CPR FACULTY ANALYSE
INDIA-PAKISTAN SOUTH ASIA POLITICS
Post the surgical strikes by India on the Line of Control, compiled below is the commentary by CPR faculty.
In the Die is Cast, Pratap Bhanu Mehta analyses the strikes and what these mean for the future of India-Pakistan relations.
In The Times of India, G Parthasarathy writes that the strikes have sent an important signal to Pakistan, and that India knows its nuclear threshold, well aware that ‘while Pakistan’s army may be adventurist, it is not suicidal’.
In the Hindustan Times, Brahma Chellaney writes that even though the strikes mark an end to years of Indian indecision and inaction, a one-off attack ‘can do little to help reform the Pakistani military’s conduct’, and the critical question remains whether India ‘will be willing to stage more raids’.
In An Indo-Pak Cold War, Sanjaya Baru writes that the strikes were ‘waiting to happen for many years now’, and the challenge going forward, for both countries, would be to ‘manage a long period of bilateral disengagement’.
In A face-saving move or planned retaliation, Bharat Karnad writes ‘there was nothing particularly novel or new about the’ surgical strikes, and that the time lapse between the Uri attack and the strikes suggests that it was a ‘face-saver’. However, in another article, he comments that being belated, the strikes have ‘changed the rules of the game that Pakistan was playing by’.
On 10th January 2024, CPR received a notice from the Ministry of Home Affairs cancelling its FCRA status. The basis of this decision is incomprehensible and disproportionate, and some of the reasons given challenge the very basis of the functioning of a research institution. This includes the publication on our website of policy reports emanating from our research being equated with current affairs programming.
During the tenure of our suspension, we sought and obtained interim redress from the honourable Delhi High Court and will continue to seek recourse in all avenues possible.
This cancellation comes after a decision to suspend the FCRA status in February 2023. These actions followed an Income Tax “survey” that took place in September 2022. The actions have had a debilitating impact on the institution’s ability to function by choking all sources of funding. This has undermined the institution’s ability to pursue its well established objective of producing high quality, globally recognised research on policy matters, which it has been recognised for over its 50 years’ existence. During this time the institution has been home to some of the country’s most distinguished academics, diplomats and policymakers.
CPR firmly reiterates that it is in complete compliance with the law, and has been cooperating fully and exhaustively at every step of the process. We remain steadfast in our belief that this matter will be resolved in line with constitutional values and guarantees.