Among all political opponents of Congress, George Fernandes had created a niche for himself. A fiery socialist leader, George had successfully led Railway strike of 1974. George went underground after imposition of emergency. It was alleged that under his leadership, Dynamite was collected and stored and young men were imparted the training of blowing up bridges and railway tracks. Since George was not traceable, the govt arrested his brother Lawrence. He was brutally beaten and tortured.
Not only Lawrence, George's closest friend and actress Snehlata Reddy was also arrested. Snehlata, an asthma patient, was released on parole after her condition deteriorated in jail but she died within a few weeks. George's wife and child fled India out of fear. On June 10, 1976, George Fernandes was finally arrested in Calcutta.
Interestingly, the judiciary remained a mute spectator to the throttling of democracy in India. Obviously Indira Gandhi's game-plan of putting right people at right places in judiciary had paid off well.
But most surprisingly, Indian media, barring a few exceptions like The Indian Expresss and The Statesman had surrendered meekly and agreed for govt censoring of news. Lamenting the timid response of media, a disappointed L K Advani blasted them and remarked, ” You were asked to bend but you started crawling.”
