In the last 64 years of the Indian republic, the nation has witnessed many strange events. From the legislative-judicial debate of the 1970s to the secessionist movements in the Northeast, the challenges to the functioning of the world's largest democracy have been innumerable. Emergencies constitute a significant part of this. Aside from the infamous National Emergency Proclamation of 1975, there are also many occasions where the state of emergency has been misused. The emergency provisions of our constitution are inherited from the previous document, the Government of India Act, 1935. In addition to this, the provision providing for suspension of fundamental rights of the citizen in case of emergency has been taken from the Weimar Constitution in Germany. Part 18 (articles 352 to 360) of the constitution lists 3 types of emergency: national, state and financial emergency. This article aims to analyze the use and abuse of various national emergency provisions in the Indian Constitution, with particular reference to the National Emergency of 1975. A historical account of the National Emergency will also be analyzed. Was the justification for declaring a national emergency in 1975 justified? Is there a difference between an authoritarian government and a parliamentary democracy where a single party holds an overwhelming majority in both houses? The particular case of article 358 will also be examined. These will be the questions that this article will attempt to answer. What usually happens during a national emergency? Emergency is an extraordinary situation in which the state cannot function normally. The state will not be able to fulfill its responsibilities as under normal circumstances. Tighter executive control over the state is needed. S...... middle of paper ... otherwise appalling chapter in Indian democracy. Works CitedArora, ND Political Science Main Examination for Civil Services. Tata McGrawHill, 2010. Basu, Durga Das. Introduction to the Constitution of India. 20. LexisNexis, 2011. Chitkara, Madan Gopal. Dr. Ambedkar and social justice. APH Publishing Corporation, 2002. Dutt, Vice President “The Indian Emergency: Context and Rationale”. Asian Survey (University of California Press) 16, no. 12 (December 1976): 1124-1138. Guha, Ramachandra. India after Gandhi. Macmillan India, 2008. Omar, Imtiaz. Emergency Powers and Courts in India and Pakistan. The Hague: Kluwer Law International, 2002. Schoenfeld, Benjamin N. “Emergency Rule in India.” Pacific Affairs (Pacific Affairs, University of British Columbia) 36, no. 3 (1963): 221-223. Sharma, Brij Kishore. Introduction to the Constitution of India. 4. PHI, n.d..