Press censorship during the Emergency
Topic: The Emergency (1975-77) and the Crisis of Democratic Order · NCERT: Class 12, Ch 6 "The Crisis of Democratic Order"
Meaning
Press censorship during the Emergency (1975-77) meant that newspapers had to get the government's approval before printing anything. This is called prior censorship: material is checked before it is published, not afterwards. It became possible because Art. 19 freedoms, including free speech, lapsed during the Emergency under Art. 358. The press could no longer freely report on or criticise the government.
Example
On the night the Emergency was proclaimed in 1975, electricity to newspaper offices was cut. In protest against censorship, the Indian Express and the Statesman left blank spaces where stories had been removed. Magazines like Seminar and Mainstream closed rather than submit. The Press Council was dissolved in 1976 and re-created by the Press Council Act, 1978.
Don't confuse with
- Preventive detention under MISA: this jailed people without trial. Censorship controlled what was printed, not who was arrested.