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Journalism of Courage
Though India does not have a tradition that calls for a change of guard at the gubernatorial level whenever there is a change of guard at the Centre, the six Governors who have put in their papers are setting a welcome trend. Of late, Raj Bhavans 8212; and high commissions and embassies overseas, of course 8212; have come to be seen as convenient parking slots for politicians who have suffered reverses and bureaucrats who should have been put out to grass. In the recent past, there has been the particularly flagrant case of Romesh Bhandari, a career bureaucrat who was accommodated in Lucknow because he had his uses for his political masters. Krishnapal Singh of Gujarat, who has put in his papers, has not enjoyed a distinguished tenure either. Earlier, there was the equally disturbing case of Chenna Reddy, who caused something of a crisis in Tamil Nadu with his differences with Jayalalitha.
In the Indian system there should have been no need for such resignations following political changes at the Centre. That ismore appropriate to the Presidential form of government, where such officials would necessarily be political appointees. However, the efficacy of the governor8217;s post depends more on its dignity than any legal sanction from the Constitution. A governor may well use Constitutional safeguards to retain his seat after he has lost the confidence of the body politic but for all operations purposes, he will have lost his authority. Unfortunately, a not inconsiderable number of governors, most of whom were political appointees, have managed to do precisely that over the years. In fact, the authority of the very office of the governor has been slowly eroded to the extent that governors have had to face hostile audiences during their customary address to the House. Such a situation would have been unimaginable to the framers of the Constitution. Clearly, the office now needs to regain its dignity if it is to remain effective.
