These are interesting, if not unsettling, times in Indian politics. With elections held across the year, alliances shift so frequently that it becomes difficult to predict who will stand with whom when the votes are finally cast. The incidents of the last fortnight reminded me of something that happened in India a long time ago. The uncertainty feels new, yet it echoes a moment from the past that first introduced me to the complexities of politics.

I was a child then, watching history unfold after the Emergency. Following its end, Prime Minister Indira Gandhi and her son Sanjay lost their seats in a dramatic electoral defeat. The rise of the Janata Party marked India’s first major experiment with coalition politics. At a massive rally in Ramlila Maidan, an unlikely mix of leaders from Atal Bihari Vajpayee to Imam Bukhari shared the stage, united in victory. The leaders on the dais were from all non-Congress and non- Communist parties. Vajpayee’s declaration that Indira Gandhi had been consigned to the “dustbin of history” captured the mood of the moment.

There was celebration, even euphoria. Yet, amid the applause, Acharya J.B. Kripalani offered a sober warning: those who replace power are not saints, but politicians, and must be held accountable. His words proved prophetic as the coalition soon faltered.

That early lesson endures. Democracies do not sustain themselves through elections alone. They depend on vigilance by civil society, the media, and the judiciary. When these institutions weaken, the promise of democracy begins to fray. The past, it seems, is never too far from the present.

Photos and text by Prerna Jain.