start

Students in one school protest a rise in canteen prices. They invite a respected retired teacher to lead them. He agrees only if the protest stays peaceful and is not confined to their school.

Which movement of 1974 does this resemble, and what were the two conditions? (2 marks)

Try it first, then show the solutionSolution

Students inviting a respected elder resembles the Bihar movement and Jayaprakash Narayan.
JP accepted if the movement stayed non-violent and did not limit itself to Bihar.

Answer: It resembles the Bihar students' movement of 1974, which invited Jayaprakash Narayan to lead. He accepted on the condition that the movement remained non-violent and would not limit itself to Bihar, so it assumed a political character with national appeal.

Memory hook: Peaceful and wider than Bihar.

Tricks to remember Background to the Emergency

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

23-30-8
Prices +23 per cent (1973), +30 per cent (1974); food grains -8 per cent.
Use it when: Economic figures.
G then B
Gujarat in January 1974, Bihar in March 1974.
Use it when: Order of the movements.
Twenty-day strike
Railwaymen struck in May 1974 and gave up after twenty days.
Use it when: Railway strike facts.

Background to the Emergency: solved examples

Ordered from board level to HOTS. Try each one before you open the solution.

Example 1: When Gujarat began · 1 mark · MCQBoard level

The students' agitation in Gujarat against rising prices and corruption in high places began in:
(a) January 1974
(b) March 1974
(c) May 1974
(d) June 1975

Try it first, then show the solutionSolution

NCERT: students in Gujarat started the agitation in January 1974; the Bihar protest began in March 1974 (1 mark).

Answer: (a) January 1974

Example 2: A committed judiciary · 2 marks · Very short answerBoard level

What did people close to the Prime Minister mean when they spoke of a "committed" judiciary and bureaucracy, and why was the idea controversial? (2 marks)

Try it first, then show the solutionSolution

Meaning (1 mark).
Why controversial (1 mark).

Answer: They meant a judiciary and a bureaucracy committed to the vision of the executive and the legislature. It was controversial because it came after a conflict in which the Supreme Court had struck down government measures and after the government had set aside the seniority of three judges who had ruled against it, and NCERT itself asks whether a "committed" judiciary and bureaucracy would mean judges and officials loyal to the ruling party, which would weaken their independence.

Example 3: Assertion and reason: the Bihar movement · 1 mark · Assertion-reasonHarder board level

Assertion (A): The students' movement in Bihar acquired a national appeal.
Reason (R): Jayaprakash Narayan agreed to lead it on the condition that it would remain non-violent and would not limit itself to Bihar.
(a) Both A and R are true and R is the correct explanation of A.
(b) Both A and R are true but R is not the correct explanation of A.
(c) A is true but R is false.
(d) A is false but R is true.

Try it first, then show the solutionSolution

NCERT: the movement assumed a political character with national appeal because of JP's condition (1 mark).

Answer: (a) Both A and R are true and R is the correct explanation of A.

Example 4: Two movements compared · 4 marks · Short answerHarder board level

Compare the student movements in Gujarat and Bihar on their beginning, leadership and outcome. (4 marks)

Try it first, then show the solutionSolution

Beginning (1 mark).
Leadership (1 mark).
Outcome in Gujarat (1 mark).
Outcome in Bihar (1 mark).

Answer: The Gujarat movement began in January 1974 as an agitation by students against rising prices of food grains, cooking oil and other essentials and against corruption in high places; the Bihar movement began in March 1974 against rising prices, food scarcity, unemployment and corruption. In Gujarat the protest was joined by major opposition parties, and Morarji Desai threatened an indefinite fast for fresh elections; in Bihar the students invited Jayaprakash Narayan, who gave the call for Total Revolution. In Gujarat President's rule was imposed, elections were held in June 1975 and the Congress was defeated. In Bihar the government refused to resign despite bandhs, gehraos and strikes, and JP led a people's march to Parliament in 1975, giving the movement a national reach.

Example 5: Source-based: the railway strike of 1974 · 4 marks · Source-basedHarder board level

Read the passage (based on an NCERT box) and choose the most appropriate answer for each question.

The National Coordination Committee for Railwaymen's Struggle, led by George Fernandes, called a nationwide strike by all employees of the Railways to press demands about bonus and service conditions. The strike began in May 1974. The government declared it illegal, refused to concede the demands, arrested many leaders and deployed the territorial army to protect the railway tracks. The strike had to be called off after twenty days without any settlement. It raised issues like the rights of workers and whether employees of essential services should use measures like strikes.

(i) The strike was led by:
(A) Jayaprakash Narayan (B) George Fernandes (C) Morarji Desai (D) Charan Singh
(ii) The demands of the strike concerned:
(A) land reform (B) bonus and service conditions (C) the privy purse (D) press freedom
(iii) How did the government respond?
(A) Accepted all demands (B) Declared the strike illegal, arrested leaders and deployed the territorial army (C) Transferred the railways to the States (D) Held a referendum
(iv) How did the strike end?
(A) With a full settlement (B) Called off after twenty days without any settlement (C) After a court order (D) After a change of government

Try it first, then show the solutionSolution

(i) (B) (1 mark).
(ii) (B) (1 mark).
(iii) (B) (1 mark).
(iv) (B) (1 mark).

