Revised mpg 05

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M I T SCHOOL OF GOVERNMENT

PUNE

One-year Full Time

Masters Program in Government

Batch 05, Year 2009-10

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Index

Particulars Pg. No.

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Inauguration Ceremony 5

Eminent Lectures

Mr. Ranjitsinh Vijaysinh Mohite Patil 8

Mrs. Pankaja Munde – Palwe 10

Mr. Anees Chisti 12

Mr. Anil Dave 16

Mr. Tushar Arun Gandhi 17

Dr. D. K. Sankaran 21

Mr. James Michael Lyngdoh 23

Dr. Vinay Sahasrabuddhe 24

Mr. Awadesh Kumar Singh 26

Dr. Neelam Gorhe 28

Mr. G. V. Rao 29

Mr. Praveen Togadia 30

Mr. Nidheesh Tyagi 31

Mr. Anerood Jugnauth 32

Mr. Ramnarayan Venkit 33

Prof. Ratanlal Sonagra 34

Prof. Mukul Asher 36

Mr. Digvijay Kapadia 37

Mr. Vinod Tawde 37

Mr. Arun Yadav 38

Mr. Arvind Inamdar 39

Mr. Arun L. Bongirwar 40

Mr. Pratapsingh Rao Rane 40

Dr. Suneelam 41

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Mr. Premnath 42

Mr. Joan Hingginbotham 42

Prof. Bhanoji Rao 43

Mr. Anand Paranjpe 44

Mr. Sanjay Puri 49

Local Field Visits

Visit to Gram Panchayat 53

Nidhal 55

Hivre Bazar 56

Ralegan Siddhi 57

Sarhad 58

Visit to BAIF 60

Visit to Aga Khan Palace 62

Events

US Delegation Charms MIT-SOG 64

Earth Day Celebration At MIT-SOG 65

World Aids Day 2010 66

"We the People of South Asia: 67

South Asian Youth Camp in MIT-SOG"

Model Parliament 70

Convocation Ceremony 72

Academic Team 75

Academic Awards 77

Advertisement 79

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Inauguration Ceremony

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Inauguration Ceremony

At MIT School of Government,

history was repeated yet again when MIT

School of Government entered its fifth

year with lot of fervor, energy and

enthusiasm. It was exactly four years

back at MAEER‘s MIT Group of

institutions, when a dream took shape of

transforming the Democratic fabric of mother India, driven by its motto ‗Be the

Change‘.

The fifth batch of MPG was inaugurated at the gracious hands of Smt. Bhavana

Gavali-Patil, Hon‘ble Member Lok Sabha, Shri. Madhu Goud Yaskhi, Hon‘ble

Member Lok Sabha and Shri. Anurag Singh Thakur, Hon‘ble Member Lok Sabha.

Other dignitaries present on the dais included Dr. Deepak Tilak, Vice Chancellor, Tilak

Maharashtra Vidyapeeth. September 05, 2009 being the Teachers‘ Day, was an

auspicious day to welcome the participants who will be pursuing the fifth batch of

Master‘s Program in Government, academic year 2009-10. Along with the dignitaries

on the dais were Prof. Dr. Vishwnath D. Karad, Founder President of MAEER‘s MIT

group of Institutions, Pune, Prof. Mangesh T. Karad, Executive Director MIT Group

of Institutions, Mr. Rahul V. Karad, Chief Initiator and Dean MIT-SOG and Dr.

Shrikant Paranjpe, Honorary Academic Advisor MIT-SOG.

The function started with the World Peace

Prayer followed by the welcome address by

Dr. Vishwanath D. Karad and there by the

lighting of the lamp. Next address was by Dr.

Paranjpe, wherein he informed about the

characteristics and the uniqueness of the

program and its utility to the participants.

The felicitation of the guests of honour present on the dais was done at the hands of Dr.

Karad. After the felicitation, ―Be the Change‖, film was screened for the august

audience. Following the film, Book on plight of farmer suicides in Vidarbha was

released at the hands of Hon‘ble Guest of Honour, Smt. Bhawana Gawli (Patil). The

National and International Study Tour Report of MPG-04 were released at the hands

of Young Parliamentarian, Shri. Anurag Singh Thakur.

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MPG-05 program brochure was unveiled at the august hands of Shri. Madhu Goud

Yaskhi, Member Lok Sabha. The occasion saw, alumni speaking about their

experiences at MIT-SOG and the learning outcomes for them. Ms. Priya Tayde, MPG-

02 participant expressed her views on MPG and the detailed research study undertaken

by their batch.

Next was Mr. Shehzaad Poonawalla, alumni MPG-03 who spoke about his

experiences at MIT-SOG and his growth to Vice President, NSUI Pune. After the

alumni, it was the turn of the current batch.

Mr. Devendra Pai, Participant MPG-05

spoke about the aspirations from the

program and discussed about the roles &

responsibilities they need to take up on

graduating from MIT-SOG. He assured the

august audience, that their batch will make

the best efforts towards the noble cause of Nation Building.

After listening to the alumni and participants, came the most important phase of the

function where it was the turn of the Eminent Guests of Honour to express their views

about MIT-SOG and their suggestions to participants. First to grace the podium was

Shri. Anurag Singh Thakur, the young parliamentarian from the state of Himachal

Pradesh. He spoke about his tryst with politics, cricket and business. He stressed on the

need that youngsters need to join politics to understand and solve problems of Youth as

65% of the Indian population is young and expectations from today‘s youth are very

high.

Next on the podium was Shri. Madhu Goud Yaskhi, the learned parliamentarian

from the state of Andhra Pradesh. While praising the curriculum he had few

suggestions for the management and the MPG participants. He stressed on the need to

preserve and follow ethics in Socio-Political environment and specifically while

disseminating duties related to masses. While addressing the audience Smt. Bhavana

Gavali Patil, the three time parliament from the state of Maharashtra said that a

positive mind set along with the willingness and attitude to do good and noble were

pre-requisites to be a good leader. The vote of thanks was proposed by the Program

Advisor, MIT School of Government Shri. Sanjay Upadhye. The glittering function

ended with the National Anthem.

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Eminent Lectures

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DATE: January 30, 2009

GUEST SPEAKER: Mr. Ranjitsinh Vijaysinh Mohite Patil

DESIGNATION: MP, Rajya Sabha

SUBJECT: A Peep into the Corporate Movement in Maharshtra

The interaction with Mr. Ranjitsinh Vijaysinh Mohite

Patil was brief, but it gave a good opportunity for the

audience to familiarize itself with the young MP of the

Rajya Sabha, know about his family and get to know

about the Cooperative movement in India. He spoke on

the topic: ―Benefits of Cooperatives in Maharashtra.‖ He

explained how way back in 1904 his grandfather and

others pioneered the cooperative movement, how his

father took over the initiative in the fifties and sixties and how finally he is playing his

role in the public sphere. Speaking of the cooperative movement he explained how it

helped empower the farmer, how even if the farmer had a single share in the

cooperative he could be elected to office in it. How it went a long way in bringing

prosperity to various regions of Maharashtra. He showed the audience a short film in

which the history of the Cooperative movement was traced and in which there was as

description of the important players who were instrumental in taking forward the

cooperative movement. He also mentioned the advances that were made in milk

cooperatives and showed the advantages wrought from them. Speaking of the

advantages of being a known name in politics he said that such an advantage was of

limited value. In fact, according to him, it was a burden on a third generation politician

like him, for, having been in the public eye,

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there is every chance that people will eventually turn around and say ―such a good

legacy his forefathers have left for him and how he is squandering it...‖ Therefore in his

opinion it is easier for someone who is starting anew, as such a person would have no

previous baggage and it would be entirely the individual‘s own effort that would count.

About his being present in the upper house, at such a young age, he said that he was

thankful to the seniors in his party for having given him that opportunity to serve.

Speaking of the kind of work that is required he said that it is important to go down to

the field and do work. He spoke of hard work that would take much of one‘s time. He

gave his own examples and said how he was instrumental in getting hundreds of check

dams built. He specifically pointed out that it was not enough to just have the check

dams ordered and made in absentia, "It is important for the leader to be there in person

when the work is being done". He explained that people will vote for a candidate once

on the basis of his lineage and the name of his party. But it is important that one has to

be found worthy of the trust that is reposed, or else, people would not send them back

again. It was a brief interaction but enough to throw open a window for the

participants. It was a great opportunity to see a MP in flesh and blood interacting with

them. Besides learning a lot from the things he said, there are points unsaid which help

in an aspirant‘s efforts at setting goals; it helps the participants gain confidence in their

efforts at change and helps them chart an informed course in their pursuit of higher

things in life.

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DATE: September 15, 2009

GUEST SPEAKER: Mrs. Pankaja Munde - Palwe

DESIGNATION: President – BJP Yuva Morcha, Maharashtra

SUBJECT: Dynastic Politics and its impact on Indian Democracy

The first eminent lecture for MPG-05 (2009-10) was delivered by young and dynamic

Mrs. Pankaja Munde Palwe. A young management graduate with over 15 years of

experience in campaigning. During her address to MPG-05 participants, she quoted

her father Mr. Gopinath Munde, Leader BJP Maharashtra that Bringing smiles to

peoples‘ face is not an easy thing. It needs lot of efforts, hard work and dedication.

Also, Politics is not a cake walk, it involves a lot of hard work and a lot goes into the

thinking process. She was exposed to politics at a young age of four. Ever since she has

been observing political leaders and their campaigns and in the process developed lot of

respect for them as it involved hardships and lot of commitment and sacrifice.

According to her, the foremost fundamental right of an Indian is voting and each one of

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us should exercise this right. Rural India has been a deprived of many things which we

urbanites enjoy.

They even struggle for the basic necessities and infrastructure like - water, road, and

electricity, basic health care facilities etc. Inspite of all odds, voting percentage is more

in rural parts than the urban areas. This just shows our political awareness as compared

to the rural people. It is so unfortunate that urban constituencies play a major role

while deciding the priorities of the government.

How can we contribute?

Firstly, go and vote

Be considerate to others.

Speaking on prevailing system of ―Dynasticism in Politics‖, she reiterated that we as

Indian citizens support it. Reason, whenever we are mesmerized by a leader and his /

her leadership we start expecting the same from the second generation and so on. This

is not only prevalent in India but in the entire world in other democracies too. Dynast

city is respected in India because the Leadership is respected in India. Dynast city can

be good or bad depending on various factors, majority of them being –

name, fame and the financial condition of the candidate.

The need of the hour is that youth takes the challenge of leadership and comes out with

innovative ideas to take up rural development as 70% of the population still resides in

Villages and towns in India and work towards reducing the prevalent corrupt practices

in all sectors in India.

