Taking its long-drawn tussle with Governor Arif Mohammed Khan one step further, the CPI(M)-led government in Kerala Wednesday decided to introduce an ordinance stripping him of the post of Chancellor of state universities. To keep the Raj Bhavan away from the state's higher education sector, the CPI(M) said it had relied upon recommendations of the 2007 Punchhi Commission, and that the decision was part of wider reforms. However, while the state government may claim that Khan left it with no choice, the decision would have far-reaching consequences in the state’s political as well as academic arenas. The CPI(M) has projected its confrontation with Khan as one against the Sangh Parivar, its ideological rival that has been chipping away, trying to make inroads in Kerala. The CPI(M) has accused the RSS of using Khan as an agent to implement its saffron agenda, and has said it is acting in the interest of “saving higher education” from this. It is for this reason that the party will be holding a march to the Raj Bhavan on November 15 under the banner of the presumably apolitical 'Education Protection Samithi'. This kills two birds with one stone for the CPI(M), by not just positioning it as the staunchest defence against the Sangh Parivar in a state with a high population of minorities, but also puts the Congress in a spot over which side to take. As the CPI(M)'s principal rival in the state, the Congress can't be seen as supporting it, but with its larger narrative too against the RSS, it can't condone Khan. Experts are worried that the fallout of this whole tussle will eventually be seen in further politicisation of higher education. It's an open secret that all political parties try to establish people with similar leanings as them in positions of higher learning. The CPI(M) is held to be particularly guilty of this, and the Opposition fears that with no Governor control on appointments, there may be no checks on the ruling party in this regard. Congress legislator and Opposition Leader V D Satheesan said the CPI(M) has already given backdoor entry to “party leaders and their spouses” in universities. “The ordinance (against Khan) is aimed at making those with a Communist background as chancellors. This would destroy the higher education sector in Kerala. There is no ground to remove the Governor as the chancellor,” he said. The general secretary of a Save University Campaign Committee, Shajar Khan, said the decision would bring the higher education sector under the political control of the ruling party. “When the Governor is, by virtue of his office, the chancellor, we have a system to complain against political decisions that affect the autonomy of universities. With the ruling party appointing a chancellor, universities would be deprived of autonomy. The government agenda behind the ordinance is to suppress all voices of dissent. If the Governor had ratified all the illegal appointments recommended by the ruling party, this move would not have been made,” he said. With universities a fertile ground for budding politicians in Kerala, having a say in how they are run also provides the CPI(M) a way of ensuring that these institutions lean its way. Unlike one chancellor for all 14 state universities, as is the case now – with the Governor holding the post by virtue of his designation - the government now proposes to appoint at least four. Under this proposal, there would be one chancellor for the universities of Kerala, Kannur, MG, Calicut, Sanskrit and Malayalam; another for CUSAT, A P J Abdul Kalam Technological University and the Kerala University of Digital Sciences, Innovation and Technology. Apart from this, the Fisheries and Health Sciences Universities would also have separate chancellors. The creation of these posts, and the support and back-up the universities would need as a result, may also imply an extra financial burden.
