New Delhi: Vadodara’s Maharaja Sayajirao University has introduced new sociology modules that study Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s leadership as a concept, alongside courses on the RSS, Indian knowledge systems, Hindu religious studies and nationalism, The Indian Express reported.The new curriculum will be part of the fourth year of the BA Sociology programme and the first year of the two-year MA Sociology course from the upcoming academic session beginning in June.The modules, titled ‘Sociology of Bharat’, ‘Hindu Sociology’ and ‘Sociology of Patriotism,’ carry four credits each and form part of a broader restructuring of sociology education at the university.The Indian Express reported that the restructuring 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 looking into the RSS as part of the course came up on the basis of fieldwork in remote Gujarat villages, where students “unexpectedly” encountered grassroots activities linked to the organisation.“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”.Incidentally, Patel, as India’s home minister, had banned the RSS after the assassination of Mahatma Gandhi. It was lifted a year 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 curriculum will also include a module on Sayajirao Gaekwad III, Patel, B.R. Ambedkar and Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj in the context of leadership and social change.As part of the Bharatiya Knowledge System framework, the “Sociology of Bharat” course will explore traditional knowledge in fields such as medicine, technology and social systems.