Vadodara/Anand: In the summer of 1990, a bright young political science student at MS University in Vadodara received a mortifying mark on his final results: Allowed To Keep Term. The ‘ATKT’ stamp for failing to take his finals blemished his spotless academic record. And the same year, his dream of becoming an Indian Foreign Service officer was dealt a blow. Yet, he would eventually rise to become the chairperson of the Union Public Service Commission—only to resign less than a year later to devote himself to a secretive religious sect.
Manoj Soni, 59, described as “honest” and “polite” by friends and colleagues alike, was an unconventional UPSC chairperson. He always wore a conspicuous vermillion tilak on his forehead, was part of Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s trusted circle, and was a formidable interviewer, first as a UPSC member from 2017 and then its chairman since May last year. Then, last month, he abruptly quit five years before his term ended for “personal reasons”. This, according to several of his associates, was to prepare for a leadership role at the Anoopam Mission, an offshoot of the Swaminarayan sect.
Soni is arguably the most famous member of the mission, whose followers describe themselves as “shirt-pant waale sadhus”—businessmen, doctors, and teachers by day. Soni’s trajectory from a boy selling agarbattis on Mumbai’s streets to occupying one of the highest positions in New Delhi is a story of politics, ambition, religion, and devotion. His ascent is full of ironies: a monk who’s also an academic, a vice chancellor who was never a full professor, a UPSC chairperson who had aspired to join the civil services but never did.
When Soni, hand-picked by Modi, put in his papers last month, it led to a wave of speculation across media, social, and political platforms. Some Congress leaders called him an “RSS-Sangh appointee” and linked it to the UPSC recruitment controversy involving Puja Khedkar, who allegedly forged disability certificates to pass the civil services exam. Others said he was on a spiritual quest at the Anoopam Mission, where he was initiated as a nishkarma karmayogi (selfless worker) in 2020. And in Vadodara and Surat, there were rumblings that Soni had been declared heir apparent to the sect, which has lakhs of followers spread across India and overseas.
We’re very happy that Soni ji climbed such heights to reach the pinnacle of UPSC services. He had taken deeksha (initiation) in 2020 and wanted to return to this place and dedicate the rest of his life here
-Peter Patel, spokesperson of the Anoopam Mission
His family and colleagues remain tight-lipped about the reason behind his resignation, only revealing that he is currently in the United Kingdom with Anoopam Mission leader Jashbhai Patel, known as ‘Sahebji’.
“Manoj hasn’t been named successor of Jashbhai Sahebji. The official successor is Guru Ashwinbhai,” his wife Prof Prutha Soni said firmly. This is the stance of the Anoopam Mission too. However, that hasn’t stopped chatter and local reports in Vadodara that Soni—the blue-eyed boy who brought influence and power to the mission through his proximity to the Prime Minister—will eventually take the reins.
ThePrint contacted Manoj Soni via e-mail for comment and this report will be updated if a response is received.
Deep roots in Anoopam Mission
At a serene Swaminarayan temple in Anand, monks in blue and pale khaki listen raptly as a devotee plays the harmonium. The soulful strains of ‘O Paalanhaare’ from Lagaan and Gujarati hymns dedicated to Krishna fill the air, moving some to tears.
This temple is located in a sprawling ashram of the Anoopam Mission, a religious order rooted in the Swaminarayan sect. The influence and legacy of this ashram apparently inspired Manoj Soni to resign so he could devote himself fully to the mission, which purports to integrate the realms of the spiritual and earthly through service to others.
“We’re very happy that Soni ji climbed such heights to reach the pinnacle of UPSC services,” said Peter Patel, spokesperson of the Anoopam Mission. “He had taken deeksha (initiation) in 2020 and wanted to return to this place and dedicate the rest of his life here.”
Soni doesn’t wear the uniform of the other monks, which is a blue shirt signifying the sky and khaki pants to symbolise the earth. Instead, he is usually dressed in white with a vermillion teeka, similar to the Anoopam Mission’s leader Jayeshbhai ‘Sahebji’.
The former UPSC chairman’s connection to the Anoopam Mission runs deep, those close to him attest. He first walked into the Anand ashram as a young boy with his mother, and it changed his life. After a difficult childhood—reportedly selling agarbattis on the streets of Mumbai to make a living after his father’s death—the mission became his refuge and paid for his studies.
