Why Erdogan should take a lesson from India
Alok Mukherjee* On a recent trip, our young taxi driver hailed from Turkey. Inevitably, our
conversation turned to recent events there. My wife and I love that beautiful
country, which we have visited twice. With our own origins in India, we find
the cultural and linguistic connections fascinating.
Our driver was extremely worried about the safety of his family and the future
of his homeland. For us, the developments in Turkey, which is now under a
three-month state of emergency, have a personal resonance: India has been there
before.
On June 25, 1975, then-prime minister Indira Gandhi got a pliant president,
Fakhruddin Ali Ahmed, to declare a state of emergency. It lasted 21 months. The
presidential ordinance gave Mrs. Gandhi the power to govern by decree and the
emergency legislation provided the legal fig leaf.
My father-in-law was one of thousands of people who were imprisoned for more
than a year, with no charges laid and no court trial. His crime? A lawyer, he
defended poor people against the actions of a corrupt and brutal police and
bureaucracy, and he belonged to an opposition party. Members of opposition
parties, journalists, teachers, business people and professionals were
detained. Constitutional rights were set aside. According to Mrs. Gandhi and
her henchmen, these people were threats to India???s internal security.
She said India needed ???a shock treatme
