Think Tanks need a revolution : Truth bared
"Greater than the tread of mighty armies is an idea whose time has come.”
By Sangeeta Saxena
A leading Washington, DC think tank, Center for Strategic and International Studies has called on India to 'tailor its Afghan policy to the new situation in Pakistan' in order to alleviate the decades-long competing strategic agendas between New Delhi and Islamabad vis-?-vis Afghanistan. It said that if New Delhi 'can find even modest ways of working in harmony with the Pakistani government, it could reap substantial benefits in its relations with both countries'.
Postings on the website of the China Institute of International Strategic Studies had an article titled ‘A Warning to the Indian Government: Don’t Be Evil! The article says India is on a path of confrontation with China and was sprucing its forces along the border areas. The situation is similar to 1962, it says, referring to the India-China war. It also says India was working against China and was procuring arms against it. The article further said that with an accelerated military position over the past few decades, India was looking beyond Pakistan “to realise its ambition of becoming a regional and global power”. Further, India considered China its biggest obstacle.
These two statements by strategic think tanks of two biggest powers USA and China, in the recent past have made India sit up . They also have led to stimulating debate in the Indian media – are the statements made by Indian defence think tanks as effective? In this age of information every country, especially the developing ones, and indeed every organisation whether business, socio-economic or military is looking for new ideas and concepts to remain ahead in race for supremacy in fields as diverse as politics, technology, business, socio-economics and military. Every politician knows that ideas have consequences and so whether it is in Washington, Beijing, New Delhi, or Paris or in any other country, policy makers are seeking the advice and counsel of scholars from think tanks who understand this reality and are able to help in shaping policies and politics with their ideas.
In the past decade or so India has also become a home to an increasing number of think tanks. The growing economy of the country together with the penchant for remaining ahead in the competitive era of market economies and most of all the growing awareness that knowledge is not a prerogative of the ossified bureaucracy of the country has spurred this growth. However for unfathomed reasons the Indian corporate sector is keeping itself at an arms length from Indian think tanks even though it is trying to generate new thinking through the collective corporate organisations such as FICCI and the IIC..
What do Sunil Bharti Mittal, Mukesh Ambani, Ratan Tata, Rahul Bajaj and Tarun Das have in common? They are all on the board of trustees of important think tanks like Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, Rand Corporation, The Brookings Institution and the Aspen Institute respectively. And the directors of Indian think tanks continuously crib of no help from the corporate. The truth remains that these business leaders have not been made members by the foreign think tanks for their financial contributions but for their strategic global perceptions. It is high time that the Indian think tanks take a leaf or two from their American counterparts. Reluctance and bashfulness should give way to a new dynamism by having the Corporate honchos on board of the Indian think tanks. For example the United Services Institution which prides itself as an independent think tank would do well if it were to take on its Executive Council, the CEOs of TATA, Mahindra, and Infosys. Cross pollination of this type would do a world of good to all concerned.
Speaking with the directors of some of these think tanks, SP’s Land Forces came to a conclusion that except for reflecting in self proclaimed glory , the influence and impact of these "brain boxes" on the powers that be is minimal and they also know it but do not want to acknowledge. Critics have suggested that, because of the public nature of the funding of some think tanks, their results are biased to a varying degree. Some argue that members will be inclined to promote or publish only those results which ensure the continued flow of funds from the donors. So the million dollar question is, do they justify their existence through platitudes and jaded views? We would like our readers to form their own opinions after reading the brief interviews given in the succeeding paragraphs.
Air Commodore Jasjit Singh (Retd), Director, Centre for Air Power Studies (CAPS), New Delhi
What was the need of CAPS, with IDSA and USI already being there?
Future wars are not going to be won by the air force but you cannot win a war without the air force. Also there is a need for synergy between the three services and a think tank like ours was required to create that. Exclusive research on aerospace and air force is our forte, but we also research on all subjects of relevance pertaining to the other two services. Indian Air Force has been a great support to us in fulfilling our role in society. Setting up this centre has resulted into three more think tanks being set up.
Does the research in think tanks influence the policy making of the ministry of defence?
I do not try to find this out. Once we have published or discussed matters, we forward it to the ministry but do not ask them whether they have used the content in decision and policy making. That is not my concern.
What should be the role of a defence think tank?
The defence think tanks do the security related thinking for the country. It thinks 10 to 20 years ahead and suggests developments on the strategic fronts. It conveys these to the government. They create a platform for brainstorming on issues of security and strategic planning, and help the officials in decision making. These think tanks also create an awareness in the Indian elite, civil and military on matters of security, so that they can prepare themselves to be a major part of the thinking world. It creates and spreads knowledge.
