Foreign Minister S. Jaishankar recalled his entry into the civil service on Sunday (July 20, 2025), saying that he was in Delhi on March 21, 1977, the day the Emergency was removed. Jaishankar said at an event here, ‘The results of the election in 1977 were coming a day ago. The feeling of defeat of emergency regime was clearly visible. In a way, this is what gave me success in the interview.
Refresting the old memories, Jaishankar, 22, at that time, said that he returned with two important things from the interview, the importance of communication under pressure and that important people were not looking out of a realm.
A very unique examination system in the world
Addressing the people of the new batch getting admission in the civil service, the Foreign Minister described the UPSC exam as the fire examination and said that it is a very unique examination system in the world to select candidates for services.
Jaishankar said that the real challenge is an interview and he gave the example of his UPSC interview 48 years ago. Now Jaishankar, who is 70 years old, remembers, ‘My interview was on March 21, 1977, the day the Emergency was removed. I went to interview Shah Jahan Road, I was the first to reach that morning.
‘Black chapter’ of Indian democracy
Jaishankar said that about a month ago, the Modi government had celebrated the 50th anniversary of the emergency imposed by the then Prime Minister Indira Gandhi, under which programs were organized across the country, so that the incident could be remembered, which his leaders had termed the ‘black chapter’ of Indian democracy.
He said that 21 months of emergency in the country was imposed on 25 June 1975 and was removed on 21 March 1977. The alliance of opposition leaders won the Janata Party, 1977 elections and defeated Indira Gandhi and Morarji Desai became the Prime Minister.
S. in the interview Jaishankar was asked this question
Jaishankar said that he was asked in the interview what happened in the 1977 elections. Citing his association with JNU and political science as a student, the Foreign Minister said, ‘I was lucky’. Jaishankar said, ‘We took part in the 1977 election campaign. We all went there and worked against the Emergency.
He said, ‘While replying, I forgot that I am in the interview and somehow my dialogue skills started working at that time.’ Jaishankar, an experienced diplomat and earlier as Foreign Secretary, had said that without hurting those people who are very connected to the government, are sympathetic to the government, without hurting them to explain what happened was really a big challenge.
Wave against emergency
Jaishankar said that the other thing he learned that day was about this ‘Lutyens Babal’ (Lutyens to be reduced to the scope of Delhi). Recalling the experience of the interview, the Foreign Minister said, ‘Those people were really surprised, they could not believe that these election results had come, while we could see the common students that there was a wave against the Emergency.’
He said that from that day he learned to communicate under pressure and do so without annoying people. The Union Minister said, ‘How do you explain to people, how to celebrate them was a big learning. The second important thing that came from that experience was that many times important people live in a kind of ‘bubble’ (limited scope) and they do not realize what is really happening in the country.
What is the real meaning of democracy?
He said that those who were working on the ground, such as students like him who were part of election campaigns and went to areas like Muzaffarnagar, we had an atmosphere on the ground, but people sitting in Delhi, who had all the information from all the system, could not understand it somehow. ‘
Jaishankar said, ‘For me, a successful democracy is that, when the whole society gets opportunities, only then democracy is working. He has the right to say his words, but it is not the right to say his words from some people, the whole society.
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