The Crossbill News Desk
Vadodara’s Maharaja Sayajirao University has revised its sociology curriculum to introduce a series of new academic modules examining contemporary governance, civilisational thought and nationalism, including a course analysing Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s leadership as a sociological case study.
The changes will be implemented from the upcoming academic session starting in June and will apply to the fourth year of the BA Sociology programme as well as the first year of the MA Sociology course.
According to The Indian Express, the newly designed papers — ‘Sociology of Bharat’, ‘Hindu Sociology’ and ‘Sociology of Patriotism’ — will carry four credits each and are part of a broader effort to reshape sociology education at the institution. The restructuring, the report said, is intended “to align academic framework with India’s civilisational knowledge, contemporary governance and lived social realities”.
Virendra Singh, head of the Sociology Department and chairperson of the Board of Studies, told the newspaper that the ‘Modi Tattva’ module will examine the prime minister’s leadership using German sociologist Max Weber’s concept of “charismatic authority”.
“Modi Tattva treats a contemporary political figure as a case study in charismatic leadership, policy perception and mass connect,” Singh said, as cited by the newspaper.
“PM Modi has become an unavoidable figure in national and global political discourse — like it or not, he is present in the conversation. Instead of discussing his leadership after 50 years, we are aiming to have the generation study it now”.
Singh said the idea of studying the RSS emerged during fieldwork conducted by students in rural Gujarat, where they encountered the organisation’s activities at the grassroots level.
“The course frames RSS not as an ideology alone, but as a case study in grassroots organisation, social outreach and models of inclusion and dialogue. The RSS runs on the principle that one can have matbhed (difference of opinion) but should not have manbhed (distance of the minds),” he said.
Singh claimed that the RSS, “due to its values of inclusivity” has also “embraced Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel as its own, making the stalwart Congress leader an influential name within the BJP today”.
Historically, Patel, while serving as India’s home minister, had banned the RSS following the assassination of Mahatma Gandhi. The prohibition was lifted a year later after the organisation assured “to make the loyalty to the Union Constitution and respect for the National Flag more explicit in the Constitution of the RSS”.
The revamped curriculum also introduces academic discussions on leadership and social transformation through figures such as Sayajirao Gaekwad III, Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel, B.R. Ambedkar and Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj. Under the Bharatiya Knowledge System framework, the “Sociology of Bharat” paper will explore traditional Indian knowledge systems, including medicine, technology and social organisation.
The university administration has described the new academic framework as an attempt to connect sociological teaching with contemporary political developments as well as indigenous intellectual traditions, signalling a shift towards integrating modern governance studies with historical and cultural perspectives within higher education.
The changes will be implemented from the upcoming academic session starting in June and will apply to the fourth year of the BA Sociology programme as well as the first year of the MA Sociology course.
According to The Indian Express, the newly designed papers — ‘Sociology of Bharat’, ‘Hindu Sociology’ and ‘Sociology of Patriotism’ — will carry four credits each and are part of a broader effort to reshape sociology education at the institution. The restructuring, the report said, is intended “to align academic framework with India’s civilisational knowledge, contemporary governance and lived social realities”.
Virendra Singh, head of the Sociology Department and chairperson of the Board of Studies, told the newspaper that the ‘Modi Tattva’ module will examine the prime minister’s leadership using German sociologist Max Weber’s concept of “charismatic authority”.
“Modi Tattva treats a contemporary political figure as a case study in charismatic leadership, policy perception and mass connect,” Singh said, as cited by the newspaper.
“PM Modi has become an unavoidable figure in national and global political discourse — like it or not, he is present in the conversation. Instead of discussing his leadership after 50 years, we are aiming to have the generation study it now”.
Singh said the idea of studying the RSS emerged during fieldwork conducted by students in rural Gujarat, where they encountered the organisation’s activities at the grassroots level.
“The course frames RSS not as an ideology alone, but as a case study in grassroots organisation, social outreach and models of inclusion and dialogue. The RSS runs on the principle that one can have matbhed (difference of opinion) but should not have manbhed (distance of the minds),” he said.
Singh claimed that the RSS, “due to its values of inclusivity” has also “embraced Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel as its own, making the stalwart Congress leader an influential name within the BJP today”.
Historically, Patel, while serving as India’s home minister, had banned the RSS following the assassination of Mahatma Gandhi. The prohibition was lifted a year later after the organisation assured “to make the loyalty to the Union Constitution and respect for the National Flag more explicit in the Constitution of the RSS”.
The revamped curriculum also introduces academic discussions on leadership and social transformation through figures such as Sayajirao Gaekwad III, Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel, B.R. Ambedkar and Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj. Under the Bharatiya Knowledge System framework, the “Sociology of Bharat” paper will explore traditional Indian knowledge systems, including medicine, technology and social organisation.
The university administration has described the new academic framework as an attempt to connect sociological teaching with contemporary political developments as well as indigenous intellectual traditions, signalling a shift towards integrating modern governance studies with historical and cultural perspectives within higher education.
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