Post the “Government of India Act 1935”, the then British-Indian government had appointed distinguished men and women of high calibre, and unimpeachable integrity as the Governors of the Indian provinces. But there has since been much diminution in the calibre of the Governors who subsequently held the exalted position, writes Raj Kanwar
Eminent women such as Sarojini Naidu, Vijaya Lakshmi Pandit and Padmaja Naidu had performed their gubernatorial duties with much dignity and poise. Post Independence, great men like KM Munshi, Sir HP Mody, VV Giri, Sir Girja Shankar Bajpai, Dharam Vira, Govind Narain and their ilk walked like Colossus in their respective Governor Houses.
But alas there has since been much diminution in the calibre of the Governors who subsequently held the exalted position or are currently occupying Raj Bhawans in the capitals of various states.
Who is then ‘qualified’ to become a state Governor? “A citizen of India who is at least 35 years old,” says the Constitution. It doesn’t lay down any qualifications as to the education or experience. By this yardstick, almost every third Indian is constitutionally eligible to be appointed a Governor. As far as I can recall, no one below the age of 60 or so has ever been made a state Governor. Ironically, this relatively young age of 60 is intended for those bureaucrats who had managed to earn such a highly prized sinecure for the “services rendered” in the course of their respective careers. The politician, who is past his or her ‘use-by date’, too is a favorite for the tenancy of a Raj Bhawan. Quite often, retired army generals or their counterparts from Navy or Air Force also got a look in and given the gubernatorial assignment.
Axe falls on RSS-backed Governors
The controversy relating to the qualifications of a Governor had taken the centre stage in May 2004 when the Manmohan Singh government sacked four Governors namely, Vishnu Kant Shastri (Uttar Pradesh), Kailashpati Mishra (Gujarat), Babu Parmanand (Haryana) and Kidarnath Sahni (Goa). Incidentally, all the sacked Governors were hardcore RSS pracharaks, and had been appointed by the previous National Democratic Alliance (NDA) government headed by Atal Bihari Vajpayee. Their replacements were largely chosen from among those Congressmen who had lost in the elections held earlier.
The former Home Minister Buta Singh was made the Governor of Bihar while R.L. Bhatia became the Kerala Governor. While Balram Jakhar, a former Speaker of the Lok Sabha, was appointed as the Governor of Madhya Pradesh. B.L. Joshi, a former police officer, was consecutively made Governor of Uttarakhand and Uttar Pradesh while the chartered accountant and freedom fighter Rameshwar Thakur was appointed as the Governor of Odhissa. Likewise, Nawal Kishore Sharma who too was a ‘lost warrior’ was made the Governor of Gujarat.
