The Vivekananda International Foundation (VIF) is an Indian public policy

think-tank A think tank, or policy institute, is a research institute that performs research and advocacy concerning topics such as social policy, political strategy, economics, military, technology, and culture. Most think tanks are non-governmental ...

. It is considered to be aligned to right-of-centre in its policies.

Origins and history

The Vivekananda International Foundation describes itself as an "independent, non-partisan institution that promotes quality research and in-depth studies." The Foundation was established in December 2009, at a site in New Delhi's Chanakyapuri allotted by the P. V. Narasimha Rao government in 1993.

Ajit Doval Ajit Kumar Doval KC (born 20 January 1945) is a bureaucrat & spymaster, serving as the fifth and current National Security Advisor (NSA) to the Prime Minister of India, with the precedence equivalent to Cabinet Minister. He previously served as ...

, who retired as the director of the Intelligence Bureau in 2005, became its founder Director. The Foundation made news in 2011–2012 when it was said to be instrumental in bringing together Anna Hazare,

Arvind Kejriwal Arvind Kejriwal (Hindi: �ɾʋin̪d̪ ked͡ʒɾiːʋaːl born 16 August 1968) is an Indian politician, former bureaucrat, and activist who is the 7th and current Chief Minister of Delhi since February 2015. Currently, he is the national co ...

and

Kiran Bedi Kiran Bedi (born 9 June 1949) is an Indian social activist, former-tennis player who became the first woman in India to join the officer ranks of the Indian Police Service (IPS) in 1972 and was the 24th Lieutenant Governor of Puducherry from ...

, along with Baba Ramdev, to form the '

Team Anna The Indian anti-corruption movement, popularly known as Anna Andolan, was a series of demonstrations and protests across India that began in 2011 and was intended to establish strong legislation and enforcement against perceived endemic polit ...

'.In the right place
''Business Standard'', 7 June 2014. In 2014, its director

was appointed by the Prime Minister

Narendra Modi Narendra Damodardas Modi (; born 17 September 1950) is an Indian politician serving as the 14th and current Prime Minister of India since 2014. Modi was the Chief Minister of Gujarat from 2001 to 2014 and is the Member of Parliament fro ...

as India's National Security Advisor. The Prime Minister's Principal Secretary

Nripendra Misra Nripendra Misra (born 8March 1945) is a retired 1967 Indian Administrative Service (IAS) officer from the Uttar Pradesh cadre who served as Principal Secretary to the Prime Minister of India, Narendra Modi from 2014 to 2019. He has also served ...

and the Additional Principal Secretary P. K. Mishra were also recruited from the Foundation's staff.From Vivekananda to PMO stars: Meet Modi's favourite think tank
Firstpost, 17 June 2014. The Prime Minister Modi is said to have been following the Foundation for some time and is impressed with its work.PMO borrows officers from VIF
Afternoon Despatch & Courier, 4 June 2014. The Foundation states that it has no formal organisational links with the RSS or the

Bharatiya Janata Party The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP; ; ) is a political party in India, and one of the two major Indian political parties alongside the Indian National Congress. Since 2014, it has been the ruling political party in India under Narendra Mod ...

. However, commentators have found Hindu nationalist ideas in several of its publications. The news magazine

Tehelka ''Tehelka'' (Hindi: Sensation) is an Indian news magazine known for its investigative journalism and sting operations. According to the British newspaper ''The Independent'', the ''Tehelka'' was founded by Tarun Tejpal, Aniruddha Bahal and a ...

has claimed that the Foundation supplied the intellectual inputs for the Narendra Modi campaign, defended him against charges in the

Ishrat Jahan case The Ishrat Jahan case is an ongoing case where officers of the Ahmedabad Police Crime Branch and members of the Subsidiary Intelligence Bureau (SIB) of Ahmedabad are accused of fatally shooting four people unlawfully on 15 June 2004 in an " en ...

, and spearheaded the Anna Hazare anti-corruption movement to undercut the

United Progressive Alliance United Progressive Alliance (UPA) is a centre-left political alliance of predominantly left-leaning political parties in India. It was formed after the 2004 general election with support from left-leaning political parties when no single party ...

government.

Output

The Foundation's primary output ranges from short articles and reports published online to monographs and occasional papers and a quarterly journal called ''National Security''. In addition, the Foundation also holds regular seminars and a monthly discourse on contemporary subjects titled ''Vimarsh''. The think tank has also worked with other think tanks on joint reports. A monthly magazine ''Vivek'' is brought out too.

People

VIF is currently headed by former Deputy

NSA The National Security Agency (NSA) is a national-level intelligence agency of the United States Department of Defense, under the authority of the Director of National Intelligence (DNI). The NSA is responsible for global monitoring, collecti ...

of India Arvind Gupta. S. Gurumurthy is the chairman, and former Deputy

and former head of National Security Council,

Satish Chandra Satish Chandra is a given name of Hindu origin, and may refer to, * Satish Chandra (politician), Indian National Congress leader * Satish Chandra (historian), Indian academic * Satish Chandra Agarwal, Indian politician * Satish Chandra Basumatary, ...

is the vice-chairman of the think tank. Scores of retired officers from Defence Forces/ Bureaucracy form the think resource. The members regularly meet to deliberate upon subject, ranging from prevailing Political, Strategical and other administrative issues with an aim of resource development and promote nationalism.

References

{{Reflist Organisations based in Delhi Foreign policy and strategy think tanks in India

Origins and history

Output

People

See also

References