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DATE: October 3, 2009

GUEST SPEAKER: Mr. Anees Chisti

SUBJECT: Role of Islam in Indian Politics

It is interesting that Mr. Anees Chisti started his talk by mumbling something in

Arabic; it was evident that what he was saying was akin

to a prayer and sure enough he shared with us that he

had narrated two ‗Shlokas‘ from the Quran. The use of

the word ‗Shlokas‘ seemed deliberate here and this

seemed to be a central theme of his talk to the

participants. The idea was to get the participants to

understand the nuances of Islam in a language, or

through a set of ideas, with which the majority of the

class was familiar. If nothing, this definitely represented

the scholar‘s attempt to understand other religions and his attempt trace each religion‘s

link to the Almighty. Incidentally he translated the passages for us: ―If any one slew a

person it would be as if he slew the whole people; and if any one saved the life of a

person it would be like he saved the life of the whole people‖.

Apparently he was making an attempt to unravel the beauty and benevolence of Islam

which has been much maligned in the public sphere by irrational fundamentalists. And

this was another of his themes in the address. He spoke at length about the basics of

Islam; he explained how Islam was not born in the Second Millennium. Islam has its

origins way back during Adam‘s time and there have been a total of 124,000 prophets

(which included Jesus Christ) and of which Prophet Mohammad was the last. He

traced the historical context of Islam‘s growth, how in a matter of 50 to 60 years from

the time of the coming of the Quran, it has spread from Spain to India. How from 711

to 1948 Islamic rulers ruled in India—1948 being the year when Hyderabad was

liberated from the Nizam.

Speaking of this long history, he sought to dispel many myths that were built around

the Islamic influence in India and for example he explained how when Muslim

invaders came to India, amongst the chieftains who stood in the defense of Hindu kings

where staunch Muslims. He spoke at length about the contents of the Quran and also

explained in detail how Islam had three important components: Aqaid (which stood for

faith and belief in the oneness of God, in the prophet, in life after death and in the

holiness of saints of other faiths), Ibadaat (which included specific practice of faith in

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the form of Prayer, fast, alms and pilgrimage) and Muamlat (which indicated a social

code and behavior).

Moving on to the influence of Islam in India, he spoke of the Ganga-Jamuna Tahazeeb

(Ganga-Jamuna culture) which had evolved over the years. He symbolically spoke of

the monuments built in the name of Islam on the banks of the Jamuna and the

sacredness of the river Ganga to Hindus and spoke about the confluence of the rivers to

give what is called the confluence of cultures, which has evolved in the more than a

thousand years of co-existence. He spoke of the Urdu language which has played a

unifying role amidst the 1,625 mother tongues and 3000 languages with written scripts

known in India.

He finally ended his talk by pointing out that this nation India will truly rise to heights

on the day when, if a fire burns, everyone will respond in an earnest effort to turn it off

without so much as to pausing to ponder as to who is the owner of the belongings,

whether the fire has ignited over the belongings of one community or that, this religion

or that.

Q & A: He then took on questions

and the participants did not spare

the scholar in asking what was on

their minds, though of course they

ensured they were not aggressive

in their demeanor. And the

scholar responded well from his

vast wisdom.

When he was asked why people cannot be just humans and should be Muslims, or

Hindus or whatever, he responded at length and the sum and substance of what he said

was that the aim of any religion is to build an ultimate human being. Since the

universities were not offering degrees to develop ultimate human beings the religions

were taking on the task.

Answering to a question on dietary practices he pointed out that it was a ticklish issue

since the concept of ‗life‘ was yet to be defined precisely. He said that even grains and

plants have life in them. Then there are tiny live microbes in curds; so the question is

where does one draw a line? He pointed out that only four animals were admissible for

slaughter in the Islamic parlance and he also pointed out that dietary habits also

depended on the vegetation in a particular region; how logical would it be if we were to

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force vegetarianism on to people in Siberia or in desert lands where there was hardly

any vegetation?

In an answer to another question, he also explained that in Islam there was complete

codification of what has to be done in a particular situation. He explained how the

system of Fathwa is used to give clear cut decisions in terms of yes and no. Where there

is supposed to be no confusion and that there are rules on even the latest things like

cloning. He explained how after his arrival at Madina, the prophet had helped bring

peace there by creating what is popularly known as the first written constitution. It had

72 points in all and he explained the significance of some of the points there in, how

they helped people come together as a team.

One very interesting question was about doership… one of the participants wanted to

know if everything was done by God, was the bad that is in society also done by God?

The scholar seemed amused for being put in a tight spot but in his humble demeanor

said that he would try to answer it.

He explained it through and Islamic perspective which indicated that there is a

franchisee kind of principle that is in effect where an individual has been given

individuality in this world by God that he may respond to situations and in this each

individual is accountable for his deeds. It is wrong to blame the Headquarters for the

acts of the franchisee he said. There was a question on terrorism. Elaborating on the

same, he discussed the realities of the present situation. He pointed out that one of the

biggest terrorists were the police themselves and specifically singled out the practice of

encounter deaths to indicate that this is not acceptable to good society. He talked about

the steps taken to wean away Islamic youth from terrorism and despite adversities how

youth in Islam are advised to use the legitimate means available in the democracy to

solve problems. He said much effort was on and he himself was involved in the same.

Finally there was a question regarding loyalty to Islam and to the Nation; ―which

came first?‖ A participant wanted to know. He answered that it was Islamic to follow

the law of the land in which they dwelled. He explained the rituals that were practiced

during the burial of a Muslim and explained how there is a deep connect with the soil

of that land in the prayers. He also explained that when Muslims of India went to

Arabia they were guests there and had virtually no rights there and had to follow what

they were told to do; there they are identified as Indians. In India though it was home

for them and they had their rights.

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When the law said something in India they were bound to follow it, but as citizens they

had the right to seek redressal for something that was not proper, they had the right to

make demands to the Prime Minister and the President, they could elect someone or

reject them, they had the recourse to law and the courts, and staying within the

framework of the constitution and the laws they had to practice their religion.

All in all the participants came out with questions covering possibly the entire spectrum

of misconceptions regarding Muslims in India; and the scholar clearly came out with

convincing answers in the short span of time he had. It was a revealing interaction.

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GUEST SPEAKER: Mr. Anil Dave

DESIGNATION: Rajya Sabha, MP and Madhya Pradesh State,

Vice-President of BJP

SUBJECT: Leadership Development: Ancient Indian Way

On 7th October, we were fortunate to have Mr. Anil Dave as an eminent faculty. Mr.

Dave is Rajya Sabha MP (Member of Parliament) and Madhya Pradesh State Vice-

President of BJP. He gave us a lecture on leadership and politics. He said that

leadership can be inculcated six months prior to the birth of a child. To become a

leader, three things are necessary. Firstly, a person should spend two days with Patwari

(one who maintains land records). Secondly, spend a day at a police station and thirdly,

spend a day at collector‘s office. Talking about perfection, he said that perfection is

nothing but perfect balance and one needs to have spiritual, physical and mental

perfectness. He asked everyone to do at least one non-political work in life. According

to him, there are three stages in leadership – creation (raw material should be good),

construction (build up) and cremation (good approach makes good landing). On being

asked about team building, he said that allocation of work is very important and for

making strategy, selection of words is very important. He highlighted three qualities of

a good leader – lok bhasha (the leader should use the language of the people), lok

bhoosha (the leader should dress up decently) and lok vyavahar (the leader should not

ignore the ground-level activists). Through his interactive sessions participants got to

know the nuances of leadership and the hard realities of current political situation in

India.

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GUEST SPEAKER: Mr. Tushar Arun Gandhi

DESIGNATION: Management Trustee, Mahatma Gandhi Foundation.

SUBJECT: Gandhian Ideology: Panacea to the challenges in front of the world

Tushar Arun Gandhi, grandson of Mahatma

Gandhi visited the school of government on

9th October 2009 and interacted with the

participants. He gave a talk on ―Gandhian

ideology: panacea to the challenges in front

of the world‖.

At the outset, he expressed surprise that

today the leaders of the future are being

groomed in air conditioned classrooms, in

his opinion; the leaders of the freedom struggle had it hard. Gandhiji, he said, had

come up by working in tough environments and through intense struggles at the

grassroots.

His general theme was to take up quotations from the Mahatma and talk about the

relevance of the same in today‘s situation and age. He began by referring to the famous

talisman from Mahatma Gandhi, given to those who found it difficult to handle their

prides for work they had done. He therefore concluded that it is in serving the poorest

of the poor that true leadership manifested itself. Unfortunately, according to him, in

the past sixty years, the policies were in favor of the leaders and not for the poorest of

the poor or the weakest of the weak. He said that the two nation theory was a reality;

one side of India was shining and the other was dimming or weeping; one was marked

by development and the other was marked by backwardness.

Shifting on to the realities of leadership he said that this disparity also leads to skewed

representation in leadership. He said that even as it is the reality now, true leaders can

only rise from the villages because it is there that the real experience of struggle is

happening. In contrast he said people like Mr. Chandra Babu Naidu, who did

admirable work in Hyderabad was eventually rejected by the people because he

understood little about the plight of the villagers. He explained how Gandhiji stressed

on the importance of working in the grassroots; according to Gandhiji the requirements

of the nation are very basic.

Further discussing leadership he brought out the point regarding leadership. Quoting

from the example that Gandhiji placed before his followers he said that the leader is not

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one who sits on pedestals and passes orders, rather a true leader is one who has the

humility to do the smallest possible task.

Unfortunately, the leadership and the protest of today are focused on nuisance value.

He said that all protests of today work on the principle of creating or threatening to

create as much trouble as possible rather than making statements in a constructive

manner.

Another of the characteristics if the present leadership, he said, was cosmetic. If a

leader adopted some manner of clothing or a style the followers merely imitate, so the

followership is on the basis of fashion rather than substance. This, he said, lead to small

coteries and did not account for true leadership.

Another characteristic of the present leadership is a certain delusion with the notion of

greatness. A certain sense of being invincible enters those who take up positions of

power and the others treat them as such. This in his opinion is totally contrary to the

fact that leader should be truly humble. There seems to be a yearning for things big

which leads to disparity. In fact this is ‗leader centric‘ policy that was adopted by the

leadership after independence and the Gandhian economic ideas were not accepted for

the designing of the nation. The so called ‗Gandhian blueprint‘ of development and

leadership was rejected. In fact, there is a certain sycophancy that has entered society so

much so that leadership is seen to be hereditary in nature, where, amongst other things,

socialist leaders travel in convoys of Mercedes cars and land at villages in their

helicopters.

The present model of development seeks sacrifices but is very eccentrically biased

against the villages. People who have stayed for scores of generations on a piece of land

are made to move out in the name of development, as if what they hold has no value at

all. Lands are acquired at throw away prices and then transferred to rich industrialists

for ‗development‘. ―Why are the farmers not allowed to form cooperatives and then

having come together allowed to deal with industrial houses?‖ he asked. He spoke of

how in the pursuit of SEZs, people are promised jobs, that too of a low category, and

eventually even that is hardly delivered.

He ended his talk by calling the participants‘ attention to another quote of Gandhiji

where he had urged the youth to work for work‘s sake and not for money: ―put your

talents in the service of the country instead of converting them into pounds and dollars‖

he had said. Further, speaking of the talents of doctors, lawyers and engineers he had

said: ―There is nothing you have learnt that cannot be put to good account‖.

