INSTITUTIONALIZING REFORM: THE FORD FOUNDATION, THE I.I.P.A., AND ADMINISTRATIVE REFORM IN INDIA, 1950-1970. By SHILPA C. DAMLE SubmittEd in partial fulfillment of rEquirEments for thE dEgrEE of Doctor of Philosophy DEpartment of History CASE WESTERN RESERVE UNIVERSITY August, 2014 CASE WESTERN RESERVE UNIVERSITY SCHOOL OF GRADUATE STUDIES We hereby approve the thesis/dissertation of Shilpa C. Damle Candidate for the Doctor of Philosophy degree* (signed) Dr. David C. Hammack (Committee Chair) Dr. Kenneth Ledford Dr. Kelly McMann Dr. Rhonda Y. Williams (date) May 8, 2014 *We also certify that written approval has been obtained for any proprietary material contained therein. 1 For My Parents, Ulka and Vijay Shrikhande. 2 Table of Contents Abstract 7 Chapter 1: Introduction 9 Chapter 2: History of AdministrativE REforms in India BEfore 37 IndEpEndEncE: A PrE-Story Chapter 3: State Nationalism, CEntralizEd DEvElopment and AdministrativE 83 Change in Post-Colonial India Chapter 4: Ford Foundation in India: DEmocracy and DEvElopment 128 Chapter 5: Paul ApplEby: ThE NEw DEal ExpErt 172 Chapter 6: Ford Foundation and thE I.I.P.A.: ThE FormativE YEars, 1953- 213 1963 Chapter 7: ThE I.I.P.A., and thE Ford Foundation: ThE Changing 247 Relationship, 1961-1970. Chapter 8: Conclusion 300 Bibliography 312 3 List of Figures Figure 1: Funding lEvEls by thE Indian GovErnment And thE Ford Foundation 259 4 Acknowledgements A lot of dEbts arE incurrEd in thE coursE of concEptualizing, rEsEarching and writing a dissErtation. ThE biggest and pErhaps thE most significant, in my casE, arE to my advisor, David Hammack. HE challEngEd me to think critically and supported me unconditionally over the years, hElping me finish my dissErtation. My committEE changEd ovEr thE many yEars I took to complEtE my work. YEt Each onE of my membErs (Profs. Woollacott, Köll, Williams, LEdford and McMann) rEad my chaptErs and offErEd me insightful advicE. For that I am vEry gratEful. DEpartment Assistants, Nancy, Marissa, Kalli, BEss and Emily hElpEd to EasE thE administrativE difficultiEs of living away from school and trying to conform to UnivErsity regulations. ThE archivists and librarians, who sErvE as custodians of historical matErial, arE thE rEal hEroEs bEhind my work. Without thEir Effort and hElp, I would not be able to tell thE story behind Ford Foundation’s experiences in India. Alan Divack and Jim MoskE at thE Ford Foundation ArchivEs, Sunita Pramod Gulati at thE Indian InstitutE of Public Administration Library and Mary O’BriEn at thE SyracusE UnivErsity ArchivEs, copiEd many papErs and mailEd thEm to me bEcause I could not spend time at thEir archivEs. Thanks arE duE to Profs. Tiwari and JaidEEp Singh of thE I.I.P.A. for EnlightEning me about thE InstitutE and its history. I fEEl a dEEp sEnsE of gratitudE to Mr. Tarlok Singh, Prime MinistEr NEhru’s sEcrEtary and a witnEss to thE many situations I dEscribE in my dissErtation, for talking to me dEspitE advancEd age and frail hEalth. 5 Finally, I owE a big obligation to my family, ShEkhar, JaidEEp, Anuj, and my mothEr-in-law for kEEping my spirits high, and Enduring my ups and downs. I thank my parEnts for thEir lovE and support, and my ExtEndEd family for always bEliEving I could get this job done. Graduate student friends, Kitty, Susan, Betsy, Tasslyn, Eric and Aaron along with my Richmond support group: Neha, Gayatri, Jinu, Veena, Pat and TEjal, kEpt lifE intErEsting and full of possibilitiEs. To thEm and othErs not mentionEd, I am indEEd vEry thankful. UltimatEly, a special thanks to my family and hosts in Cleveland, Swati and Sudarshan Sathe, who madE me fEEl wElcome on all my trips to meEt my committEE membErs and hElpEd me undErstand the importancE of finishing my dissErtation. If not for my guidEs and wEll wishErs, this work would not havE sEEn thE light of day and I am dEEply gratEful to thEm all. 6 Institutionalizing Reform: The Ford Foundation, The I.I.P.A., and Administrative Reform in India, 1950- 1970. Abstract by SHILPA C. DAMLE The period after World War II was the high point for American Foundations abroad. This was EspEcially truE for thE Ford Foundation, which was just Emerging on thE intErnational stagE, rEady to usE thE bEnEfits of American modErnization techniques and institutional strategiEs for thE newly indEpendEnt nations in Asia. They believed that poverty caused instability and a rise in radical ideologies, which wErE a thrEat to dEmocraciEs around thE world. ThE Cold War hEightEnEd thE Foundation’s concErn towards thEsE outcomes. ConsEquEntly, thE Ford Foundation dEcidEd to support thE dEvElopment programs of govErnments, EspEcially in nascEnt dEmocraciEs likE India, in the 1950s. Foundation actions are criticized or lauded by scholars who primarily focus on Foundation motivation and ExpEctations, not taking thE rEcipiEnts’ rEalitiEs and context into considEration. This study expands thE study of Foundation programs in dEvEloping countriEs by adding thE rEcipiEnt’s history and culture to the analysis thereby providing a fuller understanding of Ford Foundation’s institutionalizing strategies in India and its expectations of these institutions in thE arEa of administrativE rEform bEtwEEn 1950 and 1970. 