59th Amendment of Indian Constitution

Introduction:The Act amends Article 365 (5) of the Constitution so as to facilitate the extension of a
Presidential Proclamation issued under clause (1) of Article 356 beyond a period of one year, if
necessary up to a period of three years, as permissible under clause (4) of Article 356 with
respect to the State of Punjab because of the continued disturbed situation there. The Act also
amends Article 352 of the Constitution pertaining to the Proclamation of emergency in its
application to the State of Punjab and includes internal disturbance as one of the grounds for
making a Proclamation in respect of the State of Punjab only. As a consequence of amendment
in Article 352, Articles 358 and 359 in relation to the State of Punjab will be operative only for
a period of two years from 30 March 1988, which is the date of commencement of the
amendment.

Emergency in India:In India, "the Emergency" refers to a 21-month period in 197577 when Prime Minister Indira
Gandhi unilaterally had a State of emergency declared across the country. The Emergency was
officially issued by President Fakhru Ali Ahmad under Article 352(1) of the Indian Constitution for
"internal disturbance", the Emergency was in effect from 25 June 1975 until its withdrawal on 21 March
1977.

Emergency is a unique feature of Indian Constitution that allows the centre to assume wide
powers so as to handle special situations. In emergency, the centre can take full legislative and
executive control of any state. It also allows the centre to curtail or suspend freedom of the
citizens. Existence of emergency is a big reason why academicians are hesitant to call Indian
constitution as fully federal. Emergency can be of three types - Due to war, external aggression
or armed rebellion, failure of constitutional machinery in a state, or financial emergency.
However, technically, Proclamation of Emergency is only done upon external aggression or
armed rebellion. In the second case, it is called Presidential Rule, and in the third case it is
called "Proclamation of Financial Emergency:
There are three types of Emergency in India:1. National Emergency
2. State Emergency
3. Financial emergency

National Emergency :- Article 352 deals with the National Emergency. An emergency
arising from the threat to the security of the country is called National Emergency. A national
emergency can be proclaimed by the President of India when he is satisfied that a grave
security threat exists to the national. The threat can either be by war, external aggression or
armed rebellion.

The expression "Proclamation of Emergency" or "Emergency" deals only with Clause (1) of
Article 352 of the Constitution of India.

Grounds for Proclamation of Emergency:Before the 44th amendment to the Constitution of India, the following are the grounds under
which the President can proclaim emergency. These are as follow:

War

External Aggression

Internal Disturbance

However, the term Internal Disturbance is too vague/ complex to understand and it might also
include political agitations in the country. Hence, the 44th amendment replaced Internal
Disturbance with armed rebellion. After the 44th amendment the following are the grounds
under which a National Emergency can be proclaimed by the President.

War

External Aggression

Armed Rebellion.

War
War is a violent struggle between two countries with the use of armed forces. It also includes when a
country has made a formal declaration of a war against India or any other country.

External Aggression
External aggression has wide meanings. It covers unilateral attacks with force by one state against
another State without a formal declaration of war. As long as the other State has not answered with
similar hostile attacks, it can be constituted an external aggression.

Proclaimination of Emergency :Effects of Emergency

1. Suspension of Fundamental Rights

The first and foremost effect of an emergency is the suspension of the fundamental rights
guaranteed by Article 19 of the Indian Constitution.
Under Articles 358 and 359, the President of India can extend the suspension of all
fundamental.
2. Extension of Centre's Executive Power
The constitution empowers the Union to extend its executive power by giving directions to
state.
(a) To give directions to the State
(b) To make laws of the State
The executive power also extends to states where emergency is not in force, but are in relation
to states in which the Proclamation of Emergency is in operation.
3. Parliament to legislate on State subjects
The law-making power of the State is not suspended, but the Parliament can amend laws which
override the state laws. In other words the state has power to make law but the central power
can overrule the law made by the state.
4. Extension of life of Lok Sabha
The President is empowered to extend the life of Lok Sabha by one year and it can be extended
to six months more.

State Emergencies:A state of emergency in India refers to a period of governance under an

altered constitutional setup that can be proclaimed by the President of India, when
he/she perceives grave threats to the nation from internal and external sources or
from financial situations of crisis.
Under the advice of cabinet minister, the president of India can overrule many provision
of constitution of India, Which guarantee fundamental right to the citizens of India and
acts governing devolution of power to the states which form the federation.
There were three periods during which a state of emergency had been existed these are
as follow:-

1. State emergency was between 26th October 1962 to 10th January 1968 this state
emergency was introduced during India china war: - the security of India
has been declared as threatened by external aggression.
2. The second state emergency was held between 3rd December 1971 to 21 March
1977 this was originated during Indo-Pakistan war and latter was extended with
the third proclamation.
3. The third state emergency was between 25th June 1975 to 21st march 1977 this
came into existences under the controversial circumstances of political
instability under the Indira Gandhis Prime minister ship .

