The forgotten story of India’s brush with presidential rule

In “Indira Gandhi and the Years That Transformed India,” historian Srinath Raghavan explores the authoritarian shift during Indira Gandhi’s Emergency rule in the 1970s, revealing efforts to centralize power through a proposed presidential system inspired by Charles de Gaulle’s France. Key advisors, including BK Nehru, advocated for diminished judicial powers and direct presidential authority, leading to the controversial Forty-second Amendment in 1976, which expanded Parliament’s powers and weakened checks and balances. Although these ideas never fully materialized, they significantly influenced India’s political landscape, fostering a powerful executive and marginalizing the judiciary.