Emergency Chronicles: Indira Gandhi and Democracy's Turning Point by Gyan Prakash

Author:Gyan Prakash [Prakash, Gyan]
Language: eng
Format: epub, pdf
ISBN: 9780691217369
Google: ZagSEAAAQBAJ
Publisher: Princeton University Press
Published: 2021-07-05T18:30:00+00:00

FIGURE 6.1. Advertisement for the first Ambassador model.

Courtesy: Karl Bhote private collection.

But the most ubiquitous car on the road remained the Ambassador. Of 27,000 passenger cars sold in 1966, the Ambassador led with 70 percent, followed by Fiat with 25 and Standard Herald with 4 percent of the market share.33 There were also approximately 9,000 Jeeps (also manufactured in India by Mahindra and Mahindra Company under license), mostly used by the police. The Ambassador was widely used as a taxi, except in Mumbai where the locally produced Fiat managed to keep it at bay. Ministers and administrators traveled in the Ambassador on official business, making it the iconic government vehicle (Figure 6.2). Advertised for its roomy interior and a car of choice for families, the sedate Ambassador wore an image of middle-class frugality (Figure 6.3). Its spacious trunk had multiple uses, including providing room for a film cameraman to shoot a scene (Figure 6.4). To add some sparkle to its sober image, the car would be festooned with garlands in a wedding procession as it carried the bridegroom to the bride’s house (Figure 6.5). Motor garages sprang up across the country to repair the car that was apt to break down frequently. Fortunately, its simple and static technology rendered it easy to repair. Its overwhelmingly indigenous content meant that the parts were readily available, if not directly from Hindustan Motors then from the ancillary industry.

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