1975 REIGN OF TERROR

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The Allahabad High Court found Indira Gandhi guilty of electoral malpractices, and she declared national Emergency on June 26, announcing on air that it was a necessary response to the “deep and widespread conspiracy which has been brewing ever since I began to introduce certain progressive measures of benefit to the common man and woman of India”. Thousands, including Opposition firebrands like Jayaprakash Narayan, George Fernandes, Atal Bihari Vajpayee, were held under misa—the Maintenance of Internal Security Act, dubbed the Maintenance of Indira and Sanjay Act.

FREAK TRAGEDY

India’s worst coal mine disaster occurred in Chas Nala mine near Dhanabad on December 26—372 people inside the mine perished as a result of caving in of a roof of coal, which let in seven million gallons of water per minute. The Indian Iron and Steel Company, which owned the mine, said it conformed to international standards.

FIRST CUT

Durba Banerjee became the first professional woman pilot in the world to command a commercial passenger flight.

Shireen Kiyash became the only person to have represented India in three different sports—basketball, hockey and cricket.

India’s first electric typewriter was produced by Hindustan Teleprinters Ltd.

elected the first ever woman 1975

“IF WE CAN CELEBRATE CHILDREN’S DAY, WHY NOT KISAN DAY?”

Raj Narain

The irrepressible Raj Narain not only challenged the authority of Indira Gandhi and ultimately led to her downfall in the elections of 1977, but also beat her in her own stronghold in Uttar Pradesh, Rae Bareily. When the court upheld the petition filed by the bandanna-donning Narain, accusing her of fraud in the 1971 polls, she became the first Indian prime minister to testify—for five hours in the Allahabad High Court

RETURN OF THE LION

Sheikh Abdullah, the Sher-e-Kashmir, had proclaimed himself the ‘prime minister’ of Jammu and Kashmir in 1948. He had demanded autonomy for the state in 1953. For all this, he was jailed for 11 years. After an exile, Abdullah was back to being the polestar of Kashmir in 1975 after Indira Gandhi reassured him that the special status conferred on the state by Article 370 would stay. The leader of the National Conference returned as chief minister in 1977, 23 years after being forced to give it up.

“KITNE AADMI THE?”

One of the biggest blockbusters in Bollywood history, G.P. Sippy’s Sholay, with its impressive cast and memorable dialogues, cought the fancy of a nation steeped in drama. Gabbar’s kitne aadmi the” and Amitabh’s “Basanti, tumhara naam kya hai” are enshrined in every cinema-goer’s memory. The first Indian film to be made in 70mm, Sholay ran for five years, with 190 prints being made in the first year. Over five lakh records and cassettes were sold soon after the release.

ELSEWHERE…

• The Suez anal, connecting the Mediterranean and Red seas, was reopened by Egypt eight years after it was with Israel.
• Mozambique became independent after almost five centuries of Portuguese rule.
• Sheikh Mujibur Rehman was assassinated in Bangladesh on August 15.
• Margaret Thatcher (above) was leader of the British Conservative Party.

676 people were jailed on the day the Emergency was declared.

360 kg was the payload of the first Indian satellite, Aryabhatta. Designed by the isro, the satellite was launched into orbit on April 19.

Courtesy By India Today