Archive · 29 Jun 2025
Nayantara Sahgal: The Emergency, Indira Gandhi, and Dissent
Nayantara Sahgal, a writer, was against Indira Gandhi's choices during the Emergency in India.
She wrote about it and got in trouble.
They were family, but they disagreed.
Sahgal was brave and spoke her mind despite the challenges of press censorship.
The Emergency created problems in her work and also hurt her relationship with her cousin, Indira Gandhi.
She felt the Emergency damaged the idea of what India should be.
Nayantara Sahgal, Indira Gandhi's cousin, opposed the Emergency.
Sahgal wrote columns criticizing Indira Gandhi's policies and actions.
Her criticism led to a strained relationship with Indira Gandhi.
Sahgal's writing career was affected by press censorship during the Emergency.
Sahgal viewed the Emergency as a betrayal of India's ideals.
- Who
- Nayantara Sahgal, Indira Gandhi, and the family involved.
- What
- Nayantara Sahgal's perspective on the Emergency and its impact.
- When
- During and after the Emergency period in India (1975-1977).
- Where
- Dehradun, India, and contextually, across India during the Emergency.
- Why
- To document the impact of the Emergency on personal relationships, political views, and freedom of expression.
Government's Actions
Critics' Views
Freedom vs. Control
Government's Actions
Government implemented Emergency measures, including press censorship.
Critics' Views
Sahgal and others viewed Emergency as a curtailment of democratic freedoms.
- Subject
- Nayantara Sahgal
- Event
- Emergency in India
- Key Relationship
- Cousin of Indira Gandhi
- Occupation
- Writer/Political Commentator
- Notable Work
- Rich Like Us
Sources
The Emergency: 50 Years On | The night Delhi fell silent, fearing ‘something far-reaching’
Those who were in jail: Political detainees between 1975-77 talk about the Emergency
Emergency turned nation into prison: Delhi CM at BJP Mahila Morcha mock parliament
Raghu Rai on the symbolic photo that told the story of the Emergency