Varsity adds ‘Modi Tattva’, RSS study to sociology syllabus
Move seen as push to blend Hindutva and nationalism into higher education
New Delhi: Maharaja Sayajirao University (MSU), a university in Gujarat’s Vadodara, has introduced new Sociology courses that include a module on ‘Modi Tattva’, RSS fieldwork, and Hinduism, raising concerns over the saffronization of education under the Modi regime.
According to Kashmir Media Service, the revised BA and MA Sociology curriculum will feature three new four-credit courses: ‘Sociology of Bharat’, ‘Hindu Sociology’, and ‘Sociology of Patriotism’.
The changes take effect from June this year. Dr Virendra Singh, MSU Sociology Department head and part of Niti Aayog’s policy monitoring team, told the media that ‘Modi Tattva’ in the Sociology of Patriotism course will study Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s leadership through German sociologist Max Weber’s concept of “charismatic authority”.
“PM Modi has become an unavoidable figure in national and global political discourse. Instead of discussing his leadership after 50 years, we are aiming to have the generation study it now,” Singh said.
The course also frames the RSS “not as an ideology alone, but as a case study in grassroots organisation, social outreach and models of inclusion.” Singh said the idea came after students encountered RSS activities in Gujarat villages during fieldwork. He claimed RSS “runs on the principle that one can have matbhed (difference of opinion) but should not have manbhed (distance of the minds).”
Other modules will cover Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel, Dr Ambedkar, Chhatrapati Shivaji, and Maharaja Sayajirao Gaekwad III. The ‘Sociology of Bharat’ course falls under the Bharatiya Knowledge System framework and will study traditional Indian medicine, technology, and social systems.
Observers see the move as part of the Modi regime’s push to blend Hindutva and nationalism into higher education. They say such courses aim to glorify BJP-RSS ideology while sidelining India’s diverse social realities.
