PoliticsRise of Dravidian rule

National Emergency declared

· New Delhi

National Emergency declared
Unknown, dedicated to Bettmann Archive, Public domain · Wikimedia Commons

Indira Gandhi's government declared a national Emergency; the DMK government in Tamil Nadu opposed it.

On 25 June 1975 President Fakhruddin Ali Ahmed declared a state of Emergency on the advice of Prime Minister Indira Gandhi, suspending civil liberties and imposing press censorship. Thousands of opposition leaders were detained under laws such as MISA. Tamil Nadu under the DMK government was one of the few states governed by an opposition party, and it criticised the Emergency. The Emergency led to the dismissal of the Karunanidhi government in January 1976.

Related events

  1. 1974

    1. 1974New DelhiDiplomacy

      Sirima-Gandhi Pact on stateless persons of Indian origin

      India and Sri Lanka agreed on the future of the 150,000 persons of Indian origin whose status had been left open by the 1964 Sirima-Shastri Pact.

  2. 1976

    1. 1976Madras Central PrisonConflict

      DMK workers jailed under MISA during the Emergency

      After the DMK government's dismissal, many party workers including M. K. Stalin were jailed in Madras Central Prison under MISA.

    2. 31 Jan 1976 to 30 Jun 1977ChennaiPolitics

      Karunanidhi government dismissed; President's rule imposed

      During the Emergency the Union government dismissed the DMK ministry and imposed President's rule in Tamil Nadu.

    3. Feb 1976ChennaiLaw Justice

      Sarkaria Commission of Inquiry into the DMK government

      A one-man commission under Justice R. S. Sarkaria was appointed to inquire into corruption charges against the dismissed DMK government.

  3. 1977

    1. Mar 1977ChennaiPolitics

      Congress-AIADMK alliance wins 34 Lok Sabha seats in Tamil Nadu

      In the post-Emergency Lok Sabha election, the Congress-AIADMK-CPI alliance won 34 of Tamil Nadu's 39 seats even as the Janata Party took power nationally.

  4. 2011

    1. 2 Feb 2011 to 21 Dec 2017New DelhiLaw Justice

      2G spectrum case arrests

      Former Telecom Minister A. Raja and later Kanimozhi were arrested in the 2G spectrum case; a special court acquitted all accused in 2017.

Open in the timeline explorer