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Unfortunately in today‘s world the average person deciding his direction with dreams

of pounds and dollars in his eyes. And this is not merely the view of the young; he cited

the example of parents at an interview in a college who wanted to know from the

principal about the minimum salary that a previous student of the college had received

through campus recruitment. The tragic part was that the parents did not care to

enquire about the quality of education which the prospective student was going to

receive from that college. He emphasized that as leaders the participants had come

forward to serve. Leadership would definitely come automatically but the real task is to

serve. Indeed it is this class of leadership that is missing in the world now.

He said that a certain group of American students, who went around India on a study

tour came up with the conclusion that the nation had all the ingredients required to

trigger a revolution but miraculously this was not happening. This, in Mr. Tushar‘s

opinion, was on account of the fact that the Indians are fatalistic and say; ―this is our

fate‖.

After his address he took on some questions and in the process expressed his views on

various important issues. He sympathized with Naxalism to the extent that they were

our own people and it was a reaction to great disparities that were happening in society.

But he did not support the methods of Naxalism because he agreed with Gandhiji‘s

objection to the use of violence by the communists; Gandhiji had disagree with their

use of violence because they would have to be cowed down by an even larger violence

and therefore it would all reduce into an orgy of violence. Speaking of the use of the

legacy of Gandhiji, he said it was fair enough if it was used properly and gave the

example of the Raymonds company using their punch line ―Raymonds salutes the

complete man‖ in an advertisement and in the process paying tribute to Gandhiji.

Speaking of the legacy of Gandhiji per say, he said that what Gandhiji did was not an

invention; he actually implemented a long standing idea. The most important part of

his work was in his being Bapu. Clarifying the point he said that there was a tendency

to call him a mahatma and then say that those things were possible for a mahatma and

not for common people like us; the truth however was that in his simplicity, in his

being human, in his being Bapu, he made his work accessible and possible for every

average Indian. The point to be seen in his work is that there is a Mahatma and a

‗duratma‘ in every individual and it is up to an individual to realize his best potential.

Answering a question on gender issues he said that under Gandhiji the women folk

came out and stood shoulder to shoulder with their male counterparts and in that sense

the women were empowered. This is completely different, he said, from the idea of

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‗patronizing‘ women where one speaks highly of them as if doing them a favour. The

important part is to be able to accept women as equals which was evident in Gandhiji‘s

work.

As for corruption he said that there is hypocrisy in the common man; he will break the

law on the road and feel nothing about it but will point fingers when Bofors happens.

He said that in general people have become selfish; they will pay great tributes to the

son of the neighbor who lost his life on the battlefield but will do nothing to encourage

their own sons to join the fight.

To a pertinent

question on Bhagat

Singh and

Gandhiji‘s role in

not asking for

pardon, Mr.

Tushar Gandhi

pointed out to

important truths. He explained that the British had dealt very firmly with anyone who

took up arms against them all across the world; it was their policy. Except in the US

they were successful in all other areas. It was unlikely that they would wish to spare

Bhagat Singh who had used violent means against the empire. The other fact was that

even Bhagat Singh had admitted to his guilt and was freely courting martyrdom; in his

view the awakening of many Indian youth would happen if he were martyred. In that

context the chances were bleak that the British would have listened to a plea from

Gandhiji.

Mr. Tushar Gandhi there after visited the library, saw the painting on Indian

Independence struggle in the Executive Dean‘s office and left for a visit of Rajbaug.

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GUEST SPEAKER: Dr. D. K. Sankaran

DESIGNATION: IAS officer

SUBJECT: Role of Chief Secretary in the State Government

At the outset Dr. Sankaran, who is an alumnus of the

Loyala College in Pune and an IAS officer of 1970

Batch in Maharashtra cadre, appreciated the concept

of School of Government.

He commenced his lecture by bringing out the basic

difference between previous and contemporary

bureaucratic systems. He said that earlier the

bureaucracy acted like a fulcrum between executive

politicians and administration and contemporary

bureaucracy is giving inputs to political executives in the field of policy making and

policy formation. Of course he was trying to draw attention to the fact that the earlier

leaders were statesmen who knew how to drive things and the bureaucracy acted in

support but then there has been a general degradation in standards and more or less the

bureaucracy acts in total submission to the political leadership. He said that for the shift

one needs to consider the Socio-economic–political conditions which influence the

bureaucracy. He highlighted the recent situation of Vidarbha as an example which

shows the limitations of bureaucracy such as lack of commitment, corruption, leakages

in money channels, and various loopholes in monitoring system etc.

After independence the basic function of the administrative services had not changed

much but post 1950 an evolution in the field of bureaucracy has indeed taken place. In

such situations like Vidarbha, and such other or worse cases, the role of bureaucracy is

very cruicial, but there is little

expertise in the present

arrangement. According to him, in

order to avoid such extreme

circumstances there is a need of

well-trained people and

sophisticated infrastructure which

needs to be a part of the

bureaucratic system.

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In his opinion this will reduce lots of vulnerabilities and embarrassment to the political

executive. As a paradigm shift in a bureaucracy is observed from advisory to

contemporary situation where it is giving less input, the introduction of technology in

all sectors such as Mumbai Varali sea link, e-tendering, and various procedures etc. is

playing a constructive role.

He also made references to the bureaucratic problems of transferring administrative

officer from one post to another after short tenures and explained its role in weakening

the structure though it gave the political leadership authority over the bureaucracy.

In his opinion the administrative services should learn something from Armed forces in

respect of the transparency and procedure of promotions of officers to higher levels.

This will help to manage system in time bound manner and will save a lot of

Government money spend on moving people around.

In respect of policy making there is a great paradigm shift that has arisen out of a

massive shift from the conditions required in a slow and undeveloped economy to those

required in a fast growing impressive economy; the challenges are new. To reach to

these ambitious goals the system has to be planned well in advance. In this procedure

agriculture sector cannot be ignored and shift in employment pattern cannot be

overlooked.

To run the most expensive Government schemes and to make them available to aam

aadmi the entire system has to be well connected and reformed so as to channelize the

resources from centre to state to gram panchayat. This will help the cause of

development at all levels of the society and catalyse the process of development.

23

DATE: November 16, 2009

GUEST SPEAKER: Mr. James Michael Lyngdoh

DESIGNATION: Former Chief Election Commissioner

SUBJECT: How good is Indian Electoral Democracy?

Mr. J. M. Lyngdoh, former chief election

commissioner has visited our institution on 17th

Nov. 2009 and had given an insight in the electoral

processes and need for electoral reforms both through

lectures and question answer session.

He has talked about the election commission and its

powers. He talked about plenary power of the

election commissioner has been used for free and fair

elections. He talked about role of money power in Indian politics and the state funding

of election. His view about state funding was that state can‘t prevent the use extra

money, for which an efficient mechanism is needed. He shared his experiences and

problems he faced as an election commissioner and also stated about the power of

election commission in which it acts as super police force also. He sought for many

electoral reforms and report of National Commission on review of working of Indian

Constitution, which suggested for introduction of List System. He supported the

current procedure of removal of Election Commission and supremacy of Chief Election

Commission. He said that Election Commission power to regulate election is unlimited

which should confirm to the law made by the parliament and rule of law.

We got a great insight of the Election Commission functioning, electoral process and

need for electoral reforms.

24


GUEST SPEAKER: Dr. Vinay Sahasrabuddhe

DESIGNATION: Director General, Rambhau Mhalgi Prabodhini, Mumbai

SUBJECT: Democracy, Populism and Political Parties

Mr. Vinay Sahasrabudhe, Director General,

Rambhau Mhalgi Prabodhini, Mumbai,

visited MIT-SOG and interacted with the

participants on 19th November 2009 on the

topic ―Democracy, Populism and Political

Parties. In his session, he has highlighted

various challenges of the current political

process; most of them according to him are

based on populism which is flourished through political system. In his view, in the

present day fragmented political system unless having a charismatic leader like Gandhi,

consensus is very difficult. For a better system one will have to think about the changes

which we can inculcate and introduce for a better system. He assessed the strengths and

weakness of populism. In his view even the positive decisions, genuinely in the interests

of the people at large may ultimately hamper the cause of democracy since it will betray

the lack of judgments also conviction on the part of decision makers. A surging wave of

short lived but aggressive public opinion, driven more often than not by myopic and

hence potentially anti-people positions, can do nothing but disservice to the concept of

participative democracy.

In his conviction which is why,

populism ultimately can only harm

the very concept of democratic

governance. He asserted that today,

when we as a nation are faced with

multiple challenges populist politics

is eating into the vitals of our

democratic institutions and

weakening with every passing day,

whatever the elements of good governance that we may still be having. He mentioned

that there is little wonder that senior American journalist and political commentator

David Broder, has often pointed out that there is a widening gap between the

25

‗acceptance of democracy‘ and its ‗effectiveness‘. Mr. David Broder primarily held five

different factors responsible for this situation and they are the death of ideology, the

decline of state, the decline of religion, low esteem of politics as a profession, and the

irresponsible role of media in general. As one can make out, the roots of all these

factors are fundamentally in populism. In his view, Populism—like terrorism—knows

no ideology, it reduces the relevance of state, it brings the relevance of any doctrine,

including religion; to an end, and all this naturally leads to the low esteem of politics as

a profession.

The next factor i.e. the irresponsible role of media could be described as just another

byproduct of populism. In his concluding remarks he propagated that it is urgently

required that a comprehensive law regulating and disciplining the functioning of parties

is a need of the hour. According to him, Such legislation should cover the following

aspects of party functioning –Establishing a political party – Making the process of

forming a new political party more serious and elaborate., introducing a provision for

mandatory publication of Annual report of Party activities, recruitment – Mandatory

maintenance of Party Membership Register at the State and District levels., Internal

democracy – Mandatory holding of elections for party office bearers under a framework

to be laid down by the Election Commission, transparency -- Mandatory publication of

annual accounts of parties, at the national and state levels, human Resource

Development -- on the lines of party supported foundations in Germany (stiftungs),

efforts should be made to explore establishing training and research foundations for and

by parties with a partial financial assistance from the government. In his conclusion he

said that if populism is to have no place citizens will have to assert. Alert and active

citizenry could be the only guarantee conditions in which politicians and parties may

not be able to take voters for granted and then for a ride. Remembering Harold Laski‘s

words, he said ―let us elect leaders who refuse to be led by the masses. Let us elect

those who will ably lead us from the front‖. He also detailed the activities of Rambhau

Mhalgi Prabhodini and functioning as the training institute and the challenges ahead.

