Rajendra Arlekar | Saffron guard

When Rajendra Vishwanath Arlekar assumed cost because the twenty third Governor of Kerala on January 2, 2025, few had been shocked by what adopted. A steadfast Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) loyalist and former Governor of Bihar and Himachal Pradesh, Mr. Arlekar’s appointment was broadly seen as a continuation, if not escalation, of the ideological and administrative friction that had marked the tenure of his predecessor, Arif Mohammed Khan.

A member of the RSS from a younger age and later related to the Bharatiya Janata Celebration (BJP) since 1989, Mr. Arlekar is a seasoned political chief from Goa. He served twice as a Member of the Goa Legislative Meeting. He held the put up of Speaker from 2012 to 2015, and was Minister of Forest and Atmosphere and Panchayati Raj from 2015 to 2017. He additionally led the BJP within the southwestern State for 4 years.

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Mr. Arlekar was appointed Governor of Himachal Pradesh in July 2021, and later assumed the position of Governor of Bihar in February 2023.

If Mr. Khan had redrawn the boundaries of gubernatorial conduct by repeatedly locking horns with the Left Democratic Entrance (LDF) authorities, Mr. Arlekar has wasted no time in sharpening the identical edges, significantly within the contentious area of upper training.

Kerala’s universities have lengthy been battlegrounds for political affect. The Communist Celebration of India (Marxist) [CPI(M)]-led LDF and the Congress-led United Democratic Entrance (UDF) have historically dominated educational our bodies. Nevertheless, the BJP made important inroads throughout Mr. Khan’s tenure by securing entry into the Senates and Syndicates of main establishments reminiscent of Kerala and Calicut Universities.

Mr. Arlekar picked up the place Mr. Khan left off in asserting the Governor’s authority over State-run universities, and insisting that he holds the “remaining say” in greater training issues. His assertion, backed by College Grants Fee (UGC) pointers and a few court docket verdicts, has clashed head-on with the LDF authorities’s stance that State governments should retain management over publicly funded instructional establishments. The deadlock has led to a near-paralysis in college administration. Of the 14 State universities, 13 stay with out common Vice-Chancellors, with some positions mendacity vacant since October 2022. Interim appointments made by the Governor have typically been met with non-cooperation from CPI(M)-dominated Syndicates, leaving college students and college caught in a political crossfire.

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Judicial intervention

The judiciary has typically stepped in to interrupt such deadlocks. The Supreme Courtroom lately adopted essential steps by appointing former Supreme Courtroom choose Sudhanshu Dhulia to go the search-cum-selection committees for Vice-Chancellor appointments in APJ Abdul Kalam Technological College and Digital College Kerala.

Tensions between Raj Bhavan and the Kerala authorities haven’t been restricted to training. Symbolism, too, has develop into a flashpoint. A portrait of ‘Bharat Mata’, depicted holding a saffron flag earlier than a lion and the map of ‘Akhand Bharat’, has been prominently displayed throughout official capabilities on the Kerala Raj Bhavan, drawing sharp rebuke from each the LDF and the UDF.

Mr. Arlekar defended the picture as an emblem of the nation. However the critics considered its use, carefully tied to RSS iconography, as an affront to constitutional propriety. Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan wrote formally to the Governor, warning towards the show of politically or religiously charged imagery at State capabilities. He additionally cited constitutional conventions and the supremacy of nationwide symbols such because the tricolour and the nationwide anthem.Mr. Arlekar’s ideological moorings run deep. A vocal admirer of Hindutva ideologue V.D. Savarkar, he’s perceived as a key BJP emissary tasked with increasing the social gathering’s ideological footprint in a State lengthy thought of hostile to it. His earlier gubernatorial stint in Bihar affords a well-known sample. There too, he challenged the authority of the Nitish Kumar-led authorities in college appointments by way of actions that drew sharp political reactions.

In Kerala, his strategies have stirred comparable responses. Each the LDF and UDF accuse him of in search of to “saffronise” campuses beneath the pretext of reform. The Governor’s camp, in the meantime, claims the political coalitions, significantly the Left, are obstructing long-overdue adjustments for purely political causes.

At its core, the continuing confrontation between the Raj Bhavan and the State authorities is just not merely about instructional appointments or iconography. It’s a conflict of two visions: one rooted within the federal autonomy of elected governments, and the opposite in a centralised, ideologically pushed re-imagination of establishments.

Because the LDF authorities nears the top of its time period, the Governor’s withholding of assent to key Payments, together with these in search of to reform college governance and permit personal universities, has additional strained the already brittle relationship.

In Mr. Arlekar, Kerala could have acquired a brand new Governor some months in the past, however the previous battles proceed, maybe with even sharper ideological stakes.

Revealed – September 07, 2025 01:55 am IST