International researchers and academicians urge Centre to reconsider decision to suspend FCRA licence of Centre for Policy Research

“As researchers and scholars with a deep interest in India, we are shocked and dismayed to learn that the government of India has suspended CPR’s registration under the FCRA. Coming on the heels of the Income Tax survey conducted on CPR last year, this action is clearly aimed at undermining a leading research institution and jeopardising its existence. It also sets a dangerous precedent that will impair the pursuit of research and independent judgment in the country,” the letter states.

Among those who have voiced their support for the CPR are Ira Katznelson, Karuna Mantena and Adam Tooze from Columbia University, Michael Burawoy from University of California, Berkeley, Ashutosh Varshney from the Brown University, Alpa Shah from London School of Economics, Nayanika Mathur from Oxford University, Milan Vaishnav from the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace and Rina Agarwala from the Johns Hopkins University.

“The recent moves against CPR by the Indian government amount to an abrogation of 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 reasons 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 the Centre for Policy Research and her colleagues,” the letter states.

“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 says.

“CPR has the rare distinction of working with successive central and state governments as well as a range of other institutions across the country. The governing board of CPR, comprising eminent Indians committed to public service, has held the organization to the highest standards of intellectual rigour and institutional probity,” it states.

“Precisely because it is an Indian institution steeped in the Indian policy milieu, CPR 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,” the letter states.

“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. In turn, CPR’s commitment to rigorous academic inquiry has made it the partner of choice for many universities, research 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 further states.