Narendra bhai and Manoj had a shared respect for each other, understood each other, and admired each other’s integrity and honesty
-Prutha Soni, Manoj Soni’s wife
“More than funding his education, the Anoopam Mission gave him a home. Shanti Bhai (a sect leader), who is no longer with us, was a father figure to him. He gave him emotional and moral support. Manoj got his resilience from the Anoopam Mission,” his wife, Prutha Soni told ThePrint on a rainy afternoon at a college in Nadiad where she teaches microbiology.
At the ashram, the monks deny the rumours that Soni is being groomed as the heir of Jayeshbhai, saying they “never heard such a thing”. Like Prutha, they maintain 80-year-old Ashwin Bhai is next in line.
At Anoopam Mission, the leader is revered like a god. His mantras are chanted everywhere, and he is praised alongside other deities at the end of every hymn. Inside the mandir, he presides from a throne, delivering sermons to the faithful.
The ashram’s premises have exhibitions dedicated to Jashbhai’s guru Yogiji Maharaj and Sahajanand Swami or Swaminarayan, the founder of the eponymous sect. One installation depicts Swaminarayan (born Ghanshyam Pande) discouraging a fisherman from fishing, taking him to Yamlok, and warning him of his fate if he continues. Another installation shows him resurrecting two young men after their death.
A defining moment in Soni’s career came in 2002, when he organised a symposium titled ‘Godhra Riots and Its Aftermath’. This event reportedly brought him close to then state education minister Anandiben Patel and CM Narendra Modi.
Muslims, Modi & a defining moment
Even as a student, Manoj Soni always sported his trademark red teeka and a khadi shirt or safari suit. His former classmates recall him as someone who was very conscious of his image, always dressed more crisply and neatly than the average college student. He also had a penchant for using complex words and jargon.
“He used very heavy Sanskrit, Hindi, and English words whenever he spoke. I often couldn’t comprehend what he was trying to say,” a former classmate laughed.
Other classmates say that Soni was always “ambitious” and wanted to do something big, although he spoke sparingly and was always polite and calm.
In 1990, Soni chose not to take the final exams for his MA in Political Science at MS University, as he was busy preparing for the UPSC.
“Since Soni was appearing for UPSC exams, he didn’t focus on his MA final exams. He became an ATKT student,” a former classmate recalls.
But Soni, who was intent on cracking the Indian Foreign Service, fell short of the rank needed to qualify for the top services.
He did not want to settle for anything less, according to Prutha.
“He could not get the service of his choice and so he then switched over to academics,” she said.
Having earned his MA after finally taking the exam, Soni enrolled as a PhD student at Sardar Patel University (SPU) and began an academic career that included teaching international relations from 1991 until 2016, barring his stints as a vice-chancellor.
A defining moment in Soni’s career came in 2002, after the Godhra riots, when he organised a symposium at Sardar Patel University titled ‘In Search of a Third Space: Godhra Riots and Its Aftermath’.
It is this event that reportedly brought him close to then state education minister Anandiben Patel and chief minister Narendra Modi.
When Modi was chief minister, he was looking for exactly this kind of intellectual support to counter English media and other critics. Manoj Soni became the man for favourable propaganda
-Vadodara-based political analyst
The symposium featured speeches on the Godhra train burning and the subsequent violence. ThePrint was not given access to the university library by the VC Niranjan Patel to obtain the symposium booklet, but three of the speeches—by Swami Sachidanand, RC Desai, and Chandrakant Patel—are available to read in English online.
These speeches took a critical view of the Muslim community, questioning their rights and practices in India. For instance, Padma Bhushan awardee Swami Sachidanand’s speech claimed that most riots in India were started by Muslims.
“It is not as if Godhra were an exception. There have been several earlier on. Almost all the riots were those begun and fanned by Muslims,” the document reads.
The same speech criticised the madrasa system, noting that Osama Bin Laden was a product of it, and also decried the practice of offering namaz on the road.
