"Zikr kya lab pe uska naam nahin,
Is se maqool koi inteqam nahin.
Jab jise chahiye bura kahiye,
Is se aasaan koi kaam nahin."

(The true strength lies in restraint, in not giving importance to those who don't deserve it. Ignoring someone can be a stronger response than retaliation. At the same time, he criticizes how easy and meaningless it is to call others bad without cause, reminding us that true character lies in holding ourselves above such pettiness.)

In June 2025, the Indian Cabinet passed a resolution condemning the Emergency imposed in 1975—a move that, while symbolically significant, raises a deeper question: Why is the government investing its energy in denouncing a 50-year-old event while sidestepping the urgent crises of today?

The Emergency, declared by then Prime Minister Indira Gandhi, remains one of the most controversial chapters in Indian democracy. Civil liberties were suspended, press freedom was curtailed, and over 1.1 lakh people were detained under laws like MISA and COFEPOSA. Yet, even this dark period had complexities. Some economists and bureaucrats have noted that the Emergency brought a temporary sense of administrative discipline. For instance, industrial productivity rose modestly, and railways ran on time—a rare feat in Indian public infrastructure. Former bureaucrat T.S.R. Subramanian once remarked that “for a brief while, files moved faster and corruption dipped,” though he cautioned against romanticizing authoritarianism.

We are living in a strange and dangerous time where the government has devoted its full machinery to condemning an incident that occurred fifty years ago, while entirely ignoring the burning issues of today. A cabinet resolution was proudly passed to denounce the Emergency, but never has this same cabinet passed a resolution to provide employment to the millions of unemployed youth, nor has it committed to building world-class healthcare within the next six months. There is no pledge to resolve the devastating effects of climate change within a year. Instead, when the people demand answers, the government simply points to 2047 — as if India must wait another two decades before any promise is fulfilled. Every dream is deferred, every plan is postponed, while the present burns and the nation is told to gaze at the past.

The irony is cruel. The government boasts of delivering affordable healthcare, yet essential diagnostics like CT scans and MRIs are still imported and taxed at 18%, making them unaffordable to a population where most people struggle to survive below the poverty line. The promise of education for all has been shattered — tens of thousands of schools have been shut down for reasons the government refuses to explain. They came to power promising smart cities, high-tech education, world-class research, but all of it has been reduced to empty slogans. Meanwhile, the same government has ample time and energy to pass resolutions about a historical mistake instead of addressing the collapse of public institutions happening right now.

Ask a simple question — how many factories has this government actually built that boost the economy or challenge the world’s innovation? The Prime Minister talks about cloud storage, but where is the data on inventions made in the last eleven years? Why is India still struggling to develop drones that rival those from Turkey or Iran? Why do we still depend on other countries for technology, for energy, for jobs? “Make in India” has become a hollow slogan, and “Padhega India, Badhega India” is the century’s biggest jumla.

The truth is uncomfortable. The economy is fragile, youth are jobless, migration is forced, and poor citizens living in slums are evicted in the name of development. Indians leave for Arab and Western countries to work under exploitative conditions — and are often returned in handcuffs. What have we achieved in the last eleven years other than slogans, spectacles, and suppression? We see elections being managed, not governance. We see bulldozer justice, not due process. We see Chief Justices rewarded with Rajya Sabha seats, not independence of the judiciary. And when questioned, the government hides behind nationalism and nostalgia.

So ask yourself: is this democracy, or distraction? Are we solving real problems or manufacturing new diversions every week? If we have nothing meaningful to show in the present, how long will we keep shouting about the past? And when will the citizens finally demand answers — not from 1975, but from the government they elected today?

In June 2025, the Indian Cabinet passed a resolution condemning the Emergency of 1975—a politically charged act symbolically important but practically hollow without present-day relevance. The Emergency, declared by Indira Gandhi, saw grave violations: suspension of civil liberties and curbs on press freedom, with over 110,000 detentions under MISA and COFEPOSA. Even critics acknowledged a temporary administrative efficiency; as former bureaucrat T.S.R. Subramanian once observed, “for a brief while, files moved faster and corruption dipped,” though he warned against romanticizing authoritarianism.

Yet today’s government fixates on condemning a half-century-old episode—while bypassing looming challenges. Where are resolutions for universal healthcare? For remedying porous power grids or rising youth unemployment? Why is 2047 an all-purpose deadline? Because abstract future promises (India@100) are safer than tackling urgent present problems.

