MIT School of Government, Pune has been established with the clear objective of imparting leadership training to educated youth of India desirous of making a career in politics and government and providing selfless service to the nation. MIT-SOG is the first institute in India and Asia to have started such a program of this kind and I feel proud to have taken the efforts to initiate the same

THE GENESIS
The General Elections of 2004 were a landmark event in the history of the country in more ways than one. Not only has it almost laid to rest the era of single party rule at the Centre but also given the country for the first time, a Prime Minister who does not have a hard-core political background in the strictest sense of the term. Even more significantly, the elections brought to the fore a large number of highly educated enthusiastic youngsters brimming with energy and confidence, who contested elections with some of the most senior political leaders as their opponents. In these elections the wise electorate of the country signaled to the political machinery of the country that it was ready to stand by a younger and smarter breed of politicians.
With a strong interest to pioneer a change in the political & social arena with a defined perspective, and also being the head of the MIT School of Management, Pune amongst others I firmly believe in utilizing the power of education as a catalyst to social change. In order to inspire the next generation to embark on a path of taking on the mantle of Indian Political Leadership, soon after the 2004 general elections in India, we organized a seminar at MIT Pune under the theme “INDIA, THE SUPER POWER  VISION 2040”. The freshly elected young parliamentarians attended the seminar and the platform was well utilized by these young icons to share their vision for India. It was in the 50's and 60's, the period after independence when our country had first seen such charismatic young leaders who were politically oriented, with great zeal and commitment for nation building. The down slide seems to be reversing after a really long period.
The thought of blazing a new direction and creating a path for educated, capable and deserving youngsters who have a will to pursue a career in politics, was always at the forefront of my mind. This was further bolstered while pursuing my OPM program at Harvard Business School, where I got an opportunity to attend a lecture at John F. Kennedy School of Government. Upon entering the classroom, I was surprised to find that the lecturer was a US Senator. It was this that set me thinking that if a politician from the US Senate could be a faculty for a training program, then why not utilize the experiences of reputed and known Indian political leaders as honorary faculty for an institution dedicated to teaching politics and government in India, a country which is the globe's largest democracy? This is particularly needed in India, which is still a developing nation where politicians are revered and have strong following. This further strengthened the thought process of initiating an academy, wherein quality training could be provided to the young participants in all matters of government functioning right from the Panchayat to the Parliament as well as global politics.
The 90s saw a gradual increase in the entry of youth in the political arena. We often see in the corporate world, young scions of the business dynasties taking over the mantle of their businesses. A lot of young entrepreneurs start multi-crore rupee ventures and operate them very successfully. This is not very surprising and is also easily accepted by the people. But it is quite surprising to see young people in their twenties and early thirties, who are well educated, entering politics and chosing to make a career in it. Some of them have a political lineage while, there are others who do not have a political background, but have become very active in elected offices of the government at quite a young age.
One sees that there are different types of professional programs for medicine, engineering, pharmacy, management and other professions. There are comprehensive training programs even for administrative services. If someone desires to make politics as a career and a profession, why not have a program for the same? In fact, I felt that politics and politicians have a direct impact on the day-to-day lives of all the citizens of the country, and so it is all the more important for the politicians to undergo training on the basics of government functioning and of the conduct of the various democratic institutions of the country.
I discussed this matter with my father, one of the nation's most revered educationists Prof. Dr. Vishwanath D. Karad, and a person who can be credited with the privatization of higher education in the state of Maharashtra. Prof. Karad further refined the thought process and concurred with my line of thinking by giving his consent to start such an institute under the aegis of MAEER's Maharashtra Institute of Technology. The program was further boosted by the support of the UNESCO Chair for Democracy, Peace and Tolerance.
For a program of this type, it was necessary that the structure of the program be designed under the guidance of a person who not only has the necessary experience, but also whose integrity and reputation is beyond question. The only name that immediately came to our minds was that of Mr. T. N. Seshan, former Chief Election Commissioner of India, and who is also referred to as the father of electoral reforms in India. In our first meeting on the subject we discussed the matter on several fronts touching upon all subjects relevant to setting up such a school. It was a mere coincidence that, Mr. Seshan told me that he was in-fact an alumnus of the John F Kennedy School of Government.
He has been a catalyst for change in electoral reforms in India and endorsed the concept of such an institute and agreed to head the institute in the capacity of its Chairman. It was he, who was instrumental in structuring the entire program and most importantly, giving the school its name 'School of Government' instead of 'Governance'. There were a lot of discussions and healthy arguments on the positioning, the objectives and also on what should be the name of such an institution. Should it be 'School of Politics and Government' or 'Governance'? But Mr. Seshan insisted it had to be 'School of Government' only. Thus was born MIT School of Government, India's and Asia's first institute to initiate a program of creating and nurturing leaders of mettle for the service of the nation.  The focus would totally be on leadership in the government.
The structure of the program, entitled Masters Program in Government (MPG) had to be all-encompassing, with inputs to be taken from a variety of subjects like Constitution of India, Judicial Practices, Parliamentary Practices, Politics and Governance, Conflict Resolution, Disaster Management, Judiciary and the Executive, Social service and Non Governmental Organizations and so forth. We also had to have the endorsement of  experts in these areas and the benefit of their knowledge for the successful implementation of the same.
A very significant component of the syllabus is the International Study Tour, which was added to the program at the suggestion of Padmashree Dr. Vijay Bhatkar, Eminent Scientist & Educationist who is also the member of the governing council of MIT School of Government. He further added strength to our conviction of creating unparalleled young educated political leaders by adding value to the program through his years of experience across multifold streams of knowledge and also introducing to the school the academic mentor Dr. Francis Menezes, founder and initiator of the prestigious Tata Management Training Centre.
Prior to MPG, there have been graduate and postgraduate programs in India in Political Science, Social Science, Public Administration and more, but most of these have been limited to theoretical knowledge where the scope of practical and experiential learning has been minimal. There have been institutes that have initiated short term courses on bureaucratic approach towards politics and government, but could not provide a wholesome view to the entire situation, nor did they make an effort to bring about practical exposure to the grassroots problems existing within the Indian Administrative System. Some institutions did publicly announce initiating a few courses of this sort, but these are yet to take off.
We see in the western world that the political leadership comes from the urban sector. The political participation is less from the rural areas. In contrast, Indian political leadership is largely from the rural sector. There could be many reasons for this, one of them being that we are still dependent on agriculture. Although we may boast of development through the IT revolution, our dependence on agriculture cannot be ignored. We also have various issues to resolve like - regional conflicts, child marriages, dowry deaths and so on. We talk of liberalization, reservation for women, upliftment of rural sector, child education, etc, where more needs to be done by the government. Only NGOs are not sufficient. Hence as an institution we felt the need to educate the rural youth and give them international exposure too, as they are more enthusiastic about political participation as well as dedicated towards the social causes and the areas of concern to the society in general.
We sincerely believe that MPG is the right program for the aspiring leaders from rural India hand in hand with leaders from urban areas. Over the years, one sees that rural areas have always received a raw deal as compared to the urban areas. Be it drinking water, primary healthcare, education, sanitation, basic infrastructure like good roads, or any other developmental issues, rural India has suffered due to the lack of the above. We feel that the youth of these parts can develop a broader and all-encompassing vision and acquire the power of knowledge by enrolling in MPG. Thus, they can provide a great service to the community by assuming leadership positions in their local bodies. The thorough training provided during the program will also give them the perspective of the entire nation and they can rise above the parochial and regional approach taken by some of the leaders of today by restricting themselves to the development of their own localities.
These thoughts were primarily in our mind as we embarked on establishing this institute. We began contacting eminent national level leaders in politics, administration, judiciary and other areas and explain to them the reasons behind starting MIT School of Government and seeking their participation for the same. I am glad to mention that this concept met with excellent support and commendation from most of them, though there were a few leaders who had voiced their reservations about starting such an institute in our country. But even more encouraging was the immediate acceptance of many of these leaders being a part of this mission by being the honorary faculty.
Thus, it was on June 07, 2005 that Shri. Bhairon Singh Shekhawat-ji, then Hon'ble Vice President of India, officially unveiled MIT School of Government in New Delhi at his official residence. It was a proud and momentous occasion when the first class was conducted by Shri. T.N. Seshan on the 5th of September 2005 at MITSOG, Pune.