In another speech, one Chandrakant Patel, spoke about the migration of Muslims from villages to cities in his speech, drawing parallels between their ghettoisation to the “increase” in Black communities in America. He argued that with loss of livelihood, Muslim youth would take up anti-social activities like drug peddling and that “cities would become insecure”.
A third speaker, RC Desai, meanwhile, cautioned people to refrain from “Hindu bashing” since “if the media, the politicians, and the leftist intellectuals continue with it, the fires may die down but even so, the embers will remain strong.”
Manoj is very pleasant to work with. Very knowledgeable about Hinduism… but so are many other members of the commission. He never let his beliefs interfere with his work and always worked with utmost integrity
-Former UPSC chairperson
This symposium came at a time when Modi was facing intense criticism over his handling of the riots and this is part of the reason why Soni got noticed, according to a Vadodara-based political analyst who asked not to be named.
“When Modi was chief minister, he was looking for exactly this kind of intellectual support to counter English media and other critics. Manoj Soni became the man for favourable propaganda,” the analyst said. “The small booklet published after the symposium concluded that Modi’s government didn’t do anything wrong. And for this, Modi rewarded him.”
In 2005, Modi picked Soni as the as the vice chancellor of MS University in Vadodara—a huge leap from the relatively junior position of a reader. Although Soni never became a full professor himself, he was, as vice-chancellor, interviewing professors.
“I have never seen them interact in front of me so I cannot comment on their relationship too much. But Narendra bhai and Manoj had a shared respect for each other, understood each other, and admired each other’s integrity and honesty,” Prutha Soni said on her husband’s equation with Modi.
Soni’s term as MS University VC, according to several professors and former students, marked the “saffronisation” of the campus.
‘Chhota Modi’
When Soni took over as vice-chancellor of MS University in 2005, the odds were stacked against him. He was stepping into a university famed for its fine arts department and liberal faculty. It also had a strong students’ union that included both students and professors. He was labelled as a ‘political appointment’ from the get-go.
“While it has become the norm over the years for even assistant professors to rise up the ranks to become vice chancellors, it was quite rare in 2005 for a reader to become a VC,” a professor at MS University said.
Many professors were rankled by the idea of being assessed by someone they viewed as less qualified than themselves.
“It was quite humiliating for a lot of professors to be interviewed and governed by someone who had earlier failed to clear the path to professorship,” another professor said.
Soni’s term, according to several professors and former students, marked the “saffronisation” of the campus.
A particularly controversial incident took place in 2007, when Soni removed religious-themed paintings created by a visual arts student named Chandra Mohan for his examination, following protests from right-wing groups like the Vishva Hindu Parishad and Bajrang Dal.
“That incident caused serious trouble to our fine arts department, which was the best in the country. Debate over the art is fine, but it was the first time I saw a vice chancellor allow goons from VHP and Bajrang Dal inside the campus. It was embarrassing,” a professor said.
The incident, he added, was a turning point for the university: “From that incident onwards, I have seen a college which enjoyed plenty of academic freedom become one where there’s no academic freedom at all.”
Throughout his tenure we protested in the university because each and every decision he made was political
-Narendra Ravat, Congress member and former MS University student
Another professor recalled a visit by then-CM Narendra Modi to the campus for the unveiling of a statue.
“Soni went and touched Modi’s feet during the ceremony. I found that very awkward. Of course, he is free to touch Modi’s feet, but that should happen in private. A VC touching the feet of a CM in public was strange in many ways,” she said.
Soni’s apparent closeness to the Gujarat government earned him the nickname “Chhota Modi” among professors on campus.
Narendra Ravat, now with the Congress in Vadodara and a former student leader at MS University during Soni’s tenure, claimed that many students had a similar impression of Soni.
“Throughout his tenure we protested in the university because each and every decision he made was political,” Ravat said.
Because of his controversial tenure, Soni did not receive an extension as VC at MS University. But he did secure influential appointments on committees formed to select vice chancellors for various universities throughout Gujarat. He served on the governing boards of several universities and was a member of the Justice RJ Shah Fee Regulation Committee in 2008. The following year, he took up the vice chancellorship of Dr Babasaheb Ambedkar Open University in Gandhinagar, where he served two terms.