Please enumerate the activities undertaken by CAPS?
Seminars, workshops, round table conferences, lectures and publication are some of our activities. We organise a seminar once a year in an area under each command, so that everything is not Delhi centric.
What is CAPS doing to promote the concept of an aerospace command?
Demand for the aero space command came from the political leadership. It is the government which has to take the decision. I personally feel that the US model of one aerospace command each under the army, navy and air force and a fourth under the pentagon is a good one to follow.
What are the major security challenges to India?
Out of the many mthe greatest security challenge is to create employment for 10-15 crores. The scale of work in India is daunting. Its success is enormous and failures disastrous. We are not China where stability of the country is important. In India the individual is important, if he is secure both physically and financially, then the country is secure.
Does the corporate sector help CAPS?
Unlike the USA the corporate sector does not support the military environment much in India.
Rear Admiral Ravi Vohra VSM (Retd), Director, National Maritime Foundation, New Delhi
What was the need for NMF with IDSA and USI already existing?
Both USI and IDSA had absolutely no focus on issues concerning the oceans. Most debates in these institutions were on regional or strategic-politico angle. Hence a think tank exclusively for maritime issues was planned.
Do ministry of shipping, defence and industries recognise your role in maritime issues management?
When 90% of trade is dependent on sea routes, it is important to safeguard issues affecting the oceans. Harbours and security aspects are important for the nation. If ministry and bureaucrats are asked questions, there are no answers as these officials keep busy. So thinking has to be done by us. We have never attempted nor tried to question government policies which are decided by officials.
What is the role of the Indian Navy in NMF?
In a record time of one and a half months navy did a good job of getting the infrastructure ready. It was handed over to us and we also have two officers of the navy posted on our strength. We cover both civil and military maritime issues. In addition we also cover issues concerning merchant navy and coast guards. Officers of both navy and coast guards attend our round tables and seminars.
What is the role of the corporate sector in NMF?
None at all. We have no corporate as member.
How does NMF operate?
We operate on three different levels. Firstly we organise seminars, round table conferences and lectures. Secondly we print the summaries in the form of books and briefs and send this to the ministries of defence and shipping. Thirdly any information we have on Pakistan and China is sent to PMO, ministries of external affairs and defence.
What are the topics NMF elaborates on?
We cover energy relate, environmental and legal aspects of the sea. This is in addition to fisheries, dhows, development and security of ports, security along routes, terrorism via seas and piracy.
What are the problems NMF faces in smooth functioning?
Constraint of space which has resulted in restricting to only twelve researchers. A bigger place will help us to expand.
What are the foreign collaborations NMF has?
We have international collaboration with Singapore, under which we organise seminars every alternate year. Collaborations with Srilanka, UAE and Myanmar are in the process of dialogue. Some thing positive should come out of them.
Brig. Gurmeet Kanwal(Retd), Director, Centre for Land Warfare Studies(CLAWS), New Delhi
Last five years have seen the unnecessary mushrooming of think tanks in India. Comment.
The larger the number of think tanks we have, the better we will be as a nation.
With USI and IDSA already existing what was the need of CLAWS?
USI was never a think tank. It promoted strategic culture through events but not through research. CLAWS stresses on research. Any research should be policy oriented and of course a strategic studies think tank should definitely be research oriented. It should also contribute to national security effort.
Does the bureaucracy listen to your suggestions and conclusions on various issues?
Bureaucracy realises that there is no harm in listening to the think tanks. We give them the reports regularly. Real distinction I would like to make is that when you are in policy making and execution, you have no time to study. So think tanks become important. Things are looking up in the think tank community in India.
Does CLAWS have an international collaboration?
Not at the moment. Brahmos has commissioned CLAWS to do a study on sales of arms as a foreign policy tools.
What is your strength of research scholars?
We have colonels on study leave, and civilian scholars who constitute the strength of nearly 20.
In USA think tanks officials get incorporated into government positions of importance. When do you see India progressing towards such a scenario?
Cross pollination of bureaucracy and think tanks is not happening in India. That is why think tanks do not get taken seriously. Politicians are blissfully unaware of their existence most of the times. But we are keeping our fingers crossed for things to move in the right direction.
What are the subjects you research on?
Anything which is of concern to the army and the Para military forces. Terrorism, counter insurgency, border issues, guerrilla warfare, regional security, defence technology and research, NBC issues and defence cooperation to name a few subjects.
