subject: Secretariat Building, New Delhi - Discovering Indias Own Capitol Hill [print this page] Often compared to Washington's Capitol Hill and Pretoria's Union Building in terms of significance and stature, New Delhi's Secretariat Building may well be the iconic institutions' Indian incarnation. Built as far back as 1910, this breathtaking administrative structure which houses many of the ministries of the Indian Cabinet is also situated on a vaulted position on Raisina Hill in New Delhi. Composed of two symmetrical buildings aptly dubbed North Block and South Block and a Rajpath which stands at their axis, the venue also borders the President's House known as Rashtrapati Bhavan in the native tongue.
At first sight New Delhi's Secretariat Building is an architectural marvel for the ages designed by none other than leading British architect of the era Herbert Baker who coincidentally also penned the design for the Pretoria Union Building. Demonstrating classic elements of Indo-Saracenic Revival style architecture the identical buildings on each side of the structure contain a thousand chambers each and contain four levels within its confines.
Built almost entirely of Dholpur sandstone brought in from Rajasthan, the red hued building material is also believed to form the foundation of the twin structures with large corridors and spacious stairwells topped off with massive domes. Ending with a balcony with a colonnade, the separate wings of the structure displays classic Indian architectural leanings with Rajasthani and Mughal influences seeping in on motifs and other design elements. Examples include Jali screens and Chatri domes although the Secretariat Building does boast some architectural features that are unique on its own. There include the four Dominion Columns hailing from New Zealand, Canada, South Africa and Australia.
As the first seat of power of independent India, the Secretariat Building houses the country's most prominent ministries including the Prime Minister's Office, Ministry of External Affairs, Cabinet Secretary's Office, National Security Advisory, Indian Foreign Secretary and the Ministry of Defense which are all located on the South Block. The North Block in the meantime houses the Home Ministry and the Ministry of Finance among other prestigious national institutions.
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