Political governors: Both good & bad
ever supple and sensitive an administrator’s, soldier’s or policeman’s mind, it is at the end of the day a mind that thinks in terms of maintaining the peace, not creating it. The administrator, soldier or policeman is not to be faulted for this, his training is such. NN Vohra had been a valued interlocutor in the state before he became the state’s Governor and his insightful report on criminalisation and politics showed a rare understanding of our political chemistry. But his value as Governor lay, like that of his predecessors, in his impartial, neutral and essentially objective oversight.
A state, howsoever riddled by violence, insurrection, disaffection, separatism and militancy is nonetheless a political constituent of the Union of states that is Bharat. Its Governor has to have political savvy, as much as administrative skill. And so a political appointment has to be welcomed on that score.
But I have this thought in parallel: a ‘political’ Governor like a ‘political’ ambassador cannot but come with a political memory, a political orientation and – a political mandate. J&K is not just another Indian state; it is India’s most anxiously observed, most critically studied state. It is not at the nation’s crest for nothing. It is, therefore, vitally important that the Governor is seen to be one thing above all else: scrupulously non-partisan.
I cannot conclude this column without saying that it is puzzling why no Government of India since 1947 has been able to find for India’s only state with a Muslim majority, a Muslim Governor from outside the State. Why? A sense of insecurity in ourselves?
We must wish Rajyapal Satya Pal Malik a fulfilling innings as Governor of Jammu & Kashmir, as the successor personifying Atal Bihari Vajpayee’s famous tripod for that State – Insaniyat, Jamhuriyat and Kashmiriyat -- without all that bedevils siyasat.
Gopalkrishna Gandhi is distinguished professor of history and politics, Ashoka University The views expressed are personal