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INBRIEF
DEMOCRACY
PREVAILS IN INDIA
by
Stanley R. Rader
The author accompanies Plain
Truth Editor-in-Chief Herbert
W.
Armstrong on his frequent
visits with heads of state and
other leading international dig–
nítaries.
E
st March, sorne 300,000,000
oters
ot
the largest democracy
in the world cast their votes
and, for the first time in the
history of the world, a dictator–
shtp was overthrown in a free
election .
For almost two years lndira
Gandhi and a small clique had
ruled India with an iron hand. Vis–
ibly upset by increased criticism
coming from her political opposi–
tion , Mrs. Gandhi suspended
most of the civil liberties of the
country in June 1975 and de–
clared a state of emergency. 1t
seemed to most observers at that
time that democracy was
doomed.
As the state of emergency con–
tinuad throughout 1975 and all of
1976, Mrs. Gandhi defended her
positlon by claiming that only a
handful of malcontents were con–
cerned about the suspension of
democratic procedure.
Since Mrs. Gandhi ' s regime
had been hard on journalists and
other members
ot
the media, and
particularly severe with foreign
journalists, Mr. Armstrong and
1
were unable to visit India since
the state of emergency had been
declared. Having developed many
close friendships over the years
with the lndian people and their
leaders, we were watching care–
fully all of the events taking place
on that troubled subcontinent,
hoping that within a reasonably
The
PLAIN TRUTH June 1977
short period
ot
time Mrs. Gandhi
would see the light and would
end her declared state
ot
emer–
gency, which appeared to most
observers to have been instituted
to save her political career. We
were particularly concerned with
lndia's turther shift toward the left
and to the Soviet sphere of in–
tluence and with Mrs. Gandhi's
consisten! anti -American alti–
tudes.
We were not alone, therefore.
in being surprised to learn that
Mrs. Gandhi would permit an
election in what seemed to be an
unnecessary political risk on her
part. But perhaps she had simply
underestimated the discontent
over her leadership, her efforts to
pave the way
tor
her 30-year-old
son Sanjay to be her political
successor, and perhaps first and
foremost, her policy
ot
birth con–
trol and torced sterillzation of
males. Perhaps the mere two
months' notice
ot
the elections
given to her political opposition–
many of whom had been jailed by
Mrs. Gandhi-was conceived by
her as inadequate to allow an ef–
fective campaign against her and
her party.
In any event, Mrs. Gandhi op–
ted for an election, and more
than 300,000,000 lndians, sorne
three-quarters
ot
whom were illit–
erate, tound their way to the bal–
lot boxes and cast their
resounding vote against Mrs.
Gandhi and her política! regime.
In fact, Mrs. Gandhi tailed to win
election in her own district and
thus lost even her own parlia–
mentary seat. Her son Sanjay was
overwhelmingly defeated in his
first political effort for elective of–
tice.
Thus, the democratic process
has brought to an end the incred–
ible political dynasty that has
shaped lndia's destiny ever since
its independence 30 years ago.
What líes ahead for India re–
mains to be seen. A few years
ago, when we last met Mrs. Gan–
dhi tace to tace, she stated em–
phatically that she and her fellow
lndians were well aware that their
country was confronted with
every concetvable problem that
has plagued mankind in its trou–
bled history, but that India was
working as best it could to re–
salve or amellorate those condi–
tions.
Untortunately, under Mrs. Gan–
dhi's leadership, India did not
make the kind
ot
progress that
had been hoped for in its fight
against poverty, disease. illiter–
acy , unemployment, tamine .
drought and overpopulation-just
to name a few
ot
the woes of a
much afflicted people. Srnce
1973, in fact, the condition
ot
the
peoples in the developing coun–
tries, or the so-called Third World,
has not improved, primarily be–
cause
ot
the horrendous impact
ot
worldwide inflation that has fol–
lowed the exorbitant increase in
the cost of energy.
lt will take considerable time for
Mrs. Gandhi 's successors to form
a stable government and to begin
coping with the problems they
have inherited. We hope that our
government and other govern–
ments will do what is possible to
help India and its people. We in
the United States have always felt
close to the people of India, de–
spite thetr government's policies
in recent years . In addition,
whenever and wherever democ–
racy is threatened, we too are
threatened, and whatever we can
do to shore up the foundations of
the largest democracy in the
world will inure to the benefit of
every American and every person
who chenshes liberty and the
other fruits of the democratic pro–
cess.
o
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