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The UCLA Center for India and South Asia announces the Sardar Patel Award for the best dissertation submitted at any American university on the subject of modern India in 2024. The amount of the award is $10,000 (Ten Thousand Dollars). Established in 1999, the Sardar Patel award is annually conferred by the Center for India and South Asia at UCLA. An endowment was created by funds donated by the Friends of the Sardar Patel Association provided to the UCLA Foundation. The award was created to honor the best doctoral dissertation on any aspect of modern India - social sciences, humanities, education, and fine arts - in any U.S. University or academic institution awarding the Ph.D. 

The award continues to this day, honoring the legacy of Sardar Patel. 1. The dissertation must be on any topic on Modern India (the dates of Modern India are defined as 1800 to the present). 2. The topic must fall within the following fields of study: History, Social Sciences, Humanities, Education or the Fine Arts. 3. Dissertations submitted for consideration for the 2024 prize will have been completed during the 2023-2024 academic year (September 1, 2023 through August 31, 2024). In some cases, dissertations completed very close to these dates may also be considered. 4. The dissertation must have been written while enrolled at a U.S. accredited university in history, anthropology, sociology, literature, political science, or one of the other disciplines in the humanities, the arts, or the social sciences. 

Applicants must submit a PDF of the completed and filed dissertation. In addition, please send the following as PDF files: ONE copy of an abstract of 500---1000 words, ONE copy of your curriculum vitae, and the attached form filled by their dissertation supervisor or department chair attesting to the completion of the dissertation during the period stipulated in item #3. The deadline for submission of materials is Tuesday, April 1, 2025. All dissertations should be submitted online at:

For any inquiries regarding competition guidelines please contact Mohsen Mohammadi at mohammadi@ucla.edu 

Note: By submitting their dissertation for consideration, candidates also agree to have their dissertation abstract posted on the CISA and Sardar Patel Association websites. The winner will be expected to attend an award conferral ceremony in Los Angeles and is also expected to acknowledge the Sardar Patel Association in any publications related to the subject matter of the dissertation. 

About Sardar Patel Born Vallabhbhai Jhaverbhai Patel in 1875 in the city of Nadiad, Sardar Patel was one of the three principal leaders of the Indian Nationalist Movement for freedom from British rule. After India attained freedom in August of 1947, Sardar Patel became Deputy Prime Minister of India, as well as Minister for Home, Princely States, Information and Broadcasting. Due to his stellar role in integrating 565 princely states and colonial provinces into the nascent Indian Union, he is remembered as the Architect of modern India. He died on December 15, 1950, in Mumbai. In his honor, a national memorial was created at the Moti Shahi Mahal, located in Ahmedabad in his home state of Gujarat.