Revision: Indian History >> Challenges to Indian Democracy (1964-1977) History ISC (Arts) Class 12 CISCE

Key Points: Main Leaders of the Movement

Key Points: Government Measures Against the Naxal Movement

The government treated the Naxalite movement as a serious threat to law and democracy.
Joint army–police operations were launched in affected regions of West Bengal, Bihar and Orissa (1971).
Large-scale arrests were made and arms, ammunition and explosives were seized.
Charu Majumdar was arrested and died in custody, marking the end of the first phase.
The movement continued in new forms, leading the government to propose a 14-Point Plan.

Key Points: Role of the Syndicate, Factionalism and 1967 Elections

After Jawaharlal Nehru’s death, K.K. Kamaraj and the Congress group called “The Syndicate” played a key role in selecting Lal Bahadur Shastri (1964) and later Indira Gandhi (1966) as Prime Minister.
After Shastri’s sudden death, the Syndicate preferred Indira Gandhi over Morarji Desai, believing she would be a weak leader, but she soon asserted her independence.
The 1967 General Elections marked the first major setback to Congress, as it lost seats in Parliament and lost power in eight states, though it retained control at the Centre.
Opposition parties came together for the first time to form anti-Congress fronts, with parties like Jan Sangh, Swatantra Party, SSP and Communists emerging strongly in different states.
Serious differences arose between Indira Gandhi and the Syndicate (Old Guards) over policies like bank nationalisation, economic control and leadership style.
The conflict deepened during the Presidential election of 1969, when Indira Gandhi supported V.V. Giri against the Syndicate’s candidate Sanjiva Reddy, leading to her expulsion from the party.
This resulted in the split of Congress in 1969 into Congress (O) led by Morarji Desai and Congress (R) led by Indira Gandhi (later Congress-I), with Indira Gandhi retaining power and ruling with support from the CPI.

Key Points: Naxal Movement and Cause of Its Rise

The roots of the Naxal Movement can be traced to the Telangana peasant movement (1948–52), led by the Communist Party, which protested against unequal land distribution and resulted in partial land reforms.
The term “Naxalite” comes from Naxalbari village in West Bengal, where in 1967 a violent peasant uprising was led by Kanu Sanyal and Jangal Santhal, demanding land redistribution through armed struggle.
The movement gained momentum after a police inspector was killed during a clash between tribals and police, which encouraged widespread participation of poor peasants and Santhal tribals.
The leaders were initially members of CPI (Marxist), but the party opposed armed rebellion and expelled the leaders, leading to the independent growth of the Naxalite movement.
A major cause of the movement was the failure of the government to implement the Fifth and Ninth Schedules of the Constitution, meant to protect tribal lands and redistribute surplus land.
Displacement of tribals and peasants due to mining projects, forest exploitation, land alienation and corruption increased resentment and made people vulnerable to Naxalite ideology.
Charu Majumdar emerged as a key ideologue, advocating a Maoist-style armed agrarian revolution, seizure of land from jotedars, rejection of parliamentary politics and establishment of a people’s government.

Key Points: J P Movement (1974-75)

The JP Movement began in 1974 in Bihar after the success of the Nav Nirman Movement in Gujarat, and it was led by Jayaprakash Narayan (JP) against corruption and misrule in the Bihar government.
The movement was mainly supported by students and opposition student groups like ABVP, SYS, Lok Dal student wings and AISF, and the students formed Bihar Chhatra Sangharsh Samiti (BCSS) with Lalu Prasad Yadav as President.
The agitation became violent with gheraos, strikes and protests, leading to police firing in Patna and Gaya, where several students were killed, increasing public anger and strengthening the movement.
JP launched the idea of “Total Revolution” (Sampurna Kranti) and demanded removal of the Congress government, which later helped in uniting opposition parties and finally led to the formation of the Janata Party.
The movement became nationwide after the Allahabad High Court cancelled Indira Gandhi’s election (12 June 1975), and soon after, she imposed a National Emergency on 25 June 1975, arresting JP and many opposition leaders and censoring the press.

Key Points: Emergency (1975–1976)

The Emergency was declared by Prime Minister Indira Gandhi on 25 June 1975, after strong opposition movements led by JP (Jayaprakash Narayan) against corruption, misrule, and inflation.
The Bihar Student Movement (1974) became very powerful, supported by groups like ABVP, SYS, Lok Dal and AISF, and led by BCSS (Bihar Chhatra Sangharsh Samiti) under Lalu Prasad Yadav.
A major reason behind Emergency was the Allahabad High Court verdict (12 June 1975), which declared Indira Gandhi’s 1971 election invalid due to electoral malpractice.
JP demanded Total Revolution (Sampurna Kranti) and called for nationwide protests, even urging the army, police and bureaucracy to follow the Constitution instead of Indira Gandhi.
During Emergency, Fundamental Rights were suspended, press censorship was imposed, and the Prime Minister gained power to rule by decree, making it a dark phase for Indian democracy.
Thousands of opposition leaders like JP, Morarji Desai, Vajpayee, Advani, Charan Singh, Raj Narayan etc. were arrested, and organizations like RSS and Jamaat-e-Islami were banned.
Emergency faced strong criticism due to mass arrests without trial, torture, forced sterilization drive (Sanjay Gandhi), demolition of slums (Turkmen Gate), misuse of laws and Constitution amendments, and strict control over media, books and films.

Revocation of Emergency & Its Impact (1977)

Indira Gandhi revoked the Emergency on 21 March 1977 and announced General Elections, ending the authoritarian phase of Indian democracy.
Under the guidance of Jayaprakash Narayan (JP), opposition parties united to form the Janata Party, which won a massive victory in the March 1977 elections.
The Congress Party suffered a crushing defeat, winning only 153 Lok Sabha seats, while the Janata Party and its allies won a clear majority; Morarji Desai became the first non-Congress Prime Minister of India.
A major reason for withdrawal was national and international criticism, as Indira Gandhi was portrayed as a dictator and reports like Amnesty International highlighted large-scale arrests without trial.
Public anger against misuse of laws like MISA, mass arrests and suppression of freedoms resulted in the historic defeat of Congress, forcing Indira Gandhi to resign and restore democratic processes.