How the West Backed 'Forced Sterilization' During the Emergency

Words By Shanai Tanwar

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In the 1920s, travel posters, made for steamship lines and airlines, became extremely popular. The style changed notably in the 1920s, to focus attention on the product being advertised. The images became simpler, precise, more linear, more dynamic, and were often placed against a single color background. They conveyed a sense of power and safety – basically, what travelers were supposed to feel boarding liners and trains and visiting new destinations. (Available as print)

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How the West Backed ‘Forced Sterilization’ During the Emergency

When Kangana Ranaut’s highly publicized directorial debut Emergency premiered earlier this year, it was immediately panned by viewers and critics alike. Despite featuring an ensemble cast with some of Bollywood’s most memorable faces, Ranaut’s portrayal of Indira Gandhi was unable to withstand the harsh eye of Indian film audiences. The hasty pacing left viewers wanting more, with many calling it an overview of Gandhi’s regime that failed to truly focus on any one aspect in particular. (The acting is another discussion altogether.)

I found myself watching the film a few weeks ago at the behest of my partner, who suggested it may be fun to watch Emergency for the sake of it. While I was expecting to be taken aback by Ranaut’s obnoxiously nasal imitation of Gandhi and the irony that a BJP Member of Parliament was directing a movie about a former Prime Minister and Congress parliamentarian, I was especially disturbed to learn something about Gandhi’s tenure that my Indian education had never taught me—the forced sterilization program of 1975-77. This was an especially brutal campaign to curb India’s growing population that took place during the Emergency when civil liberties were suspended, permitting the forced sterilization of over millions.