Dictatorship starts with the gagging of the opposition press,” Indira once declared. Between the time she uttered those remarkable words and now, several memorable events have taken place. Two spectacular events in particular have focused world attention upon her: First, she won in the war against Pakistan and made Bangladesh possible; second, she declared a state of emergency, which includes, among other measures, press censorship.

Some people contend that whatever she is doing now is at great personal cost and that she is courageously undertaking the defense of her democratic country and her people against anarchy. Others bewail the passing of democracy and compose eloquent obituaries. Still others contend that “a democracy” may have died, but a promise of another, more indigenous in nature and more suitable for the service of its people, may be in the working.