In Solitude and Struggle: Advani’s Writings from Jail Revisit Emergency-Era Lessons

In the political history of modern India, few periods have been as contentious and transformative as the Emergency of 1975–77. And few political figures have chronicled it as sharply and reflectively as Lal Krishna Advani, one of the stalwarts of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and a key architect of India’s post-Emergency political evolution.

During his incarceration under the Maintenance of Internal Security Act (MISA), Advani maintained a journal—his prison diaries—which serve not only as personal memoir but as a meditation on democracy, constitutional morality, civil liberties, and the philosophical figures that shaped his thinking. Among the names that recur in his notes are Indira Gandhi, the then Prime Minister who imposed the Emergency, and Thomas Jefferson, the American Founding Father whose ideas on liberty and governance offered intellectual inspiration.

This reflective record, written during solitary confinement, remains a powerful document of political resistance, introspection, and ideological clarity in the face of authoritarianism.

Context: A Nation Behind Bars

The Emergency was declared by Indira Gandhi on 25 June 1975, citing internal disturbances and threats to national security. In reality, it was a political maneuver to hold on to power after the Allahabad High Court found her guilty of electoral malpractice. The government suspended fundamental rights, censored the press, postponed elections, and jailed political opponents.

L K Advani, then a senior leader of the Jan Sangh (predecessor to the BJP), was arrested along with other opposition figures. It was during this time that Advani began documenting his thoughts—both as a political record and a philosophical exploration of freedom and governance.

Indira Gandhi and the Spirit of Constitutional Betrayal

In his prison writings, Advani does not merely vent frustration against the government; instead, he attempts to intellectually dissect the Emergency. Central to his critique is the idea of constitutional morality—a term coined by British historian George Grote but later popularized in India by B.R. Ambedkar. Advani argued that while Indira Gandhi may have acted "within" the legal framework by using constitutional provisions to impose Emergency, her actions violated the spirit of the Constitution.

He questioned whether the Constitution was designed to be twisted into a tool for personal political survival. His answer was a resounding no. According to Advani, constitutional provisions should serve the people, not imprison them. The preamble's promises—liberty, justice, equality—were meaningless when used to justify state repression.

Indira Gandhi, in Advani's eyes, became the symbol of executive overreach. Her rule, marked by forced sterilizations, press censorship, and mass detentions, reminded Advani not just of authoritarian regimes abroad, but of how fragile democratic norms could be if leaders abandoned ethical restraint.

The Influence of Thomas Jefferson

Amid the grim reality of prison life, Advani found solace and inspiration in the writings of Thomas Jefferson, the principal author of the American Declaration of Independence and a staunch advocate of civil liberties.

Jefferson’s warnings about the concentration of power, the sanctity of individual rights, and the need for eternal vigilance resonated deeply with Advani. He often quoted Jefferson in his diary, noting lines such as:

“When the people fear the government, there is tyranny; when the government fears the people, there is liberty.”

For Advani, Jefferson represented a universal ideal—a leader who believed in limited government, accountable institutions, and personal freedoms. In many ways, he positioned Jefferson as a philosophical counterpoint to the leadership style of Indira Gandhi.

The influence wasn’t merely rhetorical. Advani sought to internalize Jeffersonian values in how he viewed his own role—as an opposition leader, as a constitutionalist, and eventually, as a future builder of democratic India.

Personal Discipline and Mental Fortitude

Advani’s prison diary also reveals his meticulous personal discipline. He described routines of reading, writing, reflection, and exercise. Even in confinement, he maintained a sharp focus on political developments, legal arguments, and philosophical debates.

Rather than wallowing in victimhood, he used his incarceration as an intellectual retreat. He read extensively—works by Indian thinkers like Sri Aurobindo and Western philosophers including Edmund Burke and Alexis de Tocqueville. These readings sharpened his critique of power and deepened his appreciation of the moral foundations of governance.

His diary also reflected deep emotional maturity. He didn’t express hatred for Indira Gandhi as a person, but rather a profound disappointment in how she distorted the idea of India. He lamented that “a Constitution built for freedom had been hijacked for fear.”

A Blueprint for Opposition and Resistance

Advani’s diary wasn’t just a personal reflection—it served as an unofficial guide for democratic resistance. He wrote about the importance of united opposition, non-violent protest, building alliances, and preparing for elections even during repression.

His reflections often shifted from theory to strategy: how to rebuild a broken opposition, how to restore institutional trust, how to reconnect with the masses. He emphasized patience over provocation, believing that the Emergency would fall under its own contradictions if the people were mobilized with clarity and unity.

These thoughts eventually fed into the political transformation of India in 1977, when the Emergency was lifted and elections were held. The Janata Party, a broad opposition coalition that included the Jan Sangh, swept to power, and Indira Gandhi was voted out.

Legacy of the Diaries

Years later, parts of Advani’s prison diary were published and referenced in his autobiographical and political writings. They became symbolic of his steadfast belief in constitutional values, his disdain for authoritarianism, and his belief in principled politics.

These diaries remain important not just as political commentary, but as a rare glimpse into the inner world of a political prisoner—one who neither broke down under pressure nor turned radical in desperation.

His emphasis on constitutional morality continues to resonate in today’s India, where institutions are often tested, and debates around the limits of executive power remain ongoing.

 Lessons from Solitude

L K Advani’s prison diaries stand as a powerful testament to the enduring strength of democratic conviction. In the face of state repression, he chose introspection over outrage, philosophy over propaganda, and principle over expediency.

His reflections on constitutional morality, shaped by thinkers like Thomas Jefferson, remind us that laws without ethics are dangerous, and leaders without restraint can dismantle democracies brick by brick.

Through the lens of history, Advani’s diary not only chronicles a dark chapter in India’s political journey but also shines a light on the values that must guide it forward—liberty, dignity, and the ever-important rule of law.