Did K.S. Shastri, Whose Tenure Ended in 1981, Sign PM Modi’s 1983 Degree?

As of August 2025, PM Modi’s educational degree has again become the topic of debate on social media. Although Modi’s educational credentials have been contested for many years, the recent trigger came after the Delhi High Court ruling. On August 25, 2025, the Delhi High Court overturned an earlier order of the Central Information Commission (CIC) that had directed Delhi University (DU) to make public records of PM Modi’s 1978 graduation degree. The High Court said that academic records are personal information and do not fall under the ambit of mandatory disclosure under the Right to Information (RTI) Act. Meanwhile, on social media it is being claimed that Modi’s 1983 Gujarat University degree certificate bears the signature of Vice Chancellor K.S. Shastri, but his tenure had ended in 1981 itself. Hence, his degree is fake.

Sharing the image which has copy of a Master of Arts (MA) degree certificate of PM Modi, signed by Prof. K.S. Shastri, Vice Chancellor of Gujarat University, the user Bhavika Kapoor wrote, “At the time when Narendra Modi allegedly received his degree, university students used to wear black gowns to attend convocations to receive their degrees. Can Narendra Modi post a photo of himself in which he is wearing a black gown and receiving his degree at a convocation? If he cannot, it clearly means that he has given a false affidavit regarding his education and as such he is a criminal. The government since 2014 is illegal and he is an illegal Prime Minister and all the decisions taken by him are illegal. Agree?” (Archived link)

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Fact Check

In our research, we found that the post contains a collage of two photographs. On the left side of the collage is a photo of Narendra Modi’s supposedly degree certificate (Master of Arts). The bottom of the image carries the name/signature of Prof. K.S. Shastri as Vice Chancellor. On the right, is a black and white photo of Prof. K.S. Shastri, Vice Chancellor of Gujarat University. Below the photo, his name and tenure dates are given, which show that he served from August 22, 1980 to July 13, 1981.

On reverse searching the name of Vice Chancellor K.S. Shastri, we found the website of Veer Narmad South Gujarat University (VNSGU). The home page of the website has a chart of current and former vice-chancellors. Upon scrolling the page, we found that one of them is Professor K.S. Shastri. Here, the name and the photo are same as in the viral post. The image in the viral post has been taken from VNSGU website. Under K.S. Shastri’s image, the dates of his tenure as Vice Chancellor are mentioned. It says that he served from 22-08-1980 to 13-07-1981.

Next, we searched for Vice Chancellor K.S. Shastri on Google and found a PDF document from Gujarat University. This document provides information about the Vice Chancellors of Gujarat University. At serial number 8, it lists K.S. Shastri and states that he served as Vice Chancellor of Gujarat University from 1981 to 1987.

It is important to note that Veer Narmad South Gujarat University (VNSGU) and Gujarat University are not the same institution. These are two different universities located in different cities of Gujarat. Gujarat University is in Ahmedabad, while VNSGU is located in Surat. K.S. Shastri served as the Vice Chancellor of VNSGU from 1980 to 1981, and later held the same position at Gujarat University from 1981 to 1987.

In the viral post, PM Modi’s Master of Arts degree from Gujarat University is shown to be from 1983, during which Prof. K.S. Shastri was serving as the Vice Chancellor of Gujarat University. The website of Som Lalit College confirms that K.S. Shastri of VNSGU and Gujarat University is the same person.

In conclusion, the claim that PM Modi’s degree is fake is fake because the tenure of Vice Chancellor K.S. Shastri, whose signature is on his 1983 degree from Gujarat University, ended in 1981 itself. In fact, K.S. Shastri was the Vice Chancellor of Gujarat University in 1983. The photo of his tenure that is going viral is from VNSGU, Gujarat, where he served as Vice Chancellor from 1980 to 1981.

Claim	PM Modi’s Master of Arts degree from Gujarat University is fake.
Claimed by	Bhavika Kapoor
Fact Check	K.S. Shastri, whose signature appears on PM Modi’s 1983 degree, was indeed the Vice Chancellor of Gujarat University in 1983. The viral photo showing K.S. Shastri is actually from his tenure at VNSGU (1980–1981), not Gujarat University.

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