Twilight time for North and South Blocks

The Seat of Power of India

- 

In August 1947, as the day of India's independence, August 15, approached, the lights in some rooms of the South and North Blocks burned almost all night.

This was because Prime Minister Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru was working tirelessly with his staff in his South Block office to finalize the processes of independence and the partition of the country.

Meanwhile, in the North Block, Home Minister Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel worked late into the night to ensure the smooth integration of 562 princely states into the Indian Union. Larry Collins and Dominique Lapierre, in their remarkable book Freedom at Midnight, vividly describe the atmosphere of the South and North Blocks during those days.

Built in 1931 on Raisina Hill, the North and South Blocks have been integral to India's governance. These iconic secretariat buildings have been the epicenter of Indian administration, symbolizing power and continuity through both colonial and independent India.

Now, these buildings are set to be vacated soon, with the process already underway. The Prime Minister's Office (PMO) in South Block may shift to the new Executive Enclave-1, located a few hundred meters away, by September 2025. Meanwhile, the Ministry of Home Affairs and the Ministry of Personnel have almost entirely moved to Kartavya Bhawan-3, which was inaugurated by Prime Minister Narendra Modi earlier this month. Both these buildings will become museums. Of course, it will take some time to start museums from there, but already people are keen to visit there as and when museums start from there.

Says Brother Solomon George of Delhi Brotherhood Society (DBS)- " It is a fact that South and Blocks are witness to many momentous moments of post 1947, hence we would like students of our St. Stephens Cambridge School, Sonepat to visit there,"adds "It was DBS that had established St. Stephen's Cambridge School to impart quality education to students."