Many see the Emergency as the harshest test the Press has faced since Independence. In the early hours of June 26, 1975, when the Emergency was declared, citing ‘internal disturbances’, the Press was the first casualty. Challenged and threatened, the Press persevered through various means and techniques.

The Hindustan Times attempted reporting the events as they were, trusting their readers to read between the lines. When it became hard to get past the chief censor appointed for the purpose, Sudhir Dar’s cartoons became the vehicle of the occasional satire couched in various disguises.

Electricity to most media houses had been cut off to paralyse them but the June 28 edition reported to its readers thus: “The city edition on Friday and the dak editions of Friday and Saturday could not be brought out as no power was available from 12:45pm on Thursday........

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