The book is a critical expose of emergency provisions of the Constitution, the Constitution Assembly Debates and India's experience in dealing with emergency situation. There have been three emergencies in the last six decades on the ground of grave threat to the sovereignty of India. Every time they were prolonged beyond the conditions for their imposition ceased to exist and preventive detention laws were employed to silence opposition.
Special attention is given to the Internal Emergency of 1975 with mass detention, legal battles, condition of detention and judgments during the darkest period of Indian democracy so also the Constitutional Amendments during this period and the 44th Constitutional Amendment of 1979 designed to put civil liberty on stronger footing are analysed. To put this era under the spot light after 35 years and in a different century is a formidable task because many are unable to capture the past and those who participated have an established opinion.
The book also includes the wit humour of the detenues undaunted courage of those inside and out side prison who carried valiant struggle against this Emergency, so also courage of few and weakness of others in power and ultimate triumph of democracy. The allied subjects viz Martial Law and Constituent Assembly debates on preventive detention and amendments to preventive detention laws are also included.
Written with clarity the book will be a fund of information to those interested in the political history of India and constitutional developments. It will be equally useful to the journalists, students of political and social sciences besides the general reading public in India and abroad.
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