The forgotten story of India's brush with presidential rule

In the 1970s, under Prime Minister Indira Gandhi, India witnessed a push towards a presidential system to centralize power and bypass parliamentary democracy, as revealed by historian Srinath Raghavan. Despite enthusiastic support from Congress leaders, the idea never fully materialized but left its mark through the Forty-second Amendment Act, which concentrated power by expanding Parliament's powers and limiting judicial review. Gandhi herself contemplated becoming president in 1982 but ultimately chose not to. The renewed interest in a presidential system did not come to fruition, leaving India's parliamentary system intact.