Overview
- MSU in Vadodara announced a curriculum revamp that makes study of the RSS and a “Modi Tattva” leadership module mandatory for sociology students starting in the June academic cycle.
- The overhaul groups new content into three clusters — Sociology of Bharat, Hindu Sociology, and Sociology of Patriotism — for BA fourth-year and MA first-year students, with modules that also examine leaders such as Sayajirao III, Sardar Patel, B. R. Ambedkar, and Chhatrapati Shivaji.
- “Modi Tattva” treats Prime Minister Narendra Modi as a case of charismatic authority in the Weberian sense, focusing on mass appeal, governance style, and how policy is perceived.
- Department head Virendra Singh said MA fieldwork in Gujarat villages and his work on NITI Aayog monitoring projects led the team to study the RSS as a grassroots organisation that mobilises people and builds social networks.
- The Sociology of Patriotism track includes four papers of 15 teaching hours each on media and digital nationalism, citizenship and dissent, and globalisation and identity politics, while the changes have drawn both support for scholarly study of influence and criticism over political proximity in curricula.