Why Al Jazeera refuses to say who owns ORF, hired for Govt of India's democracy ranking

By Rajiv Shah

I was a little amused on reading an Al Jazeera piece -- a scoop actually -- which says that ahead of elections the Government of India (GoI) is all set to come up with its own democracy and freedom index vis-a-vis other countries. The story has been quotes by Hindustan Times, from where I first read about it.

It is doing so after several international think tanks ranked India poorly -- a ranking which has been nose diving ever since Modi took over the reign in May 2014. The think tank "hired" is Observer Research Foundation (ORF), which, says the report, has worked closely with External Affairs Ministry and Niti Aayog, among others.

While the Al Jazeera story made good reading, what it refuses to say is who owns ORF. I don't know why it omitted its name. I have known about ORF ever since RK Mishra, my former Patriot editor, who later became editor-in-chief of Business and Political Obsever (BPO), majorly owned by Reliance, was made ORF chairman after BPO collapsed. Reliance owns 65% of its stakes, and also receives funds from some Indian (including Government of India) and foreign funders.

I see nothing wrong in a top business house owning a think tank, as it would help create an aura of intellectualism around it, apart from making it look respectable. ORF's Gujarat chapter was once led, ironically, by a Leftist journalist who was special correspondent of Patriot, Dinkar Mehta, an unassuming person.

However, why refuse to mention Reliance and other owners is difficult to comprehend.

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