Emergency under articles:State Emergency Under Article 356 :State emergency is declared on failure of constitutional machinery in a state. Nearly every state
in India has been under a state of emergency at some point of time or the other. The state of
emergency is commonly known as 'President's Rule. If the President is satisfied, on the basis
of the report of the Governor of the concerned state or from other sources, that the governance
in a state cannot be carried out according to the provisions in the Constitution, he can declare
emergency in the state. Such an emergency must be approved by the Parliament within a period
of two months.
It is imposed for six months and can last for a maximum period of three years with repeated
parliamentary approval every six months. But In 42nd amendment act of 1976 extended the
one time duration of state emergency from 6 months to 1 year. Subsequently, According to 44th
constitutional Act of 1978 restored the 1 year period to 6 months. Originally, the maximum
period of operation of state emergency was 3 years. This 3 year period was divided into 1 year
of ordinary period and 2 year of extra ordinary period for which certain conditions are to be
fulfilled. Therefore from now on after every 1 year Parliament needs to approve the same. If
the emergency has to be extended for more than three years, it can be done by Constitutional
amendment i.e. by 59th Amendment of Indian constitution as has happened in Punjab
and Jammu and Kashmir.
During such an emergency, the President can take over the entire work of the executive, and the
Governor can administer the state in the name of the President. The Legislative Assembly can
be dissolved or may remain in suspended mode.

National Emergency under Article 352:National emergency is caused by war, external aggression or armed rebellion in the whole
of India or any part of its territory. Such an emergency was declared in India in 1962 during
Indo-China war, in 1971 during Indo-Pakistan war, and in 1975 emergency declared by Indira
Gandhi. The President can declare such an emergency only on the basis of a written request by
the Council of Ministers headed by the Prime Minister. Such a proclamation must be laid
before both houses of Parliament, and the state of emergency expires after one month unless
approved within that time by both houses sitting and voting separately. However, if the Lok
Sabha (the lower house) is not in session when the state of emergency is declared, and
the Rajya Sabha approves the state emergency, the deadline for the Lok Sabha can be extended
until thirty days after that house convenes.
According to Article 352(6) :- Approval by each house requires a special majority: with those
in favour of the motion must be two thirds of those present and voting, and amount to a
majority of the entire membership of that house.
A Parliamentary resolution extends the state of emergency for up to six months, and it can be
extended indefinitely by further resolutions in six-month increments.
During National Emergency, many Fundamental Rights of Indian citizens can be suspended.
By the president of India. The six rights given to people under Right to Freedom are
automatically suspended. By contrast, the Right to Life and Personal Liberty cannot be
suspended according to the original Constitution.
In January 1977, during the emergency declared by Indira Gandhi, the government decided to
suspend even the Right to Life and Personal Liberty by dispensing with Habeas corpus.

Financial emergency under article 360:If the President is satisfied that there is an economic situation in which the financial stability or
credit of India is threatened, so he or she can declare financial emergency. Such an emergency
must be approved by the Parliament within two months. This type of emergency had never
been declared in India. But such a situation had been raised but was avoided by putting the
gold assets of India as collateral for foreign credit.
It will remain enforced till the President revokes it.
In case of a financial emergency, the President can reduce the salaries of all government
officials, including judges of the Supreme Court and High Courts. All money bills passed by
the State legislatures are submitted to the President for his approval. He can direct the state to
observe/take certain principles relating to financial matters/ economy matter.

