CPR a valued research body: Top academics write to govt

The appeal comes in the backdrop of the government suspending CPR’s registration under the Foreign Contribution Regulation Act for 180 days — a decision the signatories termed as a shocking and dismaying — on the back of an income tax “survey” conducted on CPR last year.

Terming the Centre for Policy Research (CPR) as a “vital” and “resolutely non-partisan institution of knowledge”, a “close and indispensable interlocutor” to academics globally, and a “highly valued member of the international research community”, close to 100 top international scholars have said that recent moves against CPR are a blow to intellectual freedom. They have urged the government to reconsider its actions.

The scholars said that CPR has the “rare distinction” of working with successive central and state governments and its governing board, comprising eminent Indians, has held the institution to the “highest standards of intellectual rigor and institutional probity”. (HT)

The appeal comes in the backdrop of the government suspending CPR’s registration under the Foreign Contribution Regulation Act for 180 days — a decision the signatories termed as a shocking and dismaying — on the back of an income tax “survey” conducted on CPR last year. These actions will impair the pursuit of research and independent judgment, set a dangerous precedent, and hurt Indian democracy, the global community of scholars representing over 50 academic institutions have argued.

The open letter is distinctive because of the stature of the scholars, the breadth of disciplines they represent, the quality and ranking of institutions they are affiliated with, and their geographical spread across the academy in the United States (US), United Kingdom (UK), Canada, Europe, Australia and Africa.

Signatories include the global historian and economist Adam Tooze, one of the world’s most prominent thinkers on democracy, Larry Diamond and veteran American political scientist Ira Katznelson; political scientists steeped in scholarship on India, including Atul Kohli, Sudipta Kaviraj, Uday Singh Mehta, Pradeep Chibber, Christophe Jaffrelot and Karuna Mantena; international relations scholars such as Gary Bass, Sumit Ganguly, Christopher Clary, Paul Staniland, Christine Fair; historians including Sunil Amrith, Gyan Prakash and David Engerman, among others.

“Established in 1973, CPR is one of India’s oldest and most esteemed policy research institutions. Over the past the five decades, it has served as a vital and resolutely non-partisan centre of knowledge and research on key public policy questions and challenges confronting India and the world. The excellent scholarship produced by CPR has also consistently illuminated and informed Indian public debates,” the letter states.

The scholars said that CPR has the “rare distinction” of working with successive central and state governments and its governing board, comprising eminent Indians, has held the institution to the “highest standards of intellectual rigor and institutional probity”.

It adds that precisely because CPR is an “Indian institution steeped in the Indian policy milieu”, it has been a close and indispensable interlocutor to academics and researchers working on India across the world. “Through its rigorous research and active engagement, CPR has earned a reputation for excellence that is second to none among international scholars. It has also facilitated the engagement of a large number of scholars with India over the years and has mentored some of the finest young researchers in India.”

CPR’s commitment to rigorous academic enquiry has made it the “partner of choice” for universities, institutions and philanthropic foundations outside India. “CPR is a highly valued member of the international research community—one that has considerably enhanced the reputation of Indian academic and research work on the global stage,” the letter adds.

The scholars allege that recent government moves in the case of CPR amount to an “abrogation of the institutional independence” that is crucial to the production and dissemination of knowledge. “In so doing, they also strike a blow at intellectual freedom and public reason that are cornerstones of Indian democracy. We respectfully urge the Indian government to reconsider its decision. We affirm our full support to the President of Centre for Policy Research and her colleagues.”

The signatories include 97 academics who have worked closely on India from disciplines as varied as political science, international relations, sociology, anthropology, history, economics, geography, international development, urban studies, science and technology, environment and public policy.

They are affiliated with 27 US institutions, including top universities such as Harvard, Princeton, Yale, Columbia, Stanford, Chicago, University of California Berkley, Brown, Georgetown, University of Pennsylvania, among others, and thinktanks such as Carnegie Endowment for International Peace and The Hoover Institution. The affiliations also include 10 UK universities, including Oxford, Cambridge, London School of Economics and Political Science, King’s College London and University of Sussex and half-a-dozen European universities, including Sciences Po, University of Oslo, University of Copenhagen, besides institutions in Canada, Australia and South Africa.