Between June 25, 1975 and March 21, 1977, India witnessed a twenty-one month phase of national emergency authorized by the then prime minister, Indira Gandhi. During this period, the national government ruled by decree, imposing a state of exception and suspending democratic modalities of governance, including civil liberties, human rights, and elections. During this period, dissenting civil society leaders, marginalized communities, political opposition, the intelligentsia, and the freedom of the press, were targeted.
Curation and Collaboration: The Shah Commission of Inquiry materials made available here are curated by the Political Conflict, Gender and People’s Rights Initiative, (PCRes), Center for Race and Gender, University of California, Berkeley and Stanford Libraries, in collaboration with the Ashoka University Archives of Contemporary India Collection, Sonepat, Haryana and Dr. Christophe Jaffrelot, Dr. Sunil Khilnani, and Pratinav Anil.