The waning spirit of independent inquiry
A lmost 70 years ago, Prasanta Chandra mahala no bis, chosen by Prime minister jaw aharl al nehru to build the foundation sofa statistical and research system in a newly independent country, had decided that research bodies should be setup outside the government. Nb has kara rao,a pioneer of social research in india, recalls this incident in his latest book to make a telling point about what ails the state of research in thiscountry.
Mahala no bis was worried that numbers and data should go through rigorous checks so that they can not be manipulated by the government or its bureaucrats. thus, there search agencies he setup were outside the control of the government. dr ra o’ s ref rain in almost all the seven chapter soft his book is that the system of nurturing independent research has withered during the past many decades, and the country’ s statistical system has been undermined by political leadership and electoral compulsions.
His diagnosis of the state of independent research in india has a seriousmessageforpolicy-makers.it stems from his thesis that research findings lose their credibility when facts and figures begin to be questioned by people within or outside the country. such doubts are raised because there is a perceived and real lack of rig our in data collections, made worse by the absence of any validation of research as well as public scrutiny. As a result, doubts arise over claims made by the government on its performance and policy making suffers. This is a vicious cycle and dr ra o points out that such a situation, if allowed to persist, can be dangerous for any country.
Independent and transparent research, according to the author, is not only vital for good governance but also is a safeguard against bad governments. Therefore, the decline in standards and integrity of social research in the past few decades could harm the nation and even the government. without reliable data, the government’ s ability to appraise even its own schemes is likely to be undermined, thereby impairing the quality of governance. with the centre alone spending over ~15 trillion every year on over 700 schemes for developmental activities, the need for social research to evaluate their need and effectiveness could hardly be over estimated. yet, dr Ra o’ s regret is that not even 0.01 percent of such a financial out lay is allocated for research and evaluation.
In a candid analysis, the author points out that because independent research can expose the weaknesses or false claims about the success of any scheme, governments do not generally support independent research. ironic ally, this has led to a steady decline in the government’ s budgetary allocation for research over the years. new rules over funding of research bodies from within or outside the country have essentially meant that the country has not seen any new independent research initiative in the last several years.
This is ironic for another reason. india was once a pioneer in the field of statistics, research and analytical expertise. many Asian countries would send delegations to India to understand and study the vibrant systemofdata collectionand research efforts by independent organisations in the country.evennow,
India’s research infrastructureis strong. however, dr Ra o’ s regret is that the research expertise available in the country is not adequately involved in government policy making.
An excellent chapter in this book pertains to global surveys ranking india poorly or in a manner that, according to the government, does not reflect the country’ s real strengths. dr rao concedes that there are many global indices that suffer from flaws and bias es while measuring india’ s performance. but his solution does not lie in india ignoring such studies or rejecting them. the best approach would be to engage with these agencies through consultation, even as the government should take simultaneous steps to promote credible research within the country.
The chapter on india’ s research infrastructure under takes a critical evaluation of a host of agencies currently engagedin producing surveys and data sets. but it alsonoteswith concernhowa government-run Nationalresearch Foundationisnota solution to india’ s decliningsocial research.
Notthat everything is hun ky do ry with the state of independent research in india. dr ra o make san objective assessment of the various institutions that undertake independent research but points out how there is a need for them to work more closely with academia. his conclusion is almost like a warning that independent research out fits can’ t afford to ignore. no research institute can remain professional and transparent without some link ages with institutions of higher learning, he ob serves.
So, what is his prescription for rescuing social research in india from its current woes? the final chapter lists several remedial steps, each of which deserves a serious examination not just by the government, but also by there search organisations themselves. The running theme in his prescriptions for refurbishing research is to reboot the research paradigm by first promoting the culture of surveys and data collection without government control or influence and then strengthening independent research bodies with greater involvement of academia.
This will also mean that research should be made an integral part of higher education in all disciplines. Equally important will be the need to build safeguards within the research process to prevent biases and ensure adequate funding of research, not only by the Centre but also the states, without any bureaucratic or political interference. Dr Rao has produced a long wish list to refurbish social research in India. Fulfilment of these wishes will not be easy. But India can ignore them only at its own peril.