Indian Defence Review

Quality of research work totally depends on the competence of research staff involved. Any think tank that becomes a parking area for favourites degenerates into a coterie club where merit ceases to be of any relevance. Such think tanks exist only to provide vocation to some influential retired functionaries and produce little of value. Self preservation becomes the prime concern of the research scholars. RAND owes its preeminence to the high quality of its researchers which include many Nobel Laureates. Similarly, high calibre of scholars has made Brookings an influential and most-quoted think tank. RUSI is known for consistent high quality research work produced by world-class experts associated with it.

Any think tank that becomes a parking area for favourites degenerates into a coterie club where merit ceases to be of any relevance. Such think tanks exist only to provide vocation to some influential retired functionaries and produce little of value.

A think tank should carry out research and analysis of important issues concerning the governments and the public. Research cannot be carried out in a vacuum. It has to be relevant and topical. It must produce results which are of use to mould public opinion and help the functionaries in opting for the most suitable course of action. Selection of issues depends on field of activity and national interests. For a US-based think tank every occurrence in any corner of the world is important but for an Indian think tank it is pointless to focus on issues that India does not relate to. Unfortunately, many think tanks produce research work which is of little relevance and remains purely academic in value with no practical application. Such efforts are wasteful.

Research must aim at discovering, interpreting and revising understanding of issues under study. It must be carried out in a structured format – spelling out of the subject matter in precise terms, formulation of preliminary hypothesis, defining operational imperatives, collection and analysis of data, review of preliminary hypothesis and generation of research results. Research can be exploratory (identifies new problems), constructive (finds new solutions for a known problem) or empirical (solution is tested against empirical evidence). The aim of analysis should be to carry out an in-depth study of an issue by careful examination of its structure and operation. Different inferences with supporting evidence are drawn to arrive at the best course of action from among various alternatives. In order to generate credible options with their positive and negative aspects, research has to be objective and analysis purposeful. Therefore, think tanks must generate solutions which are within the realms of practicality. Wishful and implausible propositions mean little.

India and Think Tanks

Degree of effective contribution of think tanks in a country depends on two factors – first, degree of freedom granted to them to analyse and debate issues of national importance in a frank and forthright manner and, secondly, government’s receptivity to different viewpoints. Therefore, think tanks generally perform better in democracies rather than dictatorial regimes where they get forced to articulate government’s stance and policies. Moreover, the quality of research work varies from mediocre to sub-standard,

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In the case of India, think tanks have failed to contribute significantly for the following reasons:-

India lacks a tradition of long term strategic thinking and policy planning. Indian psyche is more wrapped up in philosophy rather than history.

Of late, a number of ‘think tanks’ have come into being, both with government and private funding. Unfortunately, most of them have got reduced to the level of fiefdoms of a coterie of self-promoting and self-proclaimed experts. Despite the fact that the government-funded think tanks possess enormous infrastructural resources, they have failed to deliver. In the Indian scheme of things, the term autonomy does not exist. If the government funds an organisation it ensures that its writ runs. Even the jobs of organisation’s experts depend on their ‘continued good behaviour’. Any person trying to chart an independent course is quickly sacked and replaced by a favourite loyalist. Therefore, most experts never oppose any government policy and confine their so-called research to perfunctory and irrelevant issues. A statement often heard in such organisations is, “When you are occupying a cushioned seat, why stand up (for any cause) and risk losing it?”