Full text: Action against think tank CPR will hurt research in India, say international scholars

A group of international researchers and academicians has written an open letter urging the Union government to reconsider its decision to suspend the Foreign Contribution Regulation Act licence of influential Centre for Policy Research think tank.

“...This action is clearly aimed at undermining a leading research institution and jeopardising its existence,” the letter said. “It also sets a dangerous precedent that will impair the pursuit of research and independent judgment in the country.”

The Union Ministry of Home Affairs suspended the Foreign Contribution Regulation Act licence of the think tank for 180 days on February 27. The suspension means the Delhi-based think tank will not be able to get fresh donations from abroad or use the existing foreign donations without the home ministry’s clearance

Among those who have voiced their support for the Centre for Policy Research are Ashutosh Varshney from the Brown University, Karuna Mantena and Adam Tooze from the Columbia University, Milan Vaishnav from the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace and Rina Agarwala from the Johns Hopkins University.

Other signatories include Christophe Jaffrelot from London’s King’s College, Gyan Prakash from the Princeton University, Nayanika Mathur from the Oxford University and Sunil Amrith from the Yale University.

The government had claimed that there was prima facie evidence...

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