26


GUEST SPEAKER: Mr. Awadesh Kumar Singh

DESIGNATION: National Vice-President, Jago Party

SUBJECT: The Evolution of JAGO Party and its relevance in the present scenario

Mr. Awadesh Kumar Singh, National Vice-President, Jago Party, visited MIT-SOG

and interacted with the participants on

20th November, 2009. He started his

session by convincing the participants

the need for a new party and the vision

and mission of Jago party. He mentioned

that in order to know any system one

must know the changing economic

principles of that system. He elaborated the economic history of India, failure of the

socialist system, and the future plan to implement the missions of Jago party‘s

manifesto, strength and weaknesses of Jago party and their future strategy. He

reminded the participants that Jago party was started by Mr. Deepak Mittal. He

mentioned that the entire governance system is too complicated. In his interaction, he

compared the both systems or socialism

and capitalism. Our country is not

socialist or capitalist, it is socialistic

system. While highlighting the features

of socialistic system he mentioned that in

socialist system government is core

stakeholder, mainly in charge of major

functions. Private sector will be there,

but under strict regulation. Attempt towards redistribution of income will be there. But

he mentioned that socialist system generates corruption. He also elaborated the

imbalance between demand and supply of skilled labor as per our current educational

system.

He elaborated the details of inefficiency, lack of innovation, job security and lazy

culture of government office. In his views government is funding for their inefficiencies

and impotency. Socialist system in his views is failure everywhere in the world, as

human psychologies is same everywhere.

27

As there is high taxation will not allow the growth of corruption and lack of

performance of private sectors. In the name of the poor, the middle class I being looted.

He has given the examples of collapse of USSR, Fall of Berlin war as failure of socialist

system. He stressed that even Chinese are going for Capitalist type of economy through

corporate farming and special economic zones. He stressed that the capitalism is the

only system that work to have efficiency and success. He has given the examples of

success of capitalism. In his view more freedom will lead to lessening of poverty. His

Jago party also is advocating for the capitalistic form of economy, which is the solution

for good governance and corruption in our administrative system. His party is also

against the reservations of all kinds. The interaction with him has given a new thought

process to the participants which in future enable them to clarify their stands about the

best economic system available for future of India.

28


GUEST SPEAKER: Dr. Neelam Gorhe

DESIGNATION: Member, Legislative Council, Maharashtra

SUBJECT: Women’s participation in the Democratic Process

Dr. Neelam Gorhe is the Member of the Legislative Council, Maharashtra and is the

chairman of Stree Adhar Kendra, a Non-Governmental Organisation working to

protect the rights of the women. While trying to look at the history of women‘s

participation in political process she divided it into 3 phases. The first phase from 1848

to 1920 was an era where the debates were around the age of marriage for girls. It was

in the same period which saw the rationalization of the social evil of Sati. From 1920 to

1947 the women‘s involvement in the political process, in the struggle for independence

increased tremendously under the stalwart leadership of Mahatma Gandhi. There was

a positive impact on the women‘s participation in the political process. From 1948 to

1975 the five year plans started and the emphasis was laid on the reproductive rights of

the women. All the welfare schemes in this period are related to the motherhood of the

woman. It is only in 1975 when International Decade for Woman was declared that we

saw more emphasis on the empowerment of women. It is evident that the women‘s

participation in the political process is a struggle that has evolved over the period of

time.

29

DATE: December 1, 2009

GUEST SPEAKER: Mr. G. V. Rao

DESIGNATION: Ex-Assistant Director General, UNESCO, Paris

SUBJECT: UN and its specialized Agencies (UNESCO, ILO, WHO, FAO) and its

relevance to member governments

30


GUEST SPEAKER: Mr. Praveen Togadia

DESIGNATION: International General Secretary, Vishva Hindu Parishad

SUBJECT: Role of Hindutva in Nation Building

MIT School of government, first ever school for the studies

of politics had arranged yet another session, after some

chief political personalities such as Sharad Pawar, Uddhav

Thackery, Lal Krishna Advani, Jasvant Singh and more,

Dr. Pravin Togadia who is International General

Secretary, Vishva Hindu Parishad had shared his

knowledge on the topic of ―HINDU RASHTRAVAAD‖.

This seminar was arranged in classroom of SOG on 7th December 2009.

Mr. Togadia threw light on three main topics—Hindu Sabhayata, Hindu Sanskuriti

and Hindu Bhumi. He stated that the minorities that have stayed in India should follow

the rules and regulations of Hinduism. In one of the examples he gave he pointed out

that minorities like Islam follow western rules, culture and regulations in countries like

USA. Togadia was against composite culture of India and according to him there has

to be only one culture in India and that is Hinduism. After this session, students of

SOG freely interacted with Togadia on their doubts; for instance one participant

wanted to know ―according to you when will India become a complete Hindu nation?‖

on then another asked ―when will the Ram Mandir be built in Ayodhya?‖ Still another

wanted to know why despite this being a Hindu land there was so much suffering of

Hindus in Kashmir. These brought crisp and tactful answers from the eminent

personality. He felt that if things fell in place the Hindu nation would be a reality in ten

years. According to him it was not the temple which is the body that is important; it is

Hindu Nationhood, the soul, that is important. The session concluded with a

presidential address by Dr. Vishvanath Karad, the founder president of MIT. He spoke

of the vision of the World Peace Centre and how the essence of all religious text is

beautiful and how it is being used by vested interests to create disharmony in society.

He also focused on the fact that Indian Spiritual geniuses continue to be neglected in

the long list of philosophers beginning from Socrates, Plato and their likes and ending

in people like Marx. He ended by commenting positively to his thoughts and thanking

him honorably.

31


GUEST SPEAKER: Mr. Nidheesh Tyagi

SUBJECT: Media: The Fourth Pillar of Indian Democracy

He spoke out of his experience of years in the media field. He

is a unique person in the sense that he has taken up many

ventures with an intention of initiating and developing

projects and having done fair justice to them moved on since

he wanted new challenges. He pointed out that Democracies

need the valuable content of media. In his words, ―Any

Democracy will not be able to work unless People talk to

themselves as to communities, communities teach to talk to

themselves, communities need to question things‖. Elaborating further on the character

of people who need to be involved in the media he said, ―I see Journalism act as

courage because we can ask questions in public domain it might be politician, business

organization, judiciary administration, unless we cannot those thing and out of the

open the democracy not be healthy, functioning healthy, constructive democracy‖.

He also pointed out that media has great demands on an individual and there cannot be

arbitrariness; in his opinion journalism bestows on one the responsibility of handling

things in a ―sensitive, smart, effective manner‖. He said that in a democracy if we stop

questioning then nothing happens and therefore there is an immense responsibility on

the media. If we keeping

asking question we will

improve was his refrain.

In an answer to a question

whether the media was

the fourth Pillar of

democracy or corruption is a fourth pillar of Democracy he said that democracy is an

approach for a solution, it was not the solution. It was meant to help people get there—

attaining happiness. In contrast corruption is a habit or a characteristic of society which

belongs to another dimension. To a question about what it takes for someone to write

for the papers he said that the whole idea is for what is written to be read. He said that

people read only on account of two reasons; the first cause is if something touches their

hearts, the other is if it excites the mind...

32


GUEST SPEAKER: Mr. Anerood Jugnauth

DESIGNATION: President, Republic of Mauritius

SUBJECT: Role of youth in promoting the culture of Peace in the World

His Excellency Rt. Sir Anrood

Jugnauth [G.C.S.K., K.C.M.G.,

Q.C.] President, Republic of

Mauritius accompanied by first

lady of Mauritius Mrs. Sarojini

Jugnauth visited our institution on

15th December 2009. He blessed our students and explored the relations of India with

Mauritius. He mentioned the need of peace in contemporary world. On this occasion a

book was released by his auspicious hand named ―HEARTBEATS OF INDIA‖

authored by Prof. Lari Azad, an eminent writer and a successful academician. The

guests and eminent audience were welcomed by Prof Vishwanath D. Karad, [Founder

and Head, World Peace Centre, MAEER‘s MIT, Pune].

In his welcome speech he introduced guests about the Indian peace culture and focused

on the role of youth in nation building peacefully. In his Presidential speech His

Excellency Anrood Jugnauth has briefly introduced about the comprehensive culture of

Mauritius based on

unity in diversity. He

also stressed upon

building new bridges of

friendship worldwide

spreading the culture of

Peace when there is an

anarchic situation disgracing the world through the act of terror. This function was

graced by young thoughts of the students of MIT-SOG stating the role of youth in

promoting the culture of peace by Mr. Sagar Agrawal and Ms. Vandana Seth.

We were privileged to have key note address by Mr. Mookhesswur Choonee, High

Commissioner of Mauritius in India. Vote of thanks was proposed by Prof. Mangesh

Karad, Director, MITCON, Pune.

33

DATE: April 6, 2010

GUEST SPEAKER: Mr. Ramnarayan Venkit

DESIGNATION: Process & People Management Consultant

SUBJECT: Interaction with participants

The class had an interactive session with Mr.

Ramnarayan Venkit who is a Process & People

Management Consultant based in Singapore. He is an

alumnus of IIT Kharagpur and has between 25 to 30

years of corporate experience. He is currently the

Managing Director at RV Consulting Group Pvt. Ltd

and also the Principal Consultant at Anakin

Management Consultants Pvt. Ltd. He also is a Corporate Advisor at Bilcare Singapore

Pvt. Ltd.

Having left the nation while he was very young, he cherishes a deep desire to give back

to the nation in any way he possibly can, and his association with the MIT School of

Government is a step in that direction. In the first of what promises to be a series of

interactions, he exchanged views with the participants for an hour and a half on

organizational behavior and learning. Giving insight into the motivational profile of

members in an organization he explained how commitment gradually trends to reduce

even while skills and competencies grew. He then explained the significance of how it is

possible to maintain high commitment despite the passage of time. He gave some

insight into his work as a turnaround specialist and change manager while explaining

how it is important to jolt people out of their comfort zones so that they are willing to

change and he pointed out how such success can indeed be achieved.

He also spoke about the focus of training being knowledge, skills and attitude. He

classified the content of training into the three areas and showed the importance of

each. Ultimately it is attitude that is difficult to take care of and possibly the most

significant of the three. His insights into the success of the Singapore story and the

success of renowned millionaires gave much food for thought-passion, lack of interest

in money and a close brush with death-the ingredients of successful millionaires indeed

something to think about seriously. The session ended with a promise that he would

continue to interact with the participants.

34

DATE: April 7, 2010

GUEST SPEAKER: Prof. Ratanlal Sonagra

SUBJECT: Vidhi Vidhan se Samvidhan tak

The reason for his wide spectrum of achievements was

left to no doubt after his interaction with the participants.

An all India first, Vachaspati, for the year 1967, and the

winner of the Geetanjali Gold Medal, he went on to excel

in the field of dalit literature. His works include plays,

lectures, articles, a short film, essays, articles that have

won for him much acclaim. His play Krantiba Phule has

been translated into five languages. He has held important social positions and

positions on important boards and trusts mostly, but not exclusively, related to Dalit

activities; he has held important positions in government, non-government, literature

related, education related organizations and in cooperative societies as well and is

author of several books.

He spoke to the participants on the topic, "Vidhi Vidhan Se Samvidhan Tak" which

happens to be the name of his book. It is an expression of Dr. BR Ambedkar's work

where he expresses the transition from a consciousness that dealt with 'fate' and

'destiny' to a consciousness that dealt with 'rule of the constitution' or the 'rule of law'.

