A well known think tank is often referred to as ‘cut and paste’ club, as all its members excel in producing research papers by compiling excerpts from published material. Their only motivation for taking up research is to get a peaceful tenure in Delhi. Research papers are produced on every subject under the sun, even if of remote interest to India. The quality of research papers is judged by the number of references and notes provided at the end. Every statement is required to be authenticated by referring to a published source, howsoever well known it may be. There are many papers in which the researcher does not contribute even a paragraph of his own.
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Another think tank is so short of quality work that it fills its journal by reproducing texts of speeches made by visiting speakers and reports of study tours. One of the newer think tanks has a single point agenda – oppose appointment of Chief of Defence Staff (CDS). Every article and statement emanating from it ends up stressing and re-stressing the ills of CDS system. It is known to have declined to accept work which does not toe anti-CDS line. Instead of looking at national security imperatives in a holistic and inter-disciplinary manner, new think tanks have set narrow subjective objectives for themselves. For example, one think tank feels that the constitution of aerospace command under the Air Force aegis is the panacea for all security concerns and hence it must be promoted vigorously. Another think tank looks at the Indian Ocean in isolation while the third one remains embroiled in insurgency related issues. They have thus got reduced to furthering the official viewpoints of their respective funding authorities to promote service interests in inter-service turf wars.
Public, on the other hand, is blissfully occupied with cricket, movie stars and petty politics. It has little time for serious deliberation of security matters. Even the Parliament spends more time discussing Indias cricket performance than the defence budget.
Worse, most of the defence experts lack credibility. They change their opinion as per their job requirements. Their lack of courage of conviction and fickle mindedness can teach a few tricks to even professional political defectors. Experts, who opposed Indo-US nuclear deal initially, turned its strongest supporters overnight. Similarly, advocacy of CDS system got replaced by opposition with the change of job. Defence experts have failed to establish reputation for stating their mind honestly and hence, no one takes them seriously.
The only silver lining in this otherwise dismal scenario is the effort being put in by a few intrepid and enterprising individuals who have started defence journals to provide a vehicle for the free-flow of ideas without fear and partisanship. Their efforts deserve special praise as they possess limited resources but seek no government support to retain their independence. These journals can not be called think tanks in the classical sense but they have been in the forefront of study and analysis of strategic issues facing India. Their yeomen service needs recognition.
The Way Forward
The Group of Ministers (GoM), constituted in the wake of the Kargil War, while referring to research in India in the field of defence observed – “Whereas academic research is carried out more or less in a policy vacuum, official agencies undertake their policy making tasks in the absence of the wealth of information available with the academic community. There is a need to ensure that the Government’s policy and decision making processes are informed by the findings of rigorous analyses and research.” As it always happens, instead of identifying underlying reasons for such a state of affairs and suggesting remedial measures, GoM recommended creation of a defence university to fill the lacuna. The proposed university will only add to the burgeoning government staff strength and contribute little of value as the current mind-sets are unlikely to change.
A large number of reputed think tanks in the Western countries are either affiliated to universities or are funded by foundations, trusts and individuals. That is the reason that they attract the best research talent and produce independent works. India should also strive to move in the same direction.
Given our way of functioning, psyche and penchant to play favourites, no improvement can be expected in the performance of government funded think tanks. They will continue to be perfunctory players, thriving on patronage rather than the quality of serious research work. As no difference of opinion will ever be tolerated by the government functionaries, such think tanks will carry on churning out insipid, irrelevant, indefinite and worthless studies. In short, they will remain as parking slots for the well-connected and nothing else.
A large number of reputed think tanks in the Western countries are either affiliated to universities or are funded by foundations, trusts and individuals. That is the reason that they attract the best research talent and produce independent works. India should also strive to move in the same direction. Some universities do have departments for strategic and defence studies but the scope of their work is highly limited at present. They must be encouraged and supported.
Public apathy is one of the primary reasons for the government’s neglect of think tanks in India. The government knows that even the most critical decisions can be taken by it without any questions being raised in the public domain. It is, therefore, incumbent on the think tanks to inform and prepare the countrymen as regards the seriousness and enormity of the security challenges faced by the country. Only public pressure can force the government to take cognisance of the research studies and draw upon the expertise of the think tanks. This is going to be a tall order for a country that is overly secretive about all security issues and prefers to keep the public in dark. Public, on the other hand, is blissfully occupied with cricket, movie stars and petty politics. It has little time for serious deliberation of security matters. Even the Parliament spends more time discussing India’s cricket performance than the defence budget.
Finally, research can not be carried out in a vacuum. What India needs is institutionalisation of strategic thinking and close interaction between the strategic community and the policy makers. All well-meaning trusts and foundations should come forward and help in the development of independent think tank culture in India through applied and basic research of issues of national concern to generate multiple courses of action with detailed reasoning and inter-se merits. Policy makers should be able take well-considered decisions. In other words, think tanks should act as a bridge between the academic community and policymaking functionaries. More importantly, they should provide independent, credible and candid analysis to the public for informed debate of national security issues.
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