I remember a friend’s experience who was grilled (by Soni at the UPSC interview) for not prefixing Rabindranath Tagore’s name with ‘gurudev’. He just said ‘Rabindranath Tagore’ and that upset Soni.
-2023-batch IPS officer
During his time at Ambedkar University, Soni commuted daily from Vidyanagar to Gandhinagar, so he could live with his wife and son. Here, he proved to be an able administrator and built the Ambedkar University campus from scratch; when he joined, the entire university consisted of just four office spaces, according to his colleagues from the Anoopam Mission. The university now reportedly has more than 270 study centres and several regional centres.
“Soni was Modi’s go-to for managing education throughout Gujarat. He trusted him with managing universities, and Soni obliged by ensuring various VC appointments close to the government everywhere. He has been handsomely rewarded for this work,” a professor at MSU claimed.
University professors and politicians in Vadodara also say that Soni wrote campaign speeches for Modi, particularly in English. He was the Gujarat CM’s most trusted intellectual, according to them
After Modi became Prime Minister in 2014, Soni did not remain far behind. In 2017, he was called to Delhi to serve as a member of the UPSC committee.
Telegram groups of aspirants would be abuzz in panic if students got to know that Dr Soni was going to sit in on the interview.
Also Read: In UP, a swami known for ‘conversions & ultimatums’ is taking credit for Kanwar Yatra order
UPSC taskmaster to monkhood
Even though he couldn’t crack the service of his choice, as UPSC member Soni would now interview candidates for jobs he once dreamed of. And according to some of his former interviewees, he didn’t make it easy for them.
A 2023 batch IPS officer claimed that Soni was “dreaded” by aspirants because of his stern interview style and tendency to award marks in “the extremes”.
“If it’s your day you might end up getting 206 or even 110. That’s the kind of range that he awarded marks in,” the IPS officer said. “I remember a friend’s experience who was grilled for not prefixing Rabindranath Tagore’s name with ‘gurudev’. He just said ‘Rabindranath Tagore’ and that upset Soni.”
The officer added that Soni ensured a cold, stressful environment during the interviews. Telegram groups of aspirants would be abuzz in panic if students got to know that Dr Soni was going to sit in on the interview.
“For example, there are chairpersons who would give a brief monologue telling you that it’s just a conversation and it’s alright, be relaxed. They’d start with some chit chat to make you relaxed. Soni sir has a poker face and makes no efforts to calm you down,” he said.
The officer conceded, however, that others had a more favourable experience.
“He has also awarded great marks to many. So, they’d have a more positive opinion of him,” he noted.
Soni’s peers suggest that working alongside him was a smoother experience than sitting across from him in an interview.
“Manoj is very pleasant to work with. Very knowledgeable about Hinduism… but so are many other members of the commission. He never let his beliefs interfere with his work and always worked with utmost integrity,” a former chairperson of the commission told ThePrint.
Other colleagues at the commission also described Soni as polite, honest, and erudite.
Prutha Soni said that her husband worked with dedication for the UPSC for seven years.
“I was very proud of him when he joined the commission. He worked very hard even with the little resources he had. He did everything on his own to reach where he did,” she said.
Throughout his tenure at the commission, Soni continued to visit Anand every weekend to spend time with his family and at the Anoopam Mission. In 2020, he took deeksha and became a monk, a commitment that includes celibacy.
“The concept of celibacy is different for Manoj. For him, renouncement of family is a very Western concept. He says rishis often had rishi patnis (wives),” Prutha said. “But yes, the concept of celibacy is definitely part of Anoopam Mission monkhood, and he has been following it… definitely following it… no doubt about it.”
The pull of the mission evidently overshadowed his promotion to UPSC chairman last year, with Soni resigning barely a year into his tenure to focus on his ‘socio-religious’ pursuits. Retired IAS officer Preeti Sudan has now taken Soni’s place in the UPSC.
“We need to have a certain detachment from family once we become monks,” Anoopam Mission’s Peter Patel said. “Our earlier gurus have also been family men. While love remains, family becomes like any other fellow devotee.”
Ultimately, Patel added, Soni heeded a higher calling—that of the Anoopam Mission leader.
“We’re all, after all, devotees of Sahebji and must do as he advises,” he said.
(Edited by Asavari Singh)