Centre for Policy Research

12/08/2026

How did globalisation make it possible for non-western nations to redirect international sporting institutions.

On 17th August, at 3 PM, CPR is organising a talk titled, 'The Nonwestern Takeover of Global Sports: Sportswashing or Global Power Shift?' The talk will be delivered by Dr Amit Gupta (Senior Visiting Fellow, CPR, Senior Advisor, Forum of Federations, Canada; former Associate Professor, US Air Force Air War College, Alabama).

The session will be moderated by D Shyam Babu (Senior Fellow, CPR).

Register to attend in person: https://forms.gle/zfT5FiADaM9mZbT96

Register to attend via Zoom: https://zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_UhRtAaS0R0ihUa423PZ57A

04/08/2026

Can a system where 99.5% fail really be called meritocratic?

D. Shyam Babu wrote an op-ed titled, "99% Unlucky Young Indians" for The Times of India, examining why India's examination debate needs to move beyond paper leaks to the structural shortage of opportunities.

https://cprindia.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/08/CJP-Student-Protest-1.pdf

28/07/2026

Can the next Ganga Treaty go beyond water sharing?

As the 1996 agreement approaches its conclusion, negotiations are expected to expand beyond Farakka to include climate change, shared rivers, domestic politics and regional cooperation.

Here's what to know.

Srinivas Chokkakula (President, CPR) wrote an op-ed for Indian Express

The 1996 treaty, signed after decades of deliberations, reflected a particular political moment of relatively stable bilateral relations

23/07/2026

Is the Cockroach Janata Party (CJP) protest just another social media phenomenon, or has it crossed a political tipping point?

Rahul Verma (Fellow, CPR) explains why it differs from both the Anna Hazare movement and earlier protests under the BJP, arguing that its focus on examination leaks and administrative failure has broadened its appeal and turned it into a challenge to the government's political legitimacy.

Electoral dominance wins political power, but political legitimacy that sustains power. The BJP, therefore, shouldn't view the protest as Opposition-sponsored.

17/07/2026

How did the colonial ideology of improvement shape the urban geography and economy of modern Delhi?

CPR, along with Centre de Sciences Humaines (CSH Delhi), is organising a talk by Vandini Mehta, PhD. (Architect and Urban Researcher; Co-founder of Studio VanRO and SVR Foundation, New Delhi; Visiting faculty and Professor, School of Planning and Architecture, New Delhi)

This talk will unpack the urban history of Karol bagh through the lens of the Delhi Improvement Trust (DIT).

Register to attend in person: https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSeMWmE9xvfIEnq9X0ts8iy_DSbXNTIu20N3q9Z_Q-K1_7sIVQ/viewform

Register to attend Via Zoom: https://zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_0z1Mn7_bQmKOAP8fnattEw #/registration

16/07/2026

The Indus Waters Treaty survived wars, terrorist attacks, and decades of political hostility between India and Pakistan. But something changed after 2016 Uri Attack.

Butool Naqvi (Researcher, CPR) examines this change after the 2016 Uri attack, when “blood and water cannot flow together” began linking water cooperation with national security, transforming a technical water-sharing arrangement into a contested diplomatic and domestic political issue on both sides.

The Indus Waters Treaty (IWT) of 1960 survived three full-scale wars between India and Pakistan—the 1965 war, the 1971 war, and the 1999 Kargil conflict, as well as major diplomatic crises, including the 2001 Indian Parliament attack and the 2008 Mumbai bombings.

15/07/2026

Why do Indian scholars face challenges getting published in international journals?

Professor Anant Maringanti explains.

https://youtu.be/riCZBZHnn74

14/07/2026

The Supreme Court's June 2026 judgment on the 'Fundamental Right to Walk' has sharpened the debate over the elite capture of footpaths, where so many of us leave our cars.

Why do we do it? Is it the lack of designated infrastructure? The cost of parking? And what's the way out?

Pushpa Pathak (Senior Fellow, CPR) wrote for The Indian Express examining why footpath parking happens in the first place and what a workable solution to this elite capture might look like.

As the Supreme Court upholds the right to walk, cities must stop treating footpaths and roadsides as private garages

27/06/2026

"The issue of road safety is a topic of elite capture, in which the use of public infrastructure by wealthier people is privileged over the needs of others."

But what does a "right to walk" actually mean in India?

Arkaja Singh (Fellow, CPR) wrote for The Indian Express.

https://lnkd.in/gRegC9Rk