A comprehensive visit to various Ministries, Party Offices, Government offices and offices of National importance

(This educational field trip to the seat of power - to the capital city of Delhi essentially captured the essence of the Masters Program in Government and that of the participants who are here to be a part of the nation building process.)

On the next day, the first visit was to the Rashtrapati Bhavan, the office and residence of the President of India. Through a well-guided tour of the Rashtrapati Bhavan, the participants got to see the grand edifice from inside. The participants had the opportunity to see all the important places such as the Durbar Hall, the Ashoka Hall, the banquet hall etc.

After being inspired by the grandeur of the Rashtrapati Bhavan, the MIT SOG team visited an NGO - Centre for Civil Society. It is an independent, non-profit, research and educational organization devoted to improving the quality of life for all citizens ensuring active participation of an enlightened civil society. It primarily works as a think tank that develops ideas to better the world. Shri. Parth Shah, the Founder President of the Centre for Civil Society interacted with the participants. He informed them about the functioning and activities of the Centre. He told us about their various research programs such as Education for All, Liberty and Livelihood Program, Program on Good Governance, Program on Communities, Markets and Environment etc. He also discussed about their programs especially for the youth. He specifically mentioned about their School Choice Campaign which tried to bring about essential reforms in school education by providing school vouchers. Later there was a question answer session. It was really a meaningful interaction.

The next appointment was with Shri. Natwar Singh - Former Minister for External Affairs. His wide range of knowledge and vast experience was evident from his conversation. He mainly prompted the students to asked questions, to which he answered very satisfactorily. Thus, in a primarily interactive session he spoke on issues related to India's foreign policy, talibanisation of Pakistan, terrorism, need to strengthen the internal security, the efforts being done by the current UPA government to combat terrorism etc. He also spoke about the current state of politics in India. It was very kind of him to motivate the students to read books by showing his personal library comprising of more than 10,000 books.

The last meeting of the day was with Shri. Venkaiah Naidu, senior leader BJP. Shri. Naidu's witty style, presence of mind and punch lines proved to be an intellectual treat for the participants. He strongly condemned Congress for promoting dynastic politics. He compared it with BJP suggesting that the veteran leaders like Shri. Atal Bihari Vajpayee, Shri. Lal Krishna Advani and many such leaders from BJP had no political background but just because of their capabilities and hard work they could become successful in politics. He sarcastically remarked that in politics 'Dynasty is nasty but it is also tasty for some people.' Talking about the current elections he stated the issues the BJP government would stress upon i.e. recession, internal security, rural development etc. He also claimed that BJP is not a communal party and its Hindutva is not a religion, but a way of life. He also criticized the use of caste in politics by saying that 'Those politicians who lack capacity, caliber, character and conduct, they resort to caste'. Thus it was surely one of the very interesting and intellectually stimulating interactions