He explained at length as to how the known enemy 'the British' had united Indians and

were eventually thrown out, but the unknown enemy in the form of suppression and

non-inclusion of the 'invisible nation' - the dalits-is still to be defeated.

Sharing from the life of Dr. Ambedkar he explained as to how absurd it was to explain

to a foreign audience that someone had to take up 'satyagrah' merely to drink water

from a common town tank in

which it was alright for animals

to bathe. He narrated the

incident when Dr Ambedkar, a

distinguished lawyer had

returned from England to serve

as an official in India and the

peon who was supposedly of a higher caste would toss over files to him since he was

not to be touched.

35

But then speaking of the theme of his lecture he said how eventually poetic justice was

dealt when Dr. Ambedkar got the opportunity to draft the constitution of India and laid

the foundations for the new order.

Continuing on the theme of poetic justice he brought out how Mr. Kanshi Ram was

suspended from his government office for having celebrated Dr. Ambedkar's Birthday

but the same gentleman had gone on pull the rug from under a national government

leading to a national government's demise. He also brought out as to how people from

all castes were falling head over heels to touch Ms. Mayawati's feet and how that

brought poetic justice to 5000 years of suppression.

Attributing a lot of the ills to the slavish mentality of Indians he said that people in

India through the ages were alright with the idea that someone from outside was ruling

over them but resented being ruled by someone from inside. He said that as Indians we

are not sure that we will be able to do justice to our own.

Sharing from his personal experiences he spoke about his interaction with former Prime

Minister Mr. Vajpayee who had gone, on to eloquently introduce his book at a public

function. How explained how prejudices continue to act to this day, even amongst the

most educated of people. He spoke of his struggles and hoped that by a century after the

passing of Dr. Ambedkar, we would reach a stage in society where reservations would

not be needed any more.

36

DATE: April 16, 2010

GUEST SPEAKER: Prof. Mukul Asher

SUBJECT: Good governance in India

True to his reputation in his area of specialization he gave deep insight into the

economic aspects of public policy and explained how important it is for us to know the

various economic realities of nations and societies. He explained that we should also be

further apprised with the significance of the changing trends if one needs to take care of

a nation.

He centered his talk around elaborating on a list of five elements required for good

governance. According to him there are three C‘s and two P‘s that need to be taken

care of; Competence, Corruption Aversion, Consistency, Performance Orientation,

PPP Management Skills. Drawing from various examples he explained how each of

these are important for achieving good governance. He also emphasized that those in

the public sphere need to exhibit deserved Trust characteristics through their

competence and integrity. He also expressed need for a system of formal and informal

checks and balances facilitated by modern accounting and management information

systems.

Ultimately the outcome of good governance in the Indian context would be, Security of

person and property, a Fair Degree of Public Amenities, and their Management to

facilitate daily life of citizens, and empowerment which includes a good secondary

education, appropriate human resource development, and labor market policies.

37

DATE: May 4, 2010

GUEST SPEAKER: Mr. Digvijay Kapadia

DESIGNATION: President, Maharashtra Chamber of Commerce, Industry &

Agriculture (MCCIA)

SUBJECT: How to become an entrepreneur

DATE: May 7, 2010

GUEST SPEAKER: Mr. Vinod Tawde

DESIGNATION: Member of Legislative Council,

Maharashtra & Leader, BJP

SUBJECT: Relation of BJP and RSS

38

DATE: May 10, 2010

GUEST SPEAKER: Mr. Arun Yadav

DESIGNATION: Union Minister of State for Heavy Industries & Public Enterprises

39

DATE: May 14, 2010

GUEST SPEAKER: Mr. Arvind Inamdar

DESIGNATION: Former DGP, Maharashtra

SUBJECT: Police-Politics Nexus

―For healthy functioning of the system the nexus between

the police and politics needs to be broken and both should

restrict to their respective spheres,‖ was the message given

by Mr. Arvin Inamdar, former Director General of Police,

Maharashtra. In his highly inspiring and motivational

speech Mr. Arvind Inamdar informed the students that if

bureaucracy functions honestly and without succumbing

to the political pressure, that will put the system in order

and make it more pro –people.

Mr. Inamdar expressed the need of police reforms and

good treatment to the police force by the society. The

present police force is working on a meager salary and they are not treated with respect

by the society. It is painful to see them when they are carrying bags of vegetables or

some household items to the officers‘ house. He blamed the politicians and IPS officers

for the present degeneration and demoralization of the police force.

40

DATE: May 29, 2010

GUEST SPEAKER: Mr. Arun L. Bongirwar

DESIGNATION: IAS (Retd), Advisor, Jindal Mansion, Mumbai

SUBJECT: Administration in Maharashtra

DATE: June 18, 2010

GUEST SPEAKER: Mr. Pratapsingh Rao Rane

DESIGNATION: Hon’ble Speaker, Goa Legislative Assembly

SUBJECT: Role of Speaker in the Legislative Assembly

41

DATE: June 21, 2010

GUEST SPEAKER: Dr. Suneelam

DESIGNATION: Former MLA, Madhya Pradesh

SUBJECT: Career in Politics and Constituency Management

Dr. Suneelam interacted with the participants of MIT-SOG on

21 June and gave some valuable suggestions about the career

in politics and constituency management. ―If you want to do a

politics of change then you will have to be on the other side of

the politics and face some hardships; and if you want to

participate in the mainstream politics then you will have to

win the confidence of the leadership at the top,‖ was his advice

to the aspiring politicians and leaders.

"In politics if you come forward for the transformation of the system, the establishment

always tries to suppress you, only with your dedication and with the people‘s support

you can take ahead the movement". "If your goals are clear and if your politics is clean

the support from the society automatically comes". "If you want to become a leader in

politics you should know your constituency well and people of that region need to

identify themselves with you", Dr. Suneelam advised the participants.

42

DATE: June 21, 2010

GUEST SPEAKER: Mr. Premnath

DESIGNATION: MLA, Kalikat, Kerala

SUBJECT: How to manage your constituency

DATE: July 8, 2010

GUEST SPEAKER: Mr. Joan Higginbotham

DESIGNATION: NASA Astronaut

43

DATE: July 21, 2010

GUEST SPEAKER: Prof. Bhanoji Rao

DESIGNATION: Adjunct professor at National University of Singapore

SUBJECT: Economics & Development

―Equality of status and equality of opportunities means equal primary education and

equal health facilities for all‖, is according to Mr. Bhanoji Rao. For him the

development means good quality education for all children in government schools, and

secondly good health facilities in Government hospitals. According to him a quality

education and health facilities for all can change the fate of India.Bhanoji Rao received

his degree at the age of 18, and is an expertise in several areas of development

economics and policy, with special reference to India and East Asia. He got his Ph.D.

in Economics from National University of Singapore and served there as a professor.

His research output includes over a dozen books, several chapters in books and over 60

published papers and a regular writer in Economics Times, New York Times etc.

Bhanoji Rao shared his success mantra through an interactive session. He shared his

experience as a student, as a job seeker, and helpless and depressive situations in life.

He spoke of three mantras- hard work, blessings of mother and belief in God, which

can take one to reach the goals of life. The entire students were motivated by listening

to Mr. Bhanoji Rao‘s success stories. In the interactive session with the faculties he

motivated them to work hard and also provided some valuable tips of how to become a

good teacher and a good researcher. In a nutshell his visit to the MIT campus was

fruitful for the entire MIT family as his own experience, and life history is motivating

for the staff and students.

44

DATE:

GUEST SPEAKER: Mr. Anand Paranjpe

DESIGNATION: MP, Shiv Sena

SUBJECT: The role of youth in Indian Politics

At the outset he said that his prime motive of

coming to the institution was not to give a talk

but rather to get to know the participants better.

He expressed his gratitude to the Dean, Mr.

Rahul, for having given him the opportunity to

interact with the participants. He also spoke

glowingly about the fact that Mr. Rahul had

been following up for more than four months to

have him visit the School of Government.

Speaking of youth he started with the thought

that the highest power given in a democracy is

the power to vote and it has to be used

effectively; he said that people need to come out

and participate in the process and specially so

the youth. He pointed out that while the first

parliament had an average age of 67 years of age, in the present Parliament it has

considerably lowered (57). He said that now the youth are being favored in political

parties across the board; they are promoting youngsters, involving them in decision

making and giving them tickets in large numbers in corporation elections and elections

to local bodies. This trend is more prominent in the last 10 to 15 years he said. He said

that except for the communist party, all of whose parliamentarians are way above 70

years of age, the others are investing in youngsters.

He gave the example of Mr. Nitin Gadkari of the BJP who has been made president at

the age of 52 years. He said the trend started when Mr. Rajiv Gandhi reduced the

voting age from 21 years to 18 years. He pointed out that our nation may not have great

capacity in the field of defense but still China is frightened of India since we have

human resources and youth power.

But he ruled the fact that the youth were not using their strength in democracy. He said

that the youth lacked the will to enter politics; even for voting, if the election date

45

happened to be in a weekend, they would pack their bags and move for an outing

instead, he said. He was hoping this would change.

Speaking of the people in polity he said that the nation gets the leaders it deserves.

There is a way of entering politics by being off springs of political families he said, but

he pointed that dynastic politics made no sense in the present world—‗Perform or

perish‘ is today‘s mantra. One could get voted into power on the basis of the party

ideology once, but the next time he would be judged both on the basis of his party

ideology and on the basis of how he performed during his reign as the representative of

a constituency. He pointed out that the other problem was that the other method by

which fresh leadership was inducted into politics, namely through college elections was

no more a reality in Maharashtra since such elections have been banned in

Maharashtra. Then he also pointed out that there is a stigma attached to joining politics

and the result of it being that people do not encourage their youngsters to join it.

Speaking of his own example he said that he that he was a technocrat and not a

politician by heart but was propelled into the position by fate. His father was a MP four

times from Thane, but at that time, he, even though being an MP‘s son, hated politics.

He said that he only participated in the political process when the party was revved up

for an election campaign. But then he was pitch forked into the contest in a bye-election

in the same seat, Thane, which fell vacant owing to his father‘s demise. He has been

elected twice to the Lok Sabha ever since on the Shiv Sena ticket—into the 14th Lok

Sabha through that bye-election and then the 15th which is part of the current

Parliament.

Having been elected to the house he now saw the political process differently. He

understood the true extent of the responsibility only after he was inside. He said that

people treat politicians as a favorite punching bag.

The truth is that it is a thankless job, where you need to be dedicated, where you need

to make the biggest sacrifices and where, when people come to your help and

assistance, you cannot say no. He said that, having understood his responsibilities, he

was now doing his best to fulfill them.

He also narrated an interesting situation he was in after his election to the house on the

first occasion: he was one of seven MPs who were elected in the bye-elections in 2008

and he joined the house on 21st July 2008. At that time the then Congress government

was facing a test on the floor of the house in connection with the Nuclear Deal issue.

The vote took place the very next day. Had the government fallen, he would have been

46

MP for one day, he said. It is another matter that less than a year later he was re-elected

to the house in the general elections.