7 DuE to thE circumstancEs surrounding Indian indEpEndEncE, nationalist leadErs dEcidEd to situate thE new Indian nationalism in thE cEntralizEd StatE and its dEvElopment program. ConsEquEntly, thEy dEcidEd to continuE thE cEntralizEd burEaucratic structurE of thE colonial govErnment. HowEvEr, Prime MinistEr NEhru rEalizEd that this systEm nEEdEd to bE rEformed and asked thE Ford Foundation and Paul ApplEby to study India’s administration and suggEst changEs. GivEn thE constraints of thE cEntralizEd administrativE structurE and ApplEby’s own bEliEfs, hE rEcommendEd thE sEtting up of an InstitutE of Public Administration, serving as a profEssional sociEty for acadEmic Public Administration and as a forum for scholars to study administrativE problEms and discuss possiblE solutions with administrators, lEading to bEttEr practicEs. ThE Foundation hElpEd crEatE thE Indian InstitutE of Public Administration (I.I.P.A.). HowEvEr, duE to changEs in political Environment, thE Ford Foundation alterEd its expectation of the Institute and pushEd it to bEcome morE aggrEssivE pursuing administrativE rEforms. ThE Institute, howevEr, did not change its essEntial character and continued to sErvE as a professional society thereby frustrating Foundation expectations. 8 Chapter 1 Introduction The period after the Second World War was the pinnacle of the power of American Foundations abroad. Although small and large philanthropies, all through American history, had always contributed to different socio-political and scientific causes around the world for a wide array of reasons, at no point in time before the end of World War II had they been so well organized, playing an international role so important.1 At the end of the War, the mighty European powers lay defeated and in serious disarray, their colonies in Asia and Africa were demanding and winning their independence and the only entities left fairly intact at war’s end and in a position to help restore stability and provide guidance to a war-ravaged world were the United States and Russia. However, the ensuing enmity and competing visions these countries provided ended up creating two rival nuclear powered camps fighting a seemingly never-ending cold war. Both these powers tried to influence the new states (former colonies of the European powers) in Asia and Africa in an attempt to bring them over to their side. The American Foundations, at this time, served as the non-governmental beacon of western institutional modernity encompassing the free market and democratic alternative to the Soviet communist one. They advised and funded projects for governments around the world 1 Curti, Merle, E., American Philanthropy Abroad, (Brunswick, New Jersey: Rutgers University Press, 1963), Dowie, Mark, American Foundations: An Investigative History, (Cambridge, Mass: MIT Press, 2002), p. 5. Steven Heydemann with Rebecca Kinsey, “The State and International Philanthropy: The Contribution of American Foundations, 1919-1991”, in Anheier, Helmut K., and Hammack, David C., American Foundations: Roles and Contributions, (Washington, D.C.: The Brookings Institution, 2010), pp. 205-236. 9 providing an apparently non-controversial and safe alternative to American state funding, garnering incredible influence with world leaders and lawmakers in the process.2 The course of advising and creating solutions to persistent developmental problems in different countries is often an exercise in cultural interaction. And cultures, in turn, are usually products of the unique historical experiences that have shaped developments and created specific ways of operation in individual countries. Also, relationships between different cultures are never static and develop with time based on their evolving historical circumstance. It is in this context then that cross-cultural human contact, especially one that analyzes the adaptation and functioning of western institutions in non-western settings, needs to be understood. And considering the work of private American foundations in developing countries serves a useful purpose towards that end. After the end of the Second World War, large American Foundations offered and were invited by different countries around the world to help guide nascent governments to develop indigenous socio-economic and political capabilities. They brought with