Youth, Leadership and Responsibility
The breed of young aspiring political leaders is different from the breed of business and professional leaders in the goals and actions they pursue. For the student participants of MPG, the responsibility begins from the day they enroll in this program. During the course of the year, they will be exposed to a large storehouse of information on various subjects that affect the daily lives of the citizens of the country. They will observe at first and the functioning of various democratic institutions of not just India, but some European countries as well. They will be required to undertake significant projects and participate in a number of activities in the interest of the society. Every effort will be taken by the institute to instill in the participants a sense of national pride and the readiness to serve the society in any corner of the country.
There is a strong desire in the entire country that the face of the country's leadership should undergo a change. With the economy on the upsurge, the country seeks leaders who are young, vibrant and yet mature and knowledgeable enough to rise above the style of governance known to the country over the last many decades. At MIT-SOG, we are committed to provide training to and nurture this very leadership. I feel confident that enlightened youth of the country will respond positively to this very significant program and participate selflessly in the same in the interest of the nation. The next five years will be pivotal for this pioneering institute, as it moves ahead steadily with the aim of providing good leadership with knowledge-driven and educated leaders to the country.
MIT-SOG is a mission and we invite and appeal to all the young and educated youth to come forward and share our vision and take up the program to enlighten and help India become one of the most developed and respected nations in the world.

Rahul Vishwanath Karad

Mr. Rahul Vishwanath Karad
OPM-Harvard Business School
Chief Initiator and Dean