Of the proceedings in the Lok Sabha he said that despite the bad reputation, good

debates did take place. He said that owing to the media coverage of the happenings in

the house, there were many in the house who played to the galleries completely focused

on the audience in their constituencies; but such vociferous behavior stopped the

moment the TV telecast was switched off. This, he said, happened only during the

question hour. Similarly he said that the press had something to report only when

negative occurrences happed in the parliament and not when there was a quiet but

dignified debate that happened; therefore the result is that a skewed image of the house

gets relayed outside.

Of the MPG course he

said that he would like to

be here and does the one

year course himself if he

had the opportunity. He

said that when one of

these youngsters became

an MP in the future, the

dean Mr. Rahul Karad

would be proud. He

pointed out that it is important to know what is good governance and what is bad

governance but then he also pointed out that in the present political context, good

governance did not ensure election victory; ―In a democracy what matters is not what

is in your head, rather, it is how many heads you have on your side that matters‖, he

said. Further speaking of the ironies in the political set up he pointed out that

everything is now being offered free by the government, whether it is rice or electricity;

it is important to know that these things do cost money to produce, but still the

government pursues the policy and the people do get elected on that basis. But despite

these ironies, he pointed out that the elected representatives are indeed accountable to

the people. The citizens now do look for roads, wells, schools and other facilities; there

is, therefore, a need for a political activist to work and it is on this basis that people are

sent back to parliament.

47

But with the youth becoming more demanding there are many difficult questions a

peoples‘ representative needs to face. He said that it is not a part time job any more—it

is a full time job.

He expressed that the old guard should step down from taking on roles in government

and should switch over to mentoring and advisory roles in political parties after they

are 65 years of age. ―There should be a retirement age for politicians in government‖,

he said, but in the same breath he also pointed out that youngsters should take the

advice of the seniors. In practice, though, he said that there is reluctance to any change

from the seniors. In this context he made mention of the ‗Parliamentary Forum on

Youth‘ which the young MPs from across party lines have created in order to discuss

issues related to the youth. He also mentioned the climax of the movie ‗Yuva‘ in this

context in order to indicate a shift towards youth and dynamism that is required.

Speaking of standing up for one‘s views he said that there are three different views,

one‘s own view, the party view and the government‘s view, there needs to be a

synchronization but one needs to stand up for his views. In other words he said that it is

important to be in the system and fight rather than sit outside and crib. He spoke even

of his friends, who he said, sat in AC rooms and spend a lot of time on Orkut and

Facebook; ―but even on a free Sunday would they take time out to come and slog with

me?‖ He asked. He said that politics was a difficult path and he thanked the young

participants for coming forward to do the course and for looking forward to make that

change happen.

His address was followed by a question answer session: In answer to a question on the

SEZ he said that in principle he did not agree with it completely (though he was an

industrialist). He said that development should come, but not at the cost of cultivable

land and it should not be taken forcefully from anyone. He decried the trend in which

the farmers were foxed into parting with their lands, ―jobs are promised and not

delivered, meager remuneration or cost is offered, signatures are forged…‖ He said that

ultimately the government and the bureaucracy also play into the hands of exploiters.

So he summed it up by saying that though the idea of SEZ is good it should not be at

the cost of cultivable land and not at the cost of such atrocities.

In reply to another question on salaries of MPs he went on to say that it looked huge

but it was not significant. He dealt with the figures in detail and showed that the

amounts were rather meager. While the MPs got Rs. 26,000/- as salaries and Rs.

16,000/- for stationery the Chief Secretary working under them received in the range of

Rs.1, 20,000/- per month. To a question on the Shiv Sena‘s ideas and thought process

48

and its impending re-organization in wake of the retiring of Mr. Bal Thackeray he said

that the Shiv Sena was a dynamic organization. He had his personal views too and

might not be in total agreement with a certain line taken by the party, but as secretary

and having to take care of the youth wing of the party he had his responsibilities and he

knew how to balance the same. Speaking of the fortunes of the party he said that it was

a cyclic process and being out of power at some time did not mean anything really. He

said that as far the party was concerned, the mantle was effectively being transferred to

Mr. Uddhav Thackeray and as a team the members of the party are putting the house

in order.

As for the MNS threat he said that indeed the new party has created a dent and there is

nothing to hide. But he said the Shiv Sena is currently reworking on its strategy. He

pointed out that as of now the MNS has nothing to prove, they could just say

something and get away with it without have to stand up to any testimony. He said,

―Let them come to power in some corporation, within a short duration and people will

be able to see who is Gold and who is Copper‖ and will vote for the Shiv Sena. He said

that the MNS was were selling dreams to the youngsters but this will only lead the

youth being misled—those who trust the leader of that party are eventually going to

lose, not gain; ―People will know the truth,‖ he said. On the issue of making voting

compulsory he said that he was apprehensive of such an approach; he instead suggested

that the Election Commission should be given an opportunity and a free hand to find

other ways of encouraging people to come out and vote… but then he said that the

voting percentage should indeed rise.

49

GUEST SPEAKER: Mr. Sanjay Puri

DESIGNATION: Founder & Chairman US India Political Action Committee

SUBJECT: Indian independence movement since 1857

It was just the second day of the second

term when SOG was fortunate to be

honored by the visit of one of the

prominent American Indians, Mr.

Sanjay Puri. He is the Founder and

chairman of two organizations, the US

India Political Action Committee

(USINPAC), which gives voice to more

than 2 million Indian Americans intent on exercising their political clout; and the

Alliance for US India Business(AUSIB), a goals-driven trade body that effectively

represents both US and Indian companies. Mr. Puri has been repeatedly recognized for

his work in furthering the economic dialogue, bolstering US-India energy security, and

galvanizing the Indian American community in support of the historic passage of the

US-India civil nuclear cooperation agreement which may redefine the way the US

strategically thinks about Asia.

For the grandeur of his achievements he came through as much of a sober, down to

earth and unassuming personality and he spoke off the cuff with excellent diction and

much clarity of thought. Taking off from an excellent introduction by the MC Mr.

Devendra Pai of the School of Government he sought to rest any doubts about being

whole-and-sole in the efforts of his institutions. He pointed out that, though he heads

the organizations, he is merely a figure head for a lot of hard work put in by many

people.

There on he started his address by mentioning about the great opportunity ahead of the

youngsters in India. He pointed out to the demographic profile of India and said that

there was much that could be achieved by youngsters. Careful not to sound boastful, he

made it a point to highlight that "if an immigrant can achieve so much in a country he

adopts, how much more can youngsters like you do in your own land". In his address

he shared extensively from his experience and made attempts to explain and to advise

his young listeners on the manner to approach public life. He spoke about the fact that

it is important to look at processes bottom up rather than top to bottom for better

success. He compared the presidential campaigns of Mr. Obama and Ms. Hillary

50

Clinton to make his point. In the way of need for training for the participants, he

sought to highlight the use of technology for getting in touch with the common citizen

and institutions at the grassroots levels. He was all praise for the work which President

Obama‘s team did in respect of use of technology in the campaign. He said that it lead

to setting up a social networking that eventually brought the results he desired. Mr.

Puri, later on, promised to send across to us a case study on the successful campaign.

Speaking of his personal experiences he talked about when he started: ―Ten years ago I

was living the

American dream‖ he

said, "and was in all

ways the success that

anyone would have

wanted." But of those

times he said that

people of Indian

origin just met and talked about problems which they faced and discussed politics in

general and did not do anything much about it. When realization dawned that if

something ought to be done then it was for each Indian to take the initiative, efforts

were made by contacting people during Diwali gatherings and other get-togethers and

an organization took birth and in a matter of ten years the organization grew up to be

eighty thousand strong.

"As on date, the Indian lobby is presumed to be the second most powerful lobby in the

US after the lobby of the Jews," he said; but also cautioned "that could be an

overestimation though". In any case he pointed out that in the US lobbying is legal—

allowed for any issue a citizen may feel hard pressed to address. And having taken up

the issue of the Nuclear deal with India, he recounted how he personally went about

meeting each of the 435+100 members of the two houses of the American Parliament

in order to make them understand the importance of the deal to the American nation.

He indicated the extent of influence of the lobby from the fact that they were able to

obtain apologies from eminent people like President Obama Who ultimately wrote

personally to Mr. Puri as representative of the Indian community and from Mr. Glenn

Beck, who has a 30 million strong viewership, when there was a degrading

misrepresentation of the truth, affecting the sentiments and dignity of the Indian

American community.

51

He ended his fluent diction with promise to support, in any way possible, the SOG‘s

efforts towards exploring opportunities for internship, cooperation, exchanges and such

other with potential partners in the US. He also made it a point to stress that the

participants were a fortunate lot since they were training for a role in government

which, to his mind, was the 'highest cause' in society.

A brief question answer session took place in the end, where the questions were mostly

in the area of Indo US relations and the approaches of the Presidents of the US. In

replying to a question on Indo American ties, he said that unlike the US-China

partnership which was lose-US-win-China in balance, the Indo-US partnership was a

win-win relationship. He also spoke of constraints in the taking forward of the Indo-US

ties at the political level, but then he also assured that at a cultural level, in education,

in issues like immigration and the like, the ties have grown beyond a point of no return.

In the political context he spoke of the gesture of the US President inviting Dr.

Manmohan Singh as the first state guest in his presidency; "it was nice‖ he said, but

then he also pointed out that one needs to evaluate the same not on the outer

appearance of it but rather on the content—―It is important to see if the PM come back

with something substantial" He said.

In an answer to a question he said that though Mr. George Bush could not do much for

India, he was truly a good friend of the Indians. As the School of Government looks

forward with a vision of entering the areas of policy research and into being a medium

for track 2 or track 3 diplomacy, it looks on with anticipation, hoping to take the

outcome of this interaction to a higher level. Indeed the opportunities are many and

hopefully all this will benefit the new breed of leaders who are honing their knowledge

and skills in the SOG in their quest for national leadership.

52

Local Field Visits

53

Visit to Gram Panchayat

MIT School of Government organized

a one day visit to Walava (Islampur)

Panchayat Samiti and Koregaon

Grampanchyat in Sangli district on 1

April 2010. The emphasis of the visit

was on understanding the

administrative and political

arrangement at block and village level.

The participants interacted with Mr. Satyajit Bade, the Block Development Officer of

Walva and also the departmental heads of Child Development, Primary Education and

Agriculture. The BDO explained to the participants that the work done at this level is

of immense significance in view of nation building because all it is related to the very

basic needs of life.

The participants learnt that if the team of dedicated officers is headed by a dynamic and

cooperative officer it certainly accelerates the developmental tasks. The Walva

Panchyat itself was a testimony to the fact. Few days back the Walva Panchayat

Samiti ranked 138 out of 256 block in the state, now it ranks 38th in the state.

After the Panchyat Samiti, the next visit was

to Gram Panchyat of Koregaon in Islampur

block. In this village the participants observed

the dynamic leadership of the Sarpanch

(village head). A well maintained Gram

Panchyat displaying the Citizen Charter on

the wall.

