HISTORY THROUGH CINEMA: THE REPRESENTATION OF THE INDIAN EMERGENCY IN MIDNIGHT’S CHILDREN
AUTHOR –TANYA VASHIST, L.L.M INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY LAW, UNIVERSITY OF LEEDS
BEST CITATION – TANYA VASHIST, HISTORY THROUGH CINEMA: THE REPRESENTATION OF THE INDIAN EMERGENCY IN MIDNIGHT’S CHILDREN, INDIAN JOURNAL OF LEGAL REVIEW (IJLR), 6 (10) OF 2026, PG. 175-180, APIS – 3920 – 0001 & ISSN – 2583-2344.
Abstract
Midnight’s Children, written by Salman Rushdie and filmed by Deepa Mehta, is a fascinating depiction of the Indian Emergency (1975-1977) in the context of magical realism and political allegory. The present essay explores Saleem Sinai’s personal journey and the constitutional and political history of post-Independent India, including the suspension of civil liberties during the Emergency. It looks at the symbolic representation of the Midnight’s Children as democracy, freedom of expression and national identity and examines the legal and historical background of Article 352 of the Constitution, preventive detention, press censorship and forced sterilisation campaigns. The article, based on literary criticism and constitutional history and judicial developments, contends that Midnight’s Children is a film version as well as an effective critique of authoritarianism. It illustrates the potential of cinema to sustain the constitutional memory and to further the debate about democracy, individual liberty and rule of law in India.