What explains Ford Foundation’s success in India?

In the mid-1960s, as many as 152 Western private foundations were active in the field of international development. Among these, the Ford Foundation stood out as the largest and most influential, forging extremely close ties with India from the mid-1950s onwards. The Ford Foundation played an intimate role in India’s development journey, leaving a significant mark on the country’s policies and practices.

Understanding the success of the India-Ford Foundation relationship involves delving into how this foundation shaped India’s development trajectory and what this partnership reveals about both independent India and private foundations. Historians of the modern world often rely on archives to uncover such intricate stories, and the Ford Foundation’s archives, housed at the Rockefeller Archives Center in Sleepy Hollow, USA, have been a treasure trove for researchers. However, for a comprehensive view, it is essential to supplement these with materials from national and state archives, private papers, and other institutional records in India. This research led by Gaurav Garg, Assistant Professor of History at Ashoka University, also aims to explore how ordinary Indians perceived the Ford Foundation and similar organisations.

This investigation is part of Dr. Garg’s ongoing book project, which he plans to complete after finishing his current work on Calcutta’s urban-economic decline and business community.. Preliminary findings indicate that the Ford Foundation became truly influential and successful only after the Ford family withdrew from direct involvement, allowing experts to manage the endowment. This aspect of the Foundation’s history highlights the complex dynamics between founders, donors, and the professionals who run non-profits.

In terms of India-Ford Foundation relations, the research indicates that India preferred collaborating with the Foundation over the US government. This preference stemmed from a belief that India could better exercise managerial control and retain autonomy when working with the Foundation. Despite occasional challenges, this relationship remained robust throughout much of the 20th Century, setting the standard for other foundations operating in India.

Dr Garg’s ongoing research has attracted attention and partial funding from the Washington DC-based think tank, the Urban Institute, on behalf of the influential US philanthropic funder, Open Philanthropy. Through this work and the example of the Ford Foundation in India, Open Philanthropy aims to develop more effective and intelligent donor strategies. This research contributes to a broader shift in the USA’s philanthropic landscape, moving away from an obsession with quantitatively measurable outcomes. Particularly, the study of the Ford Foundation’s role in shaping India’s economic reforms in the late 1980s and early 1990s supports the idea that some of the most crucial development interventions cannot and should not be measured solely by “return on investment.”

Furthermore, this research underscores the importance of archives, especially in a context like India, where there is significant suspicion around maintaining and accessing archives. The Ford Foundation exemplifies how comprehensive archives can enhance scholarly understanding of an organization’s nature and activities. While the Foundation was once seen as a front for the CIA and the US State Department, recent research, including this one, has complicated and even challenged this view, demonstrating that the Ford Foundation often operated independently of such entities.

It is hoped that Indian businesses, foundations, and universities will take inspiration from the Ford Foundation and commit to maintaining robust archives. Rather than implicating them, good archives are more likely to dispel simplistic narratives and offer a nuanced understanding of their roles and contributions.

Edited by Dr Yukti Arora, Senior Manager, Academic Communications, Research and Development Office, Ashoka University

Reference Article:
Ford Foundation–India Relations in the 1950s: A Recipient Country Perspective
https://doi.org/10.1080/00856401.2020.1816019
Author: Gaurav C. Garg