All the walls in the office displayed the demographic chart, Irrigation scheme, Indira

Awas Yojana and other such schemes. The village had won the prize of ‗Gram

Swachhata Abhiyan‘. By using the prize money of the scheme the villagers had

purchased a Ghanta gadi’ (Motor Vehicle with a bell) to collect the garbage.

The participants got an opportunity to interact with a group of women who were

successfully running the self-help group for saving and giving loans. At the end of the

day the participants visited the Jal Swaraj Project and a Biogas Plant in the village.

54

Village Visits

There are not so many villages in India that has made mark in the national map in

terms of successful sustainable development. We SOGians were fortunate enough to

visit the star villages in Maharashtra namely Nidhal Gram, Hivre Bazar and Ralegaon

Sidhi. Now the success stories of all of them are based on two major aspects, i.e. the

leadership and watershed development in the area.

A leader is someone who serves the people selflessly. We could see the identical

fundamentals of the leaders of these success stories. The protagonists here knew the

root cause of the situation of their hamlet. All three namely Shri. Chandrakant Dalvi,

Shri. Popat Rao Powar and Shri. Anna Hazare hail from complete diverse statures.

They had the moral obligation towards their soil which made initiate measures for the

people and more importantly by the people themselves. There‘s quote,‖ Do not catch a

fish for someone, teach him fishing‖. This is the contribution of the above personalities

towards society building.

We saw how one of the unique concepts of watershed has been brought up in the

villages. As rainfall is less in these areas, it is becoming one of the major problems of

the farmers but people of these villages have given one of the finest solution that how to

maintain water level by different water conservation tactics and also with the help of

the unique concept of water shed recharge and that too they have taken a task to recycle

the water to heighted areas so as to maintain good ground water level.

55

Nidhal

A village of Satara district in Maharashtra has created its own identity by itself and

become one the model

villages of Maharashtra. On

12/09/09 MIT-SOG visited

this village to make out the

secret. Firstly, the village

high school Hanuman

Vidyalaya which has been

named as the best school of the entire district and also is credited with a cent percent

SSC result. The administration of the village was self-explanatory as in the functioning

of the gram panchayat the people have a consensus while choosing a candidate during

panchayat elections.

Also, interesting to know was the small credit society meant for helping the villagers.

The main source of income here being agriculture, the villagers have reaped benefits of

cash crops like Amla, Onion, Guava etc. Last but not least, the biggest achievement of

the village was a lady being the sarpanch which was symbolic of women

empowerment.

56

Hivre Bazar

In Ahmednagar district of

Maharashtra, a village named Hivre

Bazar is setting an example. As it is

called as a ―Model Village‖, it

proves its worth as a glowing

diamond and a feather on India‘s

cap. But this wasn‘t the story until

Shri. Popat Rao Powar, the

Sarpanch of the village had put in

untiring efforts.

There‘s a famous saying that when the world is full of evils, a human superpower takes

birth to make over the destroyed. The rise of Shri. Popat Rao Pawar is no different than

this. Sidelining the geographical conditions of the village, today there is enough water

for the people under the ‗Water Conservation Plan‘ which is sufficient for the means of

ploughing as well as domestic purposes. To have the social stability he took up projects

like building schools, temples, mosques and gymnasium for the youth. He not only

advocated for the safety of the village, but also for the nearby forest with the help of the

local Forest Department. The unity of the people of the village is real gift to the nation

as they come forward voluntarily for every such activity. Social transformation also

included eradication of usage of liquor or drugs, controlling noise-pollution which is

rare even in urban India.

The efforts of Shri. Popat Rao Powar is accepted the world over today. He had been to

different countries on the ground of his

social reformations. The changes of

Hivre Bazar have been an example for

the best of the countries as they visit

this small locality quite often.

I request to all you reading this article

to have the will power to initiate an act,

the path will be discovered too. As the

saying goes, ―Charity begins at home‖- let us come forward and commence the work of

progress right from our own houses, societies, villages and towns. Then we can entitle it

as a sincere initiative for the human race.

57

Ralegan Siddhi

Anna Hazare, the central

character in the story had

given 5 principles on which his

total concept of model village

is established are Nashabandi,

Nasbandi, Shramdaan, Tree

plantation and to stop animals

to graze on fertile lands.

This village is entirely different from others i have ever seen. There was a school for

education, a hostel having very good infrastructure and facilities. Plantation of fruits

plant was nicely planned and

implemented. Organic farming

was one of the best examples of

educated farming.

One of the most important things

was that in this village women

are also given equal importance

as they handle the cultivation of

fruit plants and their sale which

gives them an income of Rs. 6 Lakh per annum. This village has touched new heights

in milk production which is about 3000 liters /day. So, it is very clear that for

constructing which a village people will have to come together having a vision to come

together having a vision above individual interests.

Building temple, eradication of alcoholism, establishment of Money bank were keys for

the development of social scenario. Anna Hazare arranged group marriages for the

poor and made several self-help groups. He brought a concept of Shram daan in village

in which every earner will fully contributes 10 percent of his income for betterment of

villages.

At last l would like to conclude with a quotation by Anna Hazare that ―One grain has

to bury itself alive to give birth to a field of crop. By burying itself the grain does not

die. India today needs activists like that grain.‖

58

SARHAD

―…hum honge

kamyab ek din, man mein

hain vishwas, poora hai

vishwas, hum honge kamyab

ek din‖.

As this popular

strain fell on our ears, we

realized that the spirit of

this song was best

represented by the children

singing it.

We set off on a Saturday afternoon to Sarhad, a non-governmental social and

educational organization that has dedicated itself to peace, humanity and development

in the strife-ridden border regions of India, such as Jammu & Kashmir and the North-

East. On reaching there, we were welcomed by Mr. Sanjay Nahar, President of Sarhad

and, about fifty odd children of varying ages. The programme began with Mr. Nahar

recounting a brief history of himself and of Sarhad, followed by an interactive session

where participants had an opportunity to raise queries. The children, shy and hesitant

at first, slowly came

forward and began to

speak. Later on, MIT-SOG

participants arranged an

informal games session. It

was delightful to watch

both the children of Sarhad

and MIT-SOGians

participate whole-heartedly

in the games. After that,

some of the people were

persuaded to sing, and in this it can be said without doubt that the children of Sarhad

outshone by far, the performers from MIT-SOG. All too soon, it was time to leave.

The mission of Sarhad is a noble one. It aims at giving children affected by terrorism

a chance at having a normal life, that they may spread the message of peace.

59

The story of Mr. Sanjay Nahar may be said to depict the saga of youth in areas where

violence is predominant; one that starts with anger followed by more violence,

disillusionment and finally the dawn of understanding. He was one of the fortunate few

who realized the futility of furthering a cause through violent means. There are many

others who haven‘t been as lucky, who have fallen into the trap of terrorism and have

reached the point of no return. Then what chance does the present generation of

children have of leading a normal life, of knowing the world outside of their four walls

of bloodshed, poverty, ignorance and isolation.

There is an urgent need to bring these children out of such strife-ridden areas into an

environment that is wholesome and educational where they are made to realize that

they are not so very different from us after all. It is with precisely with this objective

that Sarhad was founded. Here‘s hoping that it goes a long way in realizing its dream of

peace and unity- ―There are no boundaries‖.

60

Visit to BAIF

The participants of MPG-05

visited Bharatiya Agro

Industries Federation (BAIF)

on 28th November as part of

their curriculum. BAIF is a

reputed Research and

development foundation

situated in Urali Kanchan, committed to the sustainable development over 3.0

million rural families, spread over 45,000 villages and 12 states of India. The BAIF

goal is improved quality of life through livelihood, literacy, and health using available

natural resources and appropriate technologies while building human capabilities and

moral values. It is a non-profit, Public Charitable Trust established in 1967 by a staunch

Gandhian, Shri Manibhai Desai. BAIF has now been renamed as BAIF Development

Research Foundation. It works in areas such as Livestock Development, Water and

Land Resources Development, Empowerment of Women, Community Health,

Renewable Energy and Environment etc. The participants visited and got briefing on

Lives Stock development program, Agriculture Development Program, Water Shed

Development Program,

Peoples Organization and

Women in Development

Approach. The MIT-SOG

group visited various centres

of BAIF and observed the

various activities going on

there. The participants got

first-hand information about

Cattle Breeding Laboratory,

Semen Laboratory, Cattle

http://www.baif.org.in/aspx_pages/programs_pdf/dairy.pdf

http://www.baif.org.in/aspx_pages/programs_pdf/water.pdf

http://www.baif.org.in/aspx_pages/programs_pdf/water.pdf

http://www.baif.org.in/aspx_pages/programs_pdf/woman1.pdf

http://www.baif.org.in/aspx_pages/programs_pdf/health1.pdf

http://www.baif.org.in/aspx_pages/programs_pdf/health1.pdf

http://www.baif.org.in/aspx_pages/programs_pdf/renew.pdf

61

Feed Factory, Mineral Mixture Unit, Sericulture Department (Silk Emporium), Vermi-

culture Unit, Bio-Gas Plant, Embryo Transfer Laboratory and Fish-breeding pond.

They also attended the exhibition portraying the he activities and centres of BAIF.

The experts from these centres informed the MIT-SOG participants about the activities

being carried out there. The participants also got the information about the founder of

BAIF, Shri Manibhai Desai and the various awards conferred upon him such as

Magsaysay Award for public service, Jamanalal Bajaj Award, Padmashri etc.

The participants were also updated about various activities and projects of BIAF. The

visit was a learning experience to the MPG participants as a role model that a single

organisation itself can change the developmental challenges of India.

62

Visit to Aga Khan Palace

This palace was built in 1892 by

Imran Sultan Mohamaad Shah

Aga Khan III. He was elected

as the president of the League

of Nations in 1938 and was well

renowned in the field of politics

and sports. The place was later

donated to India by Aga Khan

IV in 1969 as a mark respect to

Gandhiji and his philosophy.

The Aga Khan palace is a national monument of Indian freedom movement. Following

the launch of Quit India movement in 1942, Gandhiji, his wife Kasturba, his secretary

Mahadev Desai was interned at the palace from August 9, 1942, to May 6, 1944.

Mahadevbhaiand Kasturba passed away while in captivity at the Aga Khan Palace and

their Samadhis are located in the campus situated near the river Mula, the Palace is a

simple memorial to Gandhiji‘s and his life.

The palace has developed into a national and international place of pilgrimage with

over a lakh of visitors every year who come to pay homage to the samadhis here. The

palace is surrounded by a sprawling garden. The famous movie Gandhi was shot here.

The management of the

museum, samadhis and the

palace campus was transferred to

the Gandhi Memorial Society in

1980. The society has been

trying to make this place living

memorial to Kasturba Gandhi

by organising a number of

activities throughout the year

63

Events

64

US Delegation Charms MIT-SOG

The participants of MIT School of Government got a firsthand chance to interact with

young leaders of the United States of America as a delegation of Council for Young

American Leaders the campus on

9th of November.