Consider healthcare: India remains heavily dependent on imports for MRI/CT equipment, all taxed at 18 % GST—despite claims promoting affordable care. More than 800 million people rely on subsidized rations. How can healthcare be “affordable” when diagnostic access remains limited?

Education is in retreat. According to government data, 89,000 government schools have closed in a decade—primarily in rural and marginalized areas. Uttarakhand alone shuttered 1,149 primary schools, with more than 59% of all schools lacking heads or principals In UP, 22 lakh students left government schools in a single year. And nationally, over 60,000 schools were closed in three years, hitting UP and MP hardest . These closures aren’t data points—they’re dreams deferred, communities uprooted, futures dimmed.

It's ironic: emergency-era censorship hurt democracy, but today’s silence on these impending disasters—collapsing schools, dying hospitals, youth despair—is all the more alarming.

 Youth, Jobs, and the Mirage of Development

India’s demographic dividend is under threat. Nearly 65% of India’s population is under 35, but unemployment among youth is edging toward crisis. The official unemployment rate in April 2025 stood at 5.1%, but the urban-rural gap reveals a grimmer picture: 6.5% urban, 4.5% rural. Yet independent data from CMIE paints a starker image: 8.65% overall, with youth in urban India at 17.9%, rural youth at 13.7% (May 2025) .

Even if the economists debate methodology, the broad consensus is clear: employment is unmet, especially for youth. A startling CMIE-derived statistic suggests youth unemployment for 20–24-year-olds has soared to 44.5%, with the 25–29 bracket around 14.3%. Kerala’s youth unemployment is astoundingly high—29.9%, with women nearly 47.1% unemployed.  

These figures contradict government narratives of manufacturing and start-up booms. The Centre’s flagship schemes—Make in India, Skill India, Startup India—have yet to translate into scale employment, especially in manufacturing or cutting‑edge sectors like defense drones. Turkey and Iran are already building world-class drone ecosystems; India remains a follower, not a leader.

Worse still, metropolitan success stories overshadow rural dispossession: slum demolitions, forced migration, exploitative overseas labor. Tens of thousands leave for the Gulf or West, only to return under duress—handcuffed or deported. Infrastructure collapses: monsoon-damaged bridges, shoddy roads, tolls that extract yet deliver little.

Meanwhile, the gig economy expands precariously. Underemployment is rampant: a 2024 ILO-Human Development Report flagged 62.3% underemployment . Skill deficiency is widespread: 77% of tech professionals feel ill-equipped for critical roles; India needs another 150 million reskilled by 2025 .These aren’t just numbers—they’re a broken promise to the nation’s youth.

Erosion of Institutions and the Cost to Democracy

Beyond youth and education, India’s democratic structure is fraying. The Rajya Sabha nomination of ex-Chief Justice Ranjan Gogoi shortly after retirement spurred criticism. Judicial independence—another casualty. Bulldozer justice continues: homes and businesses razed in the name of development, often without due process. When governance employs machinery instead of courts, democracy is compromised.

Science and research have suffered. ICAR and other institutions now conduct “training programs” not innovation. Rivers that hosted ancient civilizations—Yamuna, Ganga—still bear the scars of pollution despite billions spent on cleanup.

Media campaigns push national pride, but real-world metrics tell another story: collapsing education, drowning infrastructure, dying farmers. Oxygen shortages undercut pandemic claims of preparedness; resurgences in pollution defy green commitments.

What’s chilling is the echo of the Emergency: centralised power, shrinking dissent, politicisation of institutions—all replicating patterns the 1975 resolution condemns. India doesn’t need to forget its past; it needs to fear repeating it.

Urgency Must Trump Nostalgia

Symbolic gestures matter—but only when paired with action. The Emergency's condemnation rings hollow if we don’t reform our healthcare, education, employment, and institutions today.

Instead of blaming a distant past, the government should:

• Implement universal healthcare within six months—covering diagnostics, medicines, and preventive care.

• Resolve power shortages in eight months, especially in energy-poor districts.

• Roll out a one-year youth employment strategy: set up 1,000 factories, mandate quality entrepreneurship, curb brain drain.

• Launch a three-month industrial push: fast-track approvals, especially in manufacturing and green tech.

• Reopen and upgrade thousands of schools—especially in rural, hill, and tribal regions.

As historian Ramachandra Guha astutely observed:

A democracy is judged not by how it remembers its past, but by how it serves its present.

So far, India's future remains hostage to its nostalgia. Until we prioritize urgent reforms over symbolic resolutions, India’s march toward progress will be a mirage—beautiful in aspiration, ashamed in execution.