Book name- THE CONSCIENCE NETWORK: A CHRONICLE OF RESISTANCE TO A DICTATORSHIP
Author- Sugata Srinivasaraju
Published by- Vintage
Price- Rs 1,299
As part of their ingenious protest against the declaration of Emergency by Indira Gandhi in 1975, members of Indians for Democracy took to the streets, publicly demonstrating in front of the Indian consulate in the city of New York. With placards that read “Indira is not India. India is infinitely more than Indira!”, protesters carried a life-size effigy of the former Indian prime minister in their rally. The remonstration, which was nothing short of a grand spectacle, reiterated their demand for the immediate release of detained Indian politicians like Jayaprakash Narayan, Morarji Desai, among others. The effigy, “which could almost be mistaken for a puppet doll (kathputli)”, was part of a dress rehearsal in anticipation of a larger, planned show of dissent that was to be organised on Indian Independence Day. The dummy that was paraded through the thoroughfare “was made of papier mâchié, launched on a bamboo pole that was nearly twenty feet high — unmissable on the busy New York streets”. Built, reportedly, by a few Gujarati students with Jana Sangh connections, the model “was provocatively made to hold in its right hand the heads of ministers in her cabinet like Jagjivan Ram and Y.B. Chavan” and was accompanied by a label that read — “my puppets” — suggestive of their cosmetic presence in the cabinet. The demonstration carried ironic connotations, more so since Indira Gandhi had been previously glorified as the goddess, Durga, following her active role in the liberation of Bangladesh in 1971. As the author, Sugata Srinivasaraju, observes, “The effigy was not just about provocation, it was also the most elegantly dressed effigy, perhaps to match the haute couture on the streets. Draped in a saree embellished with a zari (gold thread) border, it stylishly sported sunglasses.”
The Conscience Network is replete with such interesting anecdotes and chronicles the origin and the gradual evolution of resistance organised and implemented by various groups and Indian individuals based in the United States of America against the declaration of Emergency in India. The book reveals how, driven by their conscience, diverse forces, including pacifists, academicians, civil rights activists and even legislators and office-bearers in the US, formed a cohesive network to strongly advocate the cause of safeguarding Indian democracy. Focusing on personal memoirs and other archival resources, the volume compiles perspectives of various Indian individuals based in the US who tried to build and sustain immense international pressure for the restoration of democracy in India. Cutting across diverse professions and academic backgrounds, these Indian activists not only staged public protests but also generated political pressure by undertaking a host of various measures. Some of these initiatives included establishing regional coordination committees in multiple American cities; consistently apprising the American media about the political crisis in India; co-ordinating with other activists in Europe (especially in London); strengthening the “Free JP Campaign”; gathering money for JP’s dialyzer; connecting with distinguished personalities (like Noam Chomsky among others) and requesting them to exert pressure on the Indian government and the prime-minister in their individual capacities; raising funds through sale of underground pamphlets; and even screening documentaries (like Anand Patwardhan’s Waves of Revolution) that served as an effective audio-visual medium to propagate views against the Emergency.
Such a host of initiatives is bound to raise the following query: how effective was the global pressure in facilitating Indira Gandhi’s withdrawal of the Emergency and the subsequent call for a general election in 1977? In vindication of the Indian diaspora’s activism in the US and in Europe, Srinivasaraju argues that “one of the factors that pushed Indira Gandhi to end the Emergency in 1977, and a call for general election was international pressure.” He further insists that “being Jawaharlal Nehru’s daughter, it is said that she was sensitive to how she was being perceived overseas, and after a point, thought it was counterproductive to play dictator.”
Srinivasaraju’s book is a significant contribution to contemporary history and politics. It would interest those concerned with the future of democracy in the present world. The Conscience Network provides a different perspective altogether, especially in the context of the uncharted forms of resistance against an authoritarian leader that made her reverse her dictatorial choice. While the nature and the extent of the impact of this diasporic campaign are matters of opinion, the alacrity and fervent passion exhibited by the activists corroborate the veracity of their democratic concern.