Bharatiya Chhatra Sansad

In 2011, the Founder Dean of the MIT School of Government, Rahul Karad, launched an innovative platform, the Bharatiya Chhatra Sansad (BCS) / Indian Student Parliament, inspired by the response to the MIT School of Government and sensing the need to take classroom learning to the country’s youth. This youth movement is dedicated to transforming society, nurturing youth dreams and their legitimate aspirations, building the nation, and fanning the flame of Bharatiya democratic leadership. The platform works to bring youth representation into mainstream political and social democracy, as well as to provide practical leadership training to prepare them to be future leaders of the nation.

Over the last eight years, the platform has captured the imagination and conscience of thousands of spirited young people and brought them together for a common goal: to strengthen the foundations of Bharatiya democracy. Every year, 10 to 12,000 politically and socially active higher education students from approximately 450 universities in 29 Bharatiya states attend this annual national conclave. A diverse range of political leaders, engaging thinkers, intellectual giants, industrial leaders, and youth icons of national and international renown provide students with context, analysis, courage, insight, and perspective to dream bigger, see clearer, and speak louder.

Such conclaves have taken place on a smaller scale in states such as Jammu and Kashmir, Bihar, Gujarat, and Madhya Pradesh. Interestingly, students who have attended it have become brand ambassadors for democracy, already paving their way to a brighter political and social future.

The BCS has the full support of UNESCO, the Union Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports, the Government of Bharat, the Ministry of Higher and Technical Education, the Government of Maharashtra, the Ministry of Sports and Youth Welfare, the HBS Club of India, and the Tata Institute of Social Sciences.