History of Punjab :-

The emergency in the Indian state of Punjab was originated in the late 1970s, as Sikh
revolutionaries alongside with Khalistan proponents turned to militancy. The roots of the
insurgency were very complex with the main factors being inadequate recognition of Sikhism
and the Punjabi language and alleged mistreatment from the Indian Congress .
Government since its formation 1947. With all schools in Punjab teaching Punjabi children
Hindi, parents and community leaders started to become concerned.
The Punjabi Suba civil movement was started to address the language issue and restore Punjabi
as the official language of Punjab. The Punjabi Suba movement was banned by the government
on April 14, 1955.
During this time the Sikhs were faced with much humiliation and difficulties including
peaceful protesters and innocent pilgrims being beaten, hit with bricks, were arrested, and
temple raids.
Following the Indo-Pak war in 1965. Punjabi was finally recognized as the official language of
Punjab in 1966 when the Punjab land was further split into the states of Himachal Pradesh, the
new state Haryana and Punjab.
However this did not solve all problems, the Sikh community still feeling alienated within
India, and they put forward a resolution to address all grievances that they had with the nation
state of India.
In 1973, the Sikhs put forward the Anandpur Sahib Resolution. Within this resolution there
were issues including both religious and political concerns. From easy issues of recognizing
Sikhism as a religion to allowing all states within India to set local state level policies and not
be forced to get permission from the central government.
The Anandpur Resolution was rejected by the government but the religious leader Jarnail Singh
Bhindranwale joined the Akali Dal to launch the Dharam Yudh Morcha in 1982, a peaceful
march, in order to implement Anandpur Sahib Resolution. Thousands of people joined the
movement, feeling that it represented a real solution to demands such as a larger share of water
for irrigation and the return of Chandigarh to Punjab.
The Congress government decided to repress the mass agitation with a heavy hand; over a
hundred people were killed in the police firings.
The security forces arrested over 30,000 Sikhs in two-and-a-half months.
After this Bhindranwale suggested it was time for a militant approach with the help of arms
and weapons to solve the problems of majority Punjab population leading to the beginning of
the emergency of Punjab.
On June 6, 1984 Bhindranwale was shot dead in Operation Blue Star and on October 31, 1984
Indira Gandhi was murdered by her Sikh bodyguards Satwant Singh and Beant Singh. These
two events played a major role to the Sikh and Anti-Sikh violence that would consume Punjab
till the early 1990s.

Cause of Emergency in Punjab and implementation of 59th amendment in

Indian constitution:Operation Blue Star was one of the main causes to bring emergency and implement 59th
amendment in Indian constitution.

Blue star operation :Operation Bluestar which occurred between 3rd to 8 June 1984 was an Indian military
operation, ordered by Indira Gandhi, was Prime Minister of India that time, she ordered to
eliminate Jarnail Singh Bhindranwale from the Golden Temple in Amritsar.
Jarnail Singh Bhindranwale was accused of amassing weapons in the Sikh temple and starting
a major armed uprising.
The government seemed unable to stop the violence in Punjab, Haryana, and Delhi. Indira
Gandhi ordered the army to storm the temple complex in Punjab. Operation Blue Star was a
mixed success. A variety of army units along with paramilitary forces surrounded the temple
complex on 3 June 1984. The army kept asking the militants to surrender, using the public
address system, but according to civilians inside the complex no announcements were made
and the Army termed everyone inside the complex as enemies. The militants were asked to
send the pilgrims out of the temple premises to safety, before they start fighting the army.
However, nothing happened till 7 PM. General Brar then asked the police if they could send
emissaries inside to help get the civilians out, but the police said that anyone sent inside would
be killed by the militants. They believed that the militants were keeping the pilgrims inside to
stop the army from entering the temple. Finally, around a hundred sick and old people were let
out. These people informed the army that the others were not being allowed to come out. The
army had grossly underestimated the firepower possessed by the militants. Thus, tanks
and heavy artillery were used to forcefully suppress the anti-tank and machine-gun fire. After a
24 hour fire fight, the army finally wrested control of the temple complex. According to the
Indian Army, 136 army personnel were killed and 249 injured. While insurgent casualties were
493 killed and 86 injured. Unofficial figures go well into the thousands. Along with insurgents,
many innocent worshipers were caught in the crossfire. The estimates of innocent people killed
in the operation range from a few hundred of people.

Anti Sikh massacre:After the blue star operation many sikh family inflamed by the step taken by Indira Gandhi
Prime Minister of Infia that time. Many sikh family saw as an attack on the religion and belief
of the Sikhism family.
On 31 October 1984, the Prime Minister of India, Indira Gandhi was gunned down by her two
Sikh bodyguards. In the wake of Indira Gandhi's assassination, rioting mobs allegedly led by
Congress leaders, who are still facing the court cases, rampaged through the streets of Capital
Delhi and other states over the next few days, killing several thousand of Sikhs.

After The Riots:The Anti-Sikh riots across the Northern India had repercussions in Punjab. A small number of Hindus
were killed by ragtag gangs of Sikh militants. Trains were attacked and people were shot after being
pulled from buses.
In 1987, 32 Hindus were pulled out of a bus and shot near Lalru in Punjab by Sikh and Muslim militants.
"In the beginning on the 1980s, Sikh separatists in Punjab attacked non-Sikhs in the state.
Indira Gandhi's son and political successor, Rajiv Gandhi, tried but was unsuccessful to bring peace in
Punjab (He was not able to do so because his life was abruptly ended in an LTTE planned explosion).
Between 1987 and 1991, Punjab was placed under an ineffective President's rule and was governed
from Delhi. Elections were eventually held in 1992 but the voter turnout was poor.

Implementation of 59th amendment of Indian constitution :-