In many ways, the Narendra Modi government’s move to shift the North and South block offices is a historical correction, a shedding of the colonial mindset. The imposing North and South blocks were conceived as symbols of imperial power, meant to dominate visually and psychologically. The relocation of the Prime Minister’s Office to Seva Teerth and other offices to Kartavya Bhavan may, at first glance, appear procedural. When institutions move from structures built to signify imperial dominance to spaces named after seva and kartavya, the transition asks something of us. It is a historical shift whose deeper importance will unfold in the history written for a modern, Viksit Bharat.
