The Gujarat High Court on Friday quashed a Central Information Commission (CIC) order issued in 2016 directing Gujarat University to furnish information regarding Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s Master of Arts (MA) degree to Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal. The court also imposed a fine of Rs 25,000 on Delhi CM Kejriwal for using the RTI mechanism to get PM Modi’s degree which is available in the public domain as they were published in the media.
Opposition parties keep questioning the educational qualifications of the Indian prime minister. Responding to such questions, BJP had displayed the degree certificates issued to Narendra Modi earlier. But opposition leaders including Kejriwal continues to question the same. In such an attempt to prove that the certificates are fake, a Congress leader made a hilarious claim today.
The Delhi resident Shantanu, who called himself Nehruvian, Gandhian and Congressman, claimed that Modi’s Gujarat University MA degree is fake because it is from 1983, and a font used in the certificate didn’t exist before 1992. Therefore it is not possible to use it in a 1983 certificate, he tried to insinuate.
Delhi University used a MS font for the degree of their brilliant student Narendra Modi in 1983, which came into existence in 1992.
— Shantanu (@shaandelhite) April 1, 2023
Interesting. pic.twitter.com/7MctJgUzJY
The font in question is Old English Text MT, a font by Microsoft. He posted a screenshot of the Microsoft webpage about the font, which shows that the software giant had copyrighted it in the year 1992.
While it is true that this particular font named Old English Text MT was copyrighted in 1992, it does not mean that the certificate uses exactly this font. This is because this calligraphic font has been in use for over a thousand years now, the reason why it is literally called “Old English Text”.
Fonts or typefaces didn’t start with Word Processing programs like MS Word, they were made thousands of years ago, since the time human civilisation invented writing. Many manuscripts were written using particular fonts, and several calligraphic fonts were developed during that period. Later, these fonts were incorporated into printing technology, and then computer DTP programs.
This particular style of typography is called the Gothic or Blackletter script, and they are in existence since their use in Western Europe, including Germany and England, since the 12th century. This was a major style of text used in manuscript books and other documents throughout Europe, mostly in the German language. Later its use expanded to other languages including English which uses the Latin script.
Many historical monuments have text engraved in such styles, apart from historical documents and coins preserved in museums.
The Microsoft webpage that Shantanu referred to itself mentions that there are two main kinds of what people tend to call Gothic letters: the German Frakturs and the English Blackletter. It states that the particular font, Old English Text MT, looks remarkably like the famous Cloister Black designed by Morris Fuller Benton in 1904.
Dear 2 Rs fact checker @shaandelhite!
— Ankur Singh (@iAnkurSingh) April 1, 2023
The font used is PM Modi’s Degree is- Mariage, invented in 1901.
Monotype font used by MS font has huge difference. Check the comparison. https://t.co/CbCMcmjBY5 pic.twitter.com/aZ69hlSogw
Moreover, on closer inspection, it is found that the text in the certificate is not exactly as the Microsoft font, there are subtle differences in the glyphs. On the other hand, it matches Mariage font by Morris Fuller Benton in 1901 and Cloister Black by the same person in 1904.
One of the most famous books printed using Blackletter is the Gutenberg bible, published in 1455. Filled with colourful illustrations, the entire book was printed using metal moveable typefaces, a technology that pioneered mass printing.
In modern times, such Blackletter or Gothic fonts are generally used in titles and not in the main text. One of the widespread uses is Newspaper mastheads. Mastheads of several well-known newspapers were designed using such Old English Fonts, which are in use now.
For example, The New York Times was founded in 1851 as New-York Daily Times, and its masthead was designed using Old English fonts.
Back home, The Tribune and The Assam Tribune have their mastheads designed in similar Old English Fonts.
Therefore, the Old English font is in existence for hundreds of years, and as it is a preferred font for titles, it is no wonder that Delhi University used it in its degree certificates. In fact, many universities use such typefaces in the Degrees, as it gives the certificates a royal hue.
With the advent of computer-based printing technology, many fonts have been developed based on such old typefaces, and the persons or companies that develop such fonts for computers hold the copyright for these fonts. It does not mean a particulate style of text didn’t exist before that, it only means that the font developer holds the copyright for the computer file of the font.
Unibersity?
Some people also claimed that the word university is misspelt in the certificate, therefore it has to be fake. This is also a low IQ claim, because in the Old English Fonts, the top of v is joined by a thin stroke, making it look like b. Anyone can check this by selecting an Old English font and typing the letter on a computer.
Is Modi Degree fake ?
— Varun (@Chacha_Nehru_ji) April 1, 2023
1. Modi name spelling wrong.
2. "Unibersity" spelling wrong.
3. There is no MA degree with name Entire political science.
4. This used font wasn't in existence at that time.#AnpadhPM pic.twitter.com/LAY2TGupHU
Therefore, the word university is not misspelt as unibersity in the certificate, it is the result of the calligraphic font that creates the misconception. It is also seen in the degrees of several other universities which use such fonts.
Regarding the claim that the certificate is fake because PM Modi’s middle name is written Damoderdas instead of Damodardas, minor variations in spellings were common in those times. In fact, most people had their date of birth mentioned wrongly in their school documents during that time. While his name was spelt Narendra Damodardas Modi in some certificates and marksheets, in others it was spelt as Narendra Damoderdas Modi