It was a session of two hours

conducted by MIT School of

government. All the delegates and

participants of MIT-SOG actively

contributed. The session was

beyond doubt very informative and

interactive. From the very presence

of my fellow participants and delegates it was obvious that our country is going on the

right track with the training process of governance and thereby increasing the quality of

policy making.

The discussion that took place was of high worth with special emphasis on changing

world order from uni-polar to multi-polar world and the change of American policies

towards India. It was great to clarify to the questions on their part which related to the

biggest social issues concerning India and India‘s relations with U.S.

Thereafter Poornima, one of the participants of MIT-SOG talked about the facets of

challenges for the budding Indian leaders.

Educated politicians or informed politicians are indispensable today. What we lack in

our country is the political will. The elected representatives are indulged in all possible

blame-game among themselves but never on the development issues.

Human behaviour reflects his work and it is factual in any field. Our efforts somewhat

reflect our own persona which is usually unseen in Indian politicians. I am not saying

our politicians should go for suit but they should change the way they respond and

react.

The best thing to learn from the delegates was the blend of idealistic and realistic

approach that will foster the development of a society. The blend is the policy that

should be ideal and also implemented to the best attainable extent. So with skilled

legislative we can bring the transformation we are determined for.

65

Earth Day Celebration at MIT-SOG

It was a quiet ceremony that took place in the MIT-SOG classroom—quiet but solemn.

It began with a few opening lines by the Course Head. Mr. Sankalp then played a short

film about the rapidly melting ice at the polar caps and in Iceland and followed that

with a power point presentation highlighting the condition of the globe, the real threat

to it and motivating messages calling for suitable action. The stage was then left open

for volunteers to express their views and three persons made their points. Mrs

Vanishree spoke about the need to be sensitive to the environment as it was important

to life on earth. The Course Head explained the importance of prioritizing and re-

framing the definitions of prosperity and contentment so that it would be more resonant

with the human spirit and more conducive to the future of humanity on the planet. Mr.

Ramanand spoke of the need to do something/anything to make a change.

Finally all arose and repeated after Mrs. Vanishree the Earth Day pledge.

“We the members of the MIT School of Government believe that we need to actively preserve

the Earth, the only home of the human race, for the sake of future generations and for all

forms of life dwelling on it.

We pledge to endeavor to leave this planet in a better condition than it was when we came to

inherit it.

And we shall do everything within our means to promote, amongst our fellow humans, the

preservation and nurturing of the environment.”

Short but sweet; the program did have the effect of a prayer. As we broke up for the day

we had revisited a quiet resolve to doing our part for our planet. For all we know may

be the time is not far away when it will become mandatory for us to do something

about it and vigorously too…

66

World Aids Day 2010

1st December is marked as World AIDS Day since 1988. The day is to increase

awareness, decrease ignorance, fight against stigma and discrimination and improve

education. This day commemorated to remind us that AIDS is not yet gone and we

need to unify to fight against it.

Dr. Raman Gangakhedkar of National AIDS Research Institute (NARI), Sanyogita

Dhamdhere of Centre for Advocacy and Research (CFAR) and Mahendra Sonavne of

Network of Positive People, Pune (NPP+) interacted with the participants of MPG. Dr.

Gangakhedkar explained the medical aspects of how HIV is transmitted and the status

of treatment in India. He stressed on the necessity of opening more ART centers so that

there is access for treatment.

Sanyogita shared her experiences of working with media to sensitise them on writing

positive news, articles and stories related to People Living with HIV. The sensitivity

from the media is very important so that the myths around HIV/AIDS are demystified

among the general masses.

Mahendra Sonavane shared some heart touching experiences of his journey in knowing

his positive status to being a member of network of positive people to spread awareness

of HIV. He is working to help more positive people come to terms with their positive

status and to live life.

67

We the People of South Asia: South Asian Youth

Camp in MIT-SOG

South Asian Youth Delegation visited MITSOG under Centre for youth development

and activities exchange program. MITSOG has hosted an interactive session between

MITSOG participants and South Asian delegation. At the beginning of program Miss

Vandana Seth Introduced the topic by expressing her views on “Evolution of

democratic process” and

Mr Towfiq Ahemad

Khan, North South

University, Dhaka

expressed his concerns

about instability of

Democracy in South Asian

region especially in Bangladesh. Mr. Rahul Kumar introduced MIT School of

Government to the delegation and career opportunities for the participants. Masters

Program in Government (MPG) explored the new dimensions of democracy and

pathways to peace.

The session was chaired by Mr. Nixon Fernando, Course head, MIT-SOG and Miss

Vandana Rai, Director, Programs CYDA. The students has healthy discussion on

“Three solutions to democratic process” facilitated by Mr. Ramanand Garge. The

entire discussion was healthy

as Participants and

Delegation exploring new

dimensions to democracy.

Students across Bangladesh,

Nepal, Maldives and

Afghanistan contributed to

the discussion and Mr.

Devendra Pai, Mis. Vandana

Seth, Mrs. Vanisree

Ramnathan, MIT-SOG expressed their views on Indian stand on spreading democracy

and solutions to the world peace. The program was anchored by Mr. Pawan Kumar,

Participant of MIT-SOG. During the lunch session students across countries in South

68

Asia had a warm discussion and later MIT-SOG participants gave friendly farewell

before the delegation head towards their Motherland.

Voting Awareness Campaign

“Vote Karo, Vote Karo, Vote Karo; ya 49-O karo‖

This was the message given by the participants of MIT‘s Masters Program in

Government-05 (MPG) batch as they concluded their last performance of the street

play performed to encourage voting and also create an awareness about the concept of

‗None Of the Above‘ (NOTA) or in short Section 49-O of the Conduct of Election

Rules, 1961. It was observed that most educated people avoid voting as they think none

of the candidates contesting elections are worth their vote. The group decided to appeal

to the people to come out and vote or exercise the right under Section 49-O that gives

the voter right to record his/her name not to vote.

The concept of the street play was compiled in less than a week‘s time before the day

of performance. 10 participants of the MPG-05 batch actually performed in the street

play. Most of them were giving their public performance for the first time in their life.

The street play was performed on October 11 at Chandralok Canteen at MIT Campus,

Big Bazaar and Chaturshrungi Mandir. All the performances and the message of the

street play were well received by the audience. In addition to the street play the

participants had designed banners, placards and pamphlets. Prathmesh Gokhale of

MIT‘s International School of Broadcasting and Journalism helped in directing the

street play out of sheer passion to contribute to the noble cause. The event helped in

enhancing the team building spirit where each participant was contributing to the street

play and awareness building in a creative way to help in upholding Indian democracy.

69

Model Parliament

70

Model Parliament

As a part of the academic curriculum of Master‘s Program in

Government at MIT School of Government, the participants

of the fifth batch put up a brilliant performance in the Model

Parliament conducted on 17th June 2010. H. E. Shri.

Pratasingh Raoji Rane, Hon‘ble speaker of the Goa State

Assembly occupied the chair as the Speaker of the House.

The business of the house began with the National Anthem followed by Question

Hour. The members of opposition asked question on the current issues like IPL Tax

Exemption, Aero plane crash at Mangalore Airport, Right to Education and border

issue with China. Respective ministers and the Prime Minister answered the questions.

The consideration for the Bill on compulsory voting was an interesting part of the

business which raised some heated debate in the house. The opposition members

questioned the practicality and relevance of the Bill. Also the issue of developmental

opportunities for the natives in Mumbai and farmers‘ issues were taken in the special

mention speeches.

The adjournment motion put by the leader of opposition proved to be the climax of the

parliamentary session. The motion was introduced in the context of the inept handling

of the naxalite issue by the Government. The opposition criticized the government for

the atrocities committed by

the paramilitary forces on

the tribes, lack of basic

necessities among the

tribal belt and siphoning

off of the funds meant for

the tribal development.

In the gallery of audience

were present - Prof. Dr.

Vishwanath D. Karad,

Founder President of

MAEER‘s MIT Group of Institutions and Shri. Rahul V. Karad, the Chief Initiator and

Dean of MIT School of Government.

71

Convocation Ceremony

72

Convocation Ceremony

MAEER's MIT School of Government

held its Annual Convocation Ceremony

of the fifth batch of Masters Program in

Government at Saint Dnyaneshwara

Hall on April 28, 2011 at 11 am. The

Chief Guests on the occasion were Shri.

Gopinath Munde - Hon'ble Leader of

Opposition, Lok Sabha and Shri. Padmakar Valvi - Hon'ble Minister for Sports &

Youth Affairs, Govt. of Maharashtra and Guest of Honour was Smt. Pankaja Munde

Palve – MLA, Maharashtra State.

The ceremony commenced with the procession led by Prof. (Gp. Capt.) D.P. Apte,

Director MIT-SOG, holding the Mandanda in his hands, accompanied by Prof. Dr.

Vishwanath D. Karad, Founder President, MAEER‘s MIT group of Institutions, Chief

Guests of the Ceremony, Hon. Shri. Gopinath Munde, Leader of Opposition, Lok

Sabha and Shri. Union Minister Padmakar Valvi - Hon'ble Minister for Sports & Youth

Affairs, Govt. of Maharashtra, Prof. Mangesh Karad, Executive Director – MIT Group

of Institutions, Dr. Sanjay Upadhye, Executive Director – MIT World Peace Centre,

Prof. Rahul V. Karad, Chief Initiator

and Dean, MIT-SOG and Dr. Shrikant

Paranjpe, Honorary Academic Advisor

– MIT-SOG and the MPG-05

participants who were well-attired in

their convocation robes.

The function started with the lighting of

the lamp by the dignitaries. The

ceremony was declared open by Founder President, MAEER‘s MIT Group of

Institutions – Prof. Dr. Vishwanath D. Karad. The opening speech was given by Chief

Initiator & Dean, MIT-SOG Shri. Rahul V. Karad. The Course Completion

Certificates were distributed to the MPG-05 participants by Hon‘ble Shri. Gopinath

Munde on the auspicious occasion. Special Awards were given to three MPG-05

participants, namely –

73

‗Academic Excellence‘: Shri. Devendra Pai, ‗Best Participant‘: Shri. Ashwinee Kumar

and ‗Be the Change‘: Shri. Nagesh Cherukuri.

While addressing the audience, Shri. Munde said for India‘s development – there‘s an

urgent need to Control Population Explosion and introduce Electoral Reforms. State

Minister for Sports & Youth Affairs, Shri. Padmakar Valvi spoke about the need and

importance of leadership training in India for all budding political leaders. He said

proper training & leadership skills are needed for development of good politicians. This

can be achieved through proper training at schools dedicated for imparting training in

politics and good governance.

74

Academic Team

75

Director

Prof. (Gp Capt) D P Apte

Faculties

Mrs. Vanisree Ramanathan

Mr. R. Garge

Mrs. Rama Sarode

Mrs. Mukta Kulkarni

76

Academic Awards

77

Best Academic Performance

Mr. Ashvinee Kumar

Best Participant

Mr. Devendra Pai

78

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