Is there a way in which this awareness is spread into the masses by CLAWS?
We organise seminars, workshops and round table conferences to awaken people to the existing situations in the field.
Lt. Gen. (Retd) V R Raghavan Director, Delhi Policy Group (DPG) and President, Centre for Security Analysis (CSA) New Delhi
Does DPG forward all its research to the MOD and MEA?
Sure we send every document to the ministries. They get hundreds and hundreds of documents and they go into raddi. There is no system of reading and analysing them. If it goes by name to the secretary and other bureaucrats it gets acknowledged. When highlighted centre pointers go by name to ministers or PMO we get a call.
Do you feel it is utilised at the policy making level?
Sure, we feel it is utilised at policy level. Publications are reference material and is used in research. Our objective is to influence the policy makers to think. They continuously ask us for information. There are highly competent and professional people in the ministries.
What are the tasks undertaken by DPG?
We provide as a think tank a collective grouping of ideas and a varied range of opinions. If the think tank does only seminars and workshops it does not make sense. We fulfil the task of collecting reference data.
USA has think tank officials in important positions of the government. When will India see such a scenario?
US is a very unique system. When an administration goes they take everything. Each President gets in his own strength. In the Indian system with the civil servants, there is no scope for think tank heads to be a part of the governance. US government uses well known think tanks to generate ideas, propagate and generate public discourse and build public opinion. Here it is different as ministries discuss in the Parliament. In US think tanks are run by private funding. Government might commission a study. In India government funding means no independent voice.
Does DPG get some government funding?
No, we are privately fun ded and we never take money from the government.
What is the contribution of the corporate to DPG?
Indian corporate sector is still not alive to the concept of funding think tanks. They will spend 50 crores for party funding but will not give 2 crores to an independent think tank.
In your opinion can think tanks like CLAWS, CAPS and NMF be fearless in research?
They are not think tanks in the true sense of the word. They are services focussed, directly funded by the services and they generate a debate for the services. I am sure it would be difficult to come to negative conclusions about the services. So this means very less or no recommendations for positive changes.
What are the types of security issues DPG works on?
Social, environmental and sociological security are non traditional security issues we work upon. And all the traditional issues under national and global security are always researched upon.
Should a think tank like DPG convert itself into a university?
No, I don’t think that is logical. We run outreach programmes in universities through which we generate discussion and create an awareness in the masses. We are also translating our books in hindi.
Lt. Gen. (Retd) P K Singh Director, United Services Institution of India, New Delhi
What are the unique features of USI, as a think tank?
USI has the most unique history. USI journal is the continuously working, oldest surviving journal in the world. From the day it was formed, Viceroy became the Patron and the commander-in-chief became the vice patron. In 1871 they were looking at the strategic importance of Kashmere. By 1890s Persia, Afghanistan, North West Frontier Province, Burma, Japan, China and Central Asia were thefocus of attention. In 1930s economic and financial aspects of defence were being discussed by USI. Its ability to identify topical interest keeping the world in mind has always been USI’s uniqueness.
What are the current topics USI has been discussing?
Nuclear doctrine, budgeting, peacekeeping, missile defence, space command, terrorism and many more topics are being discussed by USI and a platform is being created for discussion at a pan-India level.
Does USI influence policies of the government, on defence and national security?
We have tremendous synergy with government. We help in creating a tentative road map keeping national and regional interests in mind.
Apart from publishing journals what are the other activities of USI?
We have centres for research, strategic studies, simulation, UN peacekeeping, armed forces historical research and many more. Our main aim is preparation of army officers for internal exams conducted by the army. We give a platform to people who do research and write on matters of security. We also publish these studies. We organise seminars, workshops, round table conferences and debates on a lot of important issues.
Does USI have international collaborations?
We have foreign institutional dialogues. We are in regular interaction with China, UK, Germany, USA, Japan, Russia, Taiwan, Vietnam, Cambodia, Bangladesh, Cairo, Jordan, Kazakistan, Uzbegistan and NATO. We also get important delegations from various countries.
What is the membership profile of USI?
We have more than 12,500 members. Foreign services, defence services, bureaucrats, academicians, journalists and judges give a vast variety to our membership profile.
What is the need of having thirty odd think tanks in Delhi?
Think tanks are like sounding boards to get people from all over the world to ideate. It is good to have so many think tanks as it gives cross section of ideas and research.
Why should USI not be converted into a university?
It should be a research centre and can give part time guidance to research scholars. We do not need to be converted into a university with students of all classes around.
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