The land of Chanakya is often undermined by her people who have less faith in its bureaucratic culture. Many times people say that no matter what, a communist country like China and a capitalist nation like the US can be an epitome of patriotism. Sometimes the democratic formalities may appear to be a form of dictatorship by the ruling and the rich few, aided and abetted by unscrupulous bureaucrats that hurt their feeling towards the government and the nation – a thought shared by many Indians privately.
Majority of Indian lawmakers may come without any background of administration or specific knowledge of running a department and at times may be illiterate. That is a strength and weakness of the democratic system all round into one.
For the uninitiated, civil servants take all the decisions. That is the culture – politicians and civil servants run the show of governments and lobbyists and the special interest groups buzz around both to milk them. The concept of think tank is an anomaly. The place for serious strategic thinker in Indian administration is not all that welcoming.
Yet when it comes to world politics, India has great minds, but do they have much say in foreign policy affairs? A recently published report shows very poor ranking of Indian think tanks. Diplomatic Courier has released its new list [Global Think Tanks, Policy Networks and Governance] of the world’s leading think tanks. Among the 5,000 plus listed, no Indian think tank could find a place in the top 30.
A cursory look at the top 15 nations’ think tanks bolsters the argument:
USA (1, 815), China (425), India (292), UK (286), Germany (194), France (176), Argentina (137), Russia (112), Japan (103), Canada (97), Italy (90), South Africa (85), Brazil (82), Israel ( 54) and South Korea 35.
Here is the list of top 50 non-US think tanks in 2011 – Brookings Institution of the US has the pole position; UK (12), Germany (8), Belgium (4), France (2), China (2), Canada (2), Norway (2), Poland (2), Sweden (1), Russia (1), Lebanon (1), Denmark (1), the Netherlands (1), Brazil (1), Australia (1), Azerbaijan (1), India (1), Egypt (1), Indonesia (1), Japan (1), Singapore (1) and South Africa (1).
The only Indian think tank that is listed number at 34 is the Center for Civil Society. Among the top thirty ‘international development’ think tanks, Center for Development Alternatives, Ahmedabad, which ranked 34.
Has India lost the culture of thinkers and philosophers guiding the polity and society? The dreams of ‘Indian Century’ and ‘surpassing China’ do not come automatically; it requires strategic thinking, meticulous planning and near-perfect execution.
The case in point is the ongoing Iran-West tension. Perhaps, India is the only country with which both Iran and the US has cordial ties. During this period of escalating crisis, India seems to display helplessness. On one hand, India and Iran enjoys a long and warm relationship and more importantly India’s energy source deeply depend on Iran. In case of a major conflict in the region, India stands to lose a lot.
We know the reality. The West could easily get involved in Libya because Gaddafi did not have the gun-power and the brahmashtra — the nuke, the deterrent. If Iran has one, it will definitely have an edge over any external powers.. No wonder, Iran wants the bomb and Israel and the West are opposing and India favors a status quo. However, Iran is probably close to have a nuclear bomb. Israel’s threats to destroy the nuclear facilities by military strikes may be not as feasible or American computer Stuxnet worm destroying fuselages of Iran may not be science fiction, but diplomatic pressure and embargo may well be working to put Teheran in a fix. Iran’s threat to close the Hormuz Strait may have far-reaching impact. A conflict with Iran in West Asia, will be a near World war where China and Russia are not with the West.
In this game, could India be the key player to resolve the crisis? You and I may think it can, and we wish it did. But does a ‘super-power aspirant’ yet dependent on the civil servants – India wish it or will do it? In order to gain clout, rubbing shoulder with the West could be an easy way out, but India’s strategic position will suffer. Yet, New Delhi could do more:- help avoid a war, restore self-respect, independence as well as friendship with Iran. Question is raised – is an all out war, death and destruction is preferable to a nuclear Iran? And can India play a real diplomatic role? That remains the biggest challenge for New Delhi.