Answer: (i) (B) George Fernandes; (ii) (B) bonus and service conditions; (iii) (B) Declared the strike illegal, arrested leaders and deployed the territorial army; (iv) (B) Called off after twenty days without any settlement.

Example 6: Long answer: protest and democracy · 6 marks · Long answerHOTS / competency

NCERT asks what the correct balance is between the routine functioning of a democratic government and continuous political protest. Discuss with reference to the movements of 1974-75, giving the case of those who supported and those who criticised them. (6 marks)

Try it first, then show the solutionSolution

The movements (1.5 marks).
The case for protest (1.5 marks).
The case for limits (1.5 marks).
Reasoned conclusion (1.5 marks).

Answer: In 1974-75 students in Gujarat and Bihar protested against rising prices, scarcity, unemployment and corruption, and Jayaprakash Narayan gave a call for Total Revolution, backed by opposition parties. Railway workers struck for twenty days. These protests brought pressure on the Congress governments in Gujarat, which saw President's rule and a defeat in the June 1975 elections, and in Bihar.

The case for protest is that economic distress was real: prices rose 23 and 30 per cent in two years, food grain output fell and unemployment was very high. Peaceful mass protest was a way for people to express grievances that party politics did not carry, and JP insisted the Bihar movement be non-violent.

The case for limits is that continuous agitation, with bandhs, gehraos and strikes, can paralyse an elected government. The railway strike threatened to paralyse the country. NCERT notes many criticisms of JP's ideas and of the politics of mass agitation, and the government saw the movements as aimed at the leadership of the Prime Minister rather than at state governments; the Prime Minister believed the movement was motivated by personal opposition to her. Later JP asked the army, the police and government employees not to obey illegal and immoral orders, which alarmed the government.

A reasoned conclusion is that peaceful protest is part of democracy, but it must stay within limits that allow elected governments to function; NCERT leaves the question open as one that democracies must keep debating.

Where students lose marks in Background to the Emergency

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

Mistake: Mixing the years of the price rise
Two figures are close.
Wrong working
Prices rose 30 per cent in 1973.
Right working
Prices rose 23 per cent in 1973 and 30 per cent in 1974.
Do this: Learn 23-30 as 1973-1974.
Usually costs: 1 mark.
Mistake: Putting Gujarat and Bihar in the wrong order
Both were 1974.
Wrong working
The Bihar movement began before the Gujarat movement.
Right working
Gujarat began in January 1974 and Bihar in March 1974.
Do this: G before B.
Usually costs: 1 mark.
Mistake: Treating the railway strike as successful
Its end is forgotten.
Wrong working
The railway strike won its demands.
Right working
It was called off after twenty days without any settlement.
Do this: Add "no settlement".
Usually costs: 1 mark.
Mistake: Leaving out the judiciary in the background
Only economic causes are listed.
Wrong working
The crisis was only about prices and protests.
Right working
The conflict with the judiciary (Kesavananda Bharati, the 1973 supersession of three judges) was part of the background.
Do this: Cover economy, movements, labour and judiciary.
Usually costs: 2 marks.

Exam tips

Asked in: 2026 board paper 59/2/2 Q17 (2 marks, reasons for the Gujarat students' movement) and 59/3/1 Q9 (1 mark, year of the railway strike); 2025 board paper 59/7/1 Q19 (4 marks, objectives and means of the Bihar movement); 2023 board papers 59/1/1 Q9 and 59/1/2 Q10 (1 mark, who called the railway strike) and 59/3/1 Q16 (2 marks, constitutional crisis); 2026-27 sample paper Q23 (4 marks, conflict between judiciary and executive). Answers here are our own.
Carry at least one figure in every background answer.
Write Gujarat first (January 1974), then Bihar (March 1974).
Use the word "committed" when you write about the judiciary.
Describe parties and leaders neutrally, as NCERT does.

