Modi’s Marksheets: Authentic or Not? Only Due Forensics Will Tell

PM Narendra Modi’s Delhi University BA marksheets have thrown up some glaring inconsistencies, writes Chandan Nandy.

When the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) recently launched a scathing attack on Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s Bachelor of Arts and Master of Arts certificates, it forced the BJP top brass to go on the defensive. Subsequently, they produced two certificates (BA and MA) – both duplicate copies – of the PM’s college and university education.

The Quint procured the marksheets of a Modi contemporary who took his BA Part III examination in 1978, the same year as Modi. In Modi’s marksheets, his name has been variously spelt as Narendra Damoderdas Mody, Narendra Kumar Damodardas Modi and Narendra Kumar Damodar Das Mody.

Modi wobbled through the BA Pass programme, failing all through before appearing for supplementary examinations to clear college through some correspondence course. The following are the differences between the marksheets of Modi and his contemporary whose name, roll number and certificate numbers have been excised for the sake of privacy:

Obvious Discrepancies

1) Modi’s marksheets show University of Delhi written in a Gothic font while his contemporary’s is in a plain, capitalised type font which was in vogue at that time. This type/font size continued to be used by Delhi University authorities till 1983 or 1984 when they switched to the Gothic style.

2) The subject-wise numerical scores on all the three marksheets of Modi’s contemporary are handwritten, which was precisely the practice at that time, while that of the ones in question are either computer-generated or printed on an electronic typewriter, neither of which were in use in Delhi University in the late 1970s.

3) Unlike the names of the subjects that appear in distinct columns in Modi’s marksheets, his contemporary’s marksheets reveal the Roman number of subjects. Only the names of subsidiary subjects, such as Hindi, Political Science and English, are given in a separate column below. The marksheets of Modi’s contemporary carry a “Note” at the bottom left hand corner which says “For Titles of papers see reverse.” No such Note is printed on Modi’s marksheets.

Missing DU Code

4) Modi’s contemporary’s marksheets carry a code at the top, right-hand corner (D.U.P. No. 1457 – 28.2.75 – 50,000), which is missing from the PM’s marksheets, throwing up questions of their authenticity.

5) While Modi’s marksheets mention “DELHI” just before the dates when the marksheets where issued, his contemporary’s marksheets have “Dated” printed before the actual dates in bold such as 16 JUN 1976, 20 JUL 1977 and 19 JUL 1978.

6) There is no name or even a signature to indicate who at Delhi University prepared the three marksheets said to be that of Modi’s. On the other hand, his contemporary’s marksheets carry two boxes below, which clearly contain initials or signatures of the persons who prepared and checked them before they were issued to the student concerned.

Clear the Air

Amidst these discrepancies in Modi’s marksheets, questions will naturally be asked about their genuineness and reliability – and by extension the so-called BA Degree conferred on him by the University of Delhi.

The authorities at Delhi University have stalled the AAP’s efforts to examine Modi’s marksheets and BA certificate. The only way to clear the air over Modi’s BA level academic achievements, and the associated documents, must be to set the record straight.