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The Rise to Power of Sanjay Gandhi During the 'Emergency' in India, 1975-1977

   The Emergency that existed in India from the 26th July 1975 to 18th of March 1977 was the only period that India didn't have democracy in all its years since independence. At this time, the powers of the Prime Minister Indira Gandhi's young son, Sanjay Gandhi, were at its peak. That happened even thou he didn’t had any experience or political status, or any formal position only a few years before and even during the Emergency.

   Even thou, on a contrary to the literature on the Emergency, in considering the question of his rising to power, that see this as a side affect of the Emergency and as a result of the special relations that were between the Prime Minister and her son, I will claim that Sanjay Gandhi's power was a result of a process that started years before the proclamation of the Emergency and was related to changes in the system of the government and the administration. Those changes allowed Sanjay Gandhi and a small grope of close people to him to get power at the institutions of the country and at the political establishment.

   The implementation of this power was achieve throw tow bodies, the first was non formal, and the second was formal but without any significant power. Those bodies were been used as an outside and non official platform to Sanjay Gandhi and his grope to get control over institutions at the administration and the political institution in India. Those bodies were the "Prime Minister House", and the "Youth Congress". Throw those bodies Sanjay Gandhi  has manage to get greater control over the political and the administrative system in the country, fortified his powers and transform it during the Emergency to formally power, De-facto.