Practice questions on Background to the Emergency

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

Q1 · 1 mark · MCQBoard level
In 1972-73, the failure of the monsoons caused food grain output to decline by about:
(a) 3 per cent
(b) 8 per cent
(c) 15 per cent
(d) 23 per cent
Hint
Prices were up 23 and 30 per cent; food grain output was not.
Answer
(b) 8 per cent
Q2 · 2 marks · Very short answerBoard level
What did the parties opposed to the Congress feel about the nature of politics in the early 1970s? Give two points. (2 marks)
Hint
Personalised politics; authority; the split.
Answer
They felt that politics was becoming too personalised and that governmental authority was being converted into personal authority. The split in the Congress had also sharpened the divisions between Indira Gandhi and her opponents, and party competition had become bitter and polarised.
Q3 · 2 marks · Very short answerHarder board level
Why did the government's relations with its own employees become strained in 1973-74? Name one large group whose strike added to labour unrest in 1974. (2 marks)
Hint
Salaries frozen; prices; railway strike.
Answer
To reduce expenditure the government froze the salaries of its employees at a time when prices were rising sharply (23 per cent in 1973 and 30 per cent in 1974), which caused further dissatisfaction among them. The strike by the employees of the Railways, India's largest public sector undertaking, in May 1974 over bonus and service conditions added to the atmosphere of labour unrest.
Q4 · 1 mark · Assertion-reasonHarder board level
Assertion (A): The Gujarat agitation of 1974 led to the imposition of President's rule in the State.
Reason (R): The students' protest was joined by major opposition parties and became widespread.
(a) Both A and R are true and R is the correct explanation of A.
(b) Both A and R are true but R is not the correct explanation of A.
(c) A is true but R is false.
(d) A is false but R is true.
Hint
What made the protest widespread?
Answer
(a) Both A and R are true and R is the correct explanation of A.
Q5 · 4 marks · Short answerHarder board level
Explain how the movements in Gujarat and Bihar came to be seen as protests against the leadership of the Prime Minister and not merely against State governments. (4 marks)
Hint
Both States were Congress-ruled; opposition support; her belief.
Answer
Both Gujarat and Bihar were ruled by the Congress. The protests were against rising prices and corruption, but the major opposition parties joined and, in Bihar, JP demanded the dismissal of the Congress government and spoke of Total Revolution; the opposition parties projected JP as an alternative to Indira Gandhi. Because of this, the agitations were seen as anti-Congress and as protests against her leadership rather than only against State governments. The Prime Minister herself believed that the movement was motivated by personal opposition to her.
Q6 · 4 marks · Short answerHOTS / competency
Both the Naxalites and the movement led by Jayaprakash Narayan challenged the established order in the early 1970s. Compare their methods and their attitude to parliamentary politics. (4 marks)
Hint
Arms and insurgency versus non-violence; parliamentary politics; State response; support.
Answer
The Naxalites, the Marxist-Leninist (now Maoist) groups, did not believe in parliamentary politics. They took to arms and insurgent techniques to overthrow the capitalist order and the established political system, and they were particularly strong in West Bengal, where the State government took stringent measures to suppress them. The movement led by Jayaprakash Narayan worked through mass, non-violent protest: JP agreed to lead the Bihar students only on the condition that the movement remained non-violent. It demanded the dismissal of the Bihar government, called for total revolution to establish what JP considered true democracy, and used bandhs, gehraos and strikes and a people's march to Parliament in 1975, with the support of non-Congress opposition parties. So the Naxalites rejected the parliamentary system itself, while JP's movement sought change through popular pressure on the elected system, though NCERT notes many criticisms of his ideas and of the politics of mass agitation.
Q7 · 6 marks · Long answerHOTS / competency
The slogan of 1971 was "Garibi Hatao", but the conditions of 1972-74 left many people worse off. Examine how this gap between promise and reality helped create the protests of 1974. (6 marks)
Hint
Bangladesh crisis; aid; oil; prices; monsoon; unemployment; protests.
Answer
In the 1971 election the Congress gave the slogan of garibi hatao, but the social and economic condition of the country did not improve much after 1971-72. The Bangladesh crisis put a heavy strain on the economy: about eight million people crossed over from East Pakistan, and after the war the US stopped all aid. Oil prices increased manifold in the international market, so prices of commodities rose by 23 per cent in 1973 and 30 per cent in 1974.
Industrial growth was low and unemployment, especially in rural areas, was very high. To reduce expenditure the government froze salaries, and the monsoon failed in 1972-73, so food grain output fell by 8 per cent. NCERT says such a high level of inflation caused much hardship to the people.
There was a general atmosphere of dissatisfaction, and non-Congress opposition parties were able to organise popular protests effectively. Students in Gujarat and Bihar protested against prices, scarcity, unemployment and corruption; JP gave the call for Total Revolution; the railway employees struck in May 1974. Marxist-Leninist groups also became more active. NCERT places these movements in this general atmosphere of dissatisfaction with the economic situation, and notes that the Gujarat and Bihar agitations were seen as protests against the leadership of Indira Gandhi.

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.How many people crossed from East Pakistan into India according to NCERT?Show answer
About eight million.
2.Which body, led by George Fernandes, called the nationwide railway strike of 1974?Show answer
The National Coordination Committee for Railwaymen's Struggle.
3.Which party did Morarji Desai belong to in 1974-75?Show answer
Congress (O).
4.For how many days did the railway strike last?Show answer
Twenty days.
5.Who became Chief Justice of India after the supersession of three judges in 1973?Show answer
Justice A.N. Ray.
6.In which month and year did the Gujarat Assembly election take place?Show answer
June 1975.

Background to the Emergency: frequently asked questions

Why does NCERT mention the Naxalites in this chapter?

Because the activity of armed Marxist-Leninist groups was part of the atmosphere of unrest in the early 1970s, especially in West Bengal.

Was JP a political leader before 1974?

NCERT says he had given up active politics and was involved in social work when students invited him to lead the Bihar movement.

What was the third constitutional issue in the judiciary dispute?

Parliament amended the Constitution to say it could abridge Fundamental Rights to give effect to Directive Principles; the Supreme Court rejected this too.

Where are the Allahabad High Court judgment and the proclamation covered?

In the next topic, on the declaration of the Emergency, its consequences and its lessons; this page stops at the background.