Leadership shastra, Mumbai University style

The third century BC saw the Maurya Dynasty thrive and rule almost all of ancient India And they managed to do so with great flourish for nearly 150 years Historians would credit the able leadership of rulers like Chandragupta Maurya and Ashoka for this success story But not acknowledging the role of the Arthashastra authored by Chanakya also known as Kautilya mdash chief advisor to Chandragupta mdash would mean a clear disregard for the rich political literature of our past claim professors at the University of MumbaiProfessors Dr Radhakrishnan Pillai and Dr Madhavi Narsalay outside the Sanskrit department at the University of Mumbairsquos Kalina campus Dr Pillai who has been engaging in Chanakyarsquos literature for the last 15 years will be coordinating the leadership science degree course at the University PicSneha KharabeIt was the curiosity for this 2300yearold ancient treatise on statecraft law and order and economic policy that first got these academicians to work on an experimental project in 2010 Helmed by Prof Dr Shubhada Joshi the then HOD of philosophy at the MU the professors selected a group of research students from across India that was put through a rigorous sixmonth grind of studying Chanakyarsquos Arthashastra ldquoEvery six months a new batch of 15 students would work on this paperrdquo says Prof Dr Radhakrishnan Pillai from the department of philosophyThe setting was like that of a gurukul where the students were hosted at the University for free ldquoAfter they completed their research they were asked to enrol in various kinds of political systems and apply their learning thererdquo says Pillai about the corporatefunded project The idea was to see if the students would be able to incorporate their knowledge of governance acquired from the text while working alongside presentday establishments ldquoToday we have over 20 students working in political parties across the country One of them has even ended up winning a panchayat election in Arunachal Pradesh while some are contesting the 2017 electionsrdquo Pillai says proudlyIn 2010 Prof Dr Shubhada Joshi conducted an experimental research project to study the feasibility of Chanakyarsquos Arthashastra in todayrsquos times MU then decided to create a fullfledged degree course around it picDATTA KUMBHARSix years later Prof Dr Sanjay Deshmukh vicechancellor MU envisioned creating a new degree course that would take off from Dr Joshirsquos experiment Needless to say the research projectrsquos success was instrumental in the creation of a firstofitskind Masters in Leadership Science degree programme which will be inaugurated at the MU on August 9 The course harks back to ancient texts like the Arthashastra as well as Indian mythology like the Mahabharata to teach and hone leadership qualitiesMaking it happenldquoOur research proved that the model of the Arthashastra was still applicable and relevant to our life and times todayrdquo says Joshi who has now retired and is part of the board of studies at the MU But the project would have been a success only on paper hadnrsquot Deshmukh thought of creating a course around it she addsIn 2015 the VC approached Pillai and Joshi with the germ of the idea after which professors from other departments were asked to come on board to see if such a course was workable ldquoWhen the idea was suggested to us I thought it to be the ideal laboratory for application of ancient textsrdquo says Prof Dr Madhavi Narsalay HOD of SanskritldquoWe decided to make it an interdisciplinary kind of course where the philosophy Sanskrit law and management departments would come up with something that would be beneficial for the youth and administratorsrdquo adds Narsalay The departments were however working against time having to create an lsquooutoftheboxrsquo syllabus so that they could introduce the degree course this yearldquoFor the first time students were to be studying leadership as a science And hence it required a lot of rigour to get it passed at the academic levelrdquo says PillaiNormally it takes around a year to put together a syllabus ldquoEven after the syllabus is prepared it needs the stamp of approval of the board of studies the academic council management council and the governorrdquo says NarsalayGoing back to heritageThe question however was whether such an antiquated course held any substance Pillai who has previously written books like Corporate Chanakya and Chanakyarsquos Seven Secrets of Leadership doesnrsquot see why such a model shouldnrsquot workldquoWe have a lot of rich literature in our country but nobody studies it academically The problem is that it is not packaged wellrdquo says Pillai who is currently coordinating the masterrsquos programme ldquoEvery time one canrsquot devise a course that is Westcentricrdquo adds NarsalayShe explains ldquoIn the Arthashastra Chanakya has written over 6000 sutras or rather formulae on the qualifications of a good leader He further discusses aspects of good governance role of civic society interstate relations infrastructure etc It is only a matter of imbibing the ideas into our presentday livesrdquoApart from this the course will also look at texts like Kamandaka Nitisara Shukra Niti among others ldquoWe also have portions from the Mahabharata where Raj Dharma is discussed in detailrdquo Joshi says But that doesnrsquot mean modernday concepts of leadership will be ignoredrdquo says PillaiA notch above MBA degreesAt present MU is offering a fulltime twoyear masters programme in Leadership Science The selffunded course has been split into four semesters comprising four papers each and with the fees being pegged at R4 lakh it is being touted as MUrsquos most expensive course yet According to Pillai a few corporates have already shown interest in the course and are willing to shell out the entire fee to train talented staffTo add to this a fancy roster of guest speakers makes this course an immediate draw Pillai says PM Narendra Modi CMs from across India IAS and IPS officers as well as businessmen like Ratan Tata and the Ambanis would be invited to speak with the studentsldquoToday we need good leaders Nobody teaches you leadership in the academic world This is why I consider the course a cut above the existing management courses being offered in the countryrdquo he says adding ldquoI see potential leaders emerging from hererdquo