Prime Minister Narendra Modi has made two very crucial appointments after taking charge- Ajit Doval as the National Security Advisor and Nripendra Misha as the Principal Secretary to the Prime Minister. While both Doval and Mishra have exceptional credentials, what is interesting to note is that both are part of a major think tank in New Delhi known as the Vivekananda International Foundation.Housed in a huge building at New Delhi’s Chanakyapuri, VIF comprises an elite class of people who academicians, army and air force personnel, intelligence and diplomats. Ajit Doval who retired as the Chief of the Intelligence Bureau in 2005 is the director of this institute, while Mishra is part of the Executive Council.
Professor (Finance) Vaidyanathan and UTI Chair Professor in the area of Capital Market Studies at Indian Institute of Management, Bangalore is a member of the Advisory Committee at the VIF. He tells rediff.com that Doval and Mishra have not been chosen because they were from the VIF, but because of their credentials and expertise in their field. They are both exceptional officers who have proved themselves in their respective fields. It is incidental that they are from the VIF and I must say that this is a feather in the cap for our institution.
Professor Vaidyanathan explains to us the reason why the VIF came up in the first place. There was a lack of understanding of core issues that ranged from terrorism to black money. Much of the think tank in New Delhi were either left oriented or leaned towards socialists. One must remember that in the year 1970 Noorul Hassan who was minister of state for education had created several centres across the country filled with leftist idelologues. He was a sharp strategist and his intention was that for the next 20 years professors from across the country would encourage the left leaning students.
This has been discussed and debated among us several times and it is then that a conclusion was reached to have an alternate forum for discourse for the people. It was for this very purpose that the VIF came into existence. Today at the VIF there is a lot of activity that takes place. It has given a good platform for non leftists who get take part in lectures and talks. Delhi never had any such a forum for a person who was non-leftist. The VIF was also blessed by both Atal Vajpayee and L K Advani and since there the organization has been provided meaningful insights to the people.
According to the VIF website, it is an independent, non-partisan institution that promotes quality research and in-depth studies and is a platform for dialogue and conflict resolution. It strives to bring together the best minds in India to ideate on key national and international issues.T hese are objectives that fall under a broad head called `nation-building’ and often come within the purview of universities and institutions of higher learning. Unfortunately, for reasons best known to those who manage them, these academic bodies have not been able to attend to these tasks. This neglect, it seems, is in some way responsible for the perceived failure of representative bodies and the prevailing inefficiency in the government sector. VIF believes that many of these institutions – which are central to our democratic existence – cannot be expected to work better, unless academia, think tanks and civil society engage with them and critique them on a regular basis.
Distinguished Fellow at the VIF and former boss of the Research and Analysis Wing says that at the organization there is a lot of commitment to national interest. We are a think tank with a difference. We have top people coming down from across the world to share and discuss with us. The USP of VIF is national interest and it does not cater t any political line.
Profile of Nripendra Mishra- He has been described as an outstanding Indian Administrative Officer and has been the former Chairman of the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India. At the VIF he is part of the executive council. His friends at VIF say that he has wide exposire to administration and he is a man with a clear head who will take everyone along. He is known to be objective and has a great capacity to deliver. He has such a clear mind that he would never hesitate to give the right advise to the Prime Minister.
A 1967 batch IAS officer from Uttar Pradesh, he has held several important positions. One may remember that he was a crucial witness in the 2G scam case. During the hearing he is the one who disputed A Raja’s claim that the regulator had recommended the first come first serve basis. One could also remember his famous quote during the Do-Not-Call service issue when he had said that TRAI has the teeth to chew not to bite.
Ajit Doval:
A highly decorated officer and many part of his batch say that he has the nose of a blood hound to sniff down a terrorist. Former Director of the Intelligence Bureau he is an IPS officer from the Kerala cadre. His friends at the VIF are very excited about him being the NSA. They say that as far as national security is concerned, in the present crop of officers they cannot rate any one higher for the job. They say he is a complete package of professionalism and on national security matters. He also has a great deal of international acceptability. Moreover he can provide the post of NSA what it has always needed. He can drive the NSA from being a foreign services post to that of one which drives the national security agenda. Most importantly Ajit Doval is a practioner who can operationalise things.
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