Word: gandhis
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Dates: during 1970-1979
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When they do fail, however, there will be fewer mouths to feed. Gandhi's government has waged a determined battle against the population problems that have long afflicted the nation of 600 million. While the technique employed by the government, permanent sterilization, is a questionable one, the government's success in performing the operation has been phenomenal. Since the emergency rule was declared, seven million Indians have undergone sterilization. Continued "successes" in this vein should help ease the pressures of an ever-climbing population growth rate...
...whole, the Indian economy is performing better than most Western economies these days. Gandhi has brought inflation down two per cent, one of the lowest rates in the world, and Indian exports have climbed steadily for the past year and a half, producing $3 billion in foreign reserves as a result of the favorable balance of payments. In addition, after years of black market profiteering, the market has begun to function more smoothly in India, and many items once unobtainable for most people have become commonly available at affordable prices...
After studying all of these favorable economic indicators, Gandhi came to the obvious conclusion that the time was finally safe for an easing of the political restrictions she had previously needed in order to continue governing. Strengthened by the improved economy, she felt confident last month that any election held in the near future would easily result in a resounding victory for her and the Congress Party. Without warning, and almost as swiftly as the emergency rule had been imposed, she lifted the emergency, freeing most political prisoners and allowing the press greater, though not complete, freedom. Although the suspension...
...events following the release of prisoners and the announcement of elections have startled Gandhi, who was banking on a combination of the improved economy and a degree of timidity induced in the opposition by the period of repression to insure an easy victory. Such a victory would restore some vestige of legitimacy to Gandhi's regime in the eyes of the West, silencing the claim of Pakistani leaders that their nation is the "only democracy left in Southeast Asia," a claim that has annoyed the Prime Minister...
Instead, immediately after Desai's release, he joined forces with the leaders of three other opposition parties in a coalition called the Janata (People's) Party. In the previous Parliament, members of the newly-formed party held only 50 seats, compared to 350 seats controlled by Gandhi's Congress Party. Nevertheless, Desai declared upon leaving prison, "We hope to win a thumping majority, not just a small majority...