Post Indian Independence

With her politically adept slogans like ‘Garibi Hatao’ (or Eradicate Poverty) aimed directly at the masses, her authoritarian style of governance and the scant respect she showed for democratic procedures, Indira Gandhi epitomized ‘populism’ in India. But, as elsewhere, populism can gain short-term attention but it damages the fabric of democracy in a country.

·        Mrs. Gandhi imposed an internal emergency from 1975 to 1977 during which civil liberties were suspended, opposition party members were imprisoned, no dissent was tolerated and media was censored. This episode is considered as the darkest period of Indian democracy. This authoritarian measure was justified by a 20-point program for social and economic reform.

·        In 1969, she nationalized 14 commercial bank ostensibly for promoting more inclusive growth, easy loans for the ‘priority sector’ and for providing easy credit to the poor especially small farmers. The measure has failed in the long term and the PSBs are lagged far behind their private counterparts.

·        As her stature rose, the congress party which acted as an umbrella organization, capable of negotiating and accepting different strands on ideological spectrum, deteriorated and its internal democracy was irrevocably damaged. Such inability to accept competing voices led to a split in the Congress party.

·        The precedence set by Mrs. Gandhi of the dynastic succession has inspired other regional leader to propagate dynasty culture in Indian politics. Same is the case with the Congress party.

Thus, Indira Gandhi’s populism couldn’t lift the Indian poor out of poverty but it left serious scars on the Indian democracy and the party system in India.