INDIA: The Joys of Dictatorship

Prime Minister Indira Gandhi last week won overwhelming parliamentary approval for the dictatorship euphemistically known as a state of emergency, which she proclaimed on June 26. It was a rather hollow victory. After the lopsided votes in the upper and lower houses, most members of the opposition stalked out in protest.

Speaking before a special one-week session of the legislature—whose approval was necessary under the constitution to extend the emergency beyond 60 days—Mrs. Gandhi sought to justify the extreme measures her government has taken. They include the suspension of civil liberties, the imposition of rigid press censorship and the arrest...