Kerala Governor Arif Mohammed Khan has politicised the Raj Bhavan like none of his predecessors have. Khan, however, insists that he is just performing his constitutional duties and says he is bent on cleaning up the system. He talks to TNIE as part of the Express Dialogues series about his impressions of Kerala and the ongoing tug of war between him and the state government.
Excerpts:
It has been three years since you became the governor of Kerala. What are your impressions of the state and its people?
Kerala has fascinated me ever since my school days. I had visited Kerala even before I came to Parliament in 1980. In the North, when I speak, I say that if you want to see the unadulterated Sanatan mindset, come to Kerala. Here I see the element of compassion that’s necessary to live a civilised existence.
What about its politics?
The Kerala school system produces very bright students. But, no one wants to stay here. Likewise, the state is full of competent people. But they do not want to get involved in public affairs. This is the only negative thing I have noticed. If you refuse to participate in public affairs, you will be ruled by people who do not deserve to be there.
Ever since you have taken over, the Raj Bhavan has become a political power centre. This was not the case during the time of your predecessors…
I do not like to compare myself with anybody. Every individual is born with a different temperament and different attitude. Everyone acts according to his or her disposition. So my disposition may be different.
The government is trying to take away your powers as chancellor of universities…
The state government has no status to take away the powers of the governor. The powers of the governor come from the constitution and the state has no power to change the constitution. The governor was made chancellor for upholding the principle of autonomy of universities and free them from interference by the executive. It’s only here that we see the pathetic sight of vice-chancellors going and visiting, not even the chief minister, but the lowly staff in his office, and taking orders from them.
Your latest tug of war with the government…
About five months back I made it clear to the chief secretary that this government does not follow the constitutional obligation to brief the governor. It is a constitutional requirement that there should be regular briefings. And now I am making it clear to you that I will not sign any paper, be it an ordinance or any important paper, where I have some query to make. I won’t accept you sending files here. The minister should bring the file here. If he feels he is not in a position to answer the questions which I am going to raise, then he can come with his secretary. Ministers come sometimes, accompanied by their personal staff. Last week I sent it in writing that no personal staff will be allowed beyond the waiting room. It is the personal staff who call the shots (in departments).
Most of the universities have eminent persons as vice-chancellors like Kerala University’s V P Mahadevan Pillai and MG University’s Sabu Thomas. Kannur University’s Gopinath Ravindran is also a man of national repute. He was the ICHR secretary...
What eminence? Are you not hearing the complaints about his PhD? These (ICHR) are all ideologically inclined bodies. Irfan Habib wrote a book some 50 years back. Can you name even a pamphlet written by him after that? He rose to prominence because he was the president of the fourth-grade employees association in Aligarh.
Has he taught you in AMU?
Fortunately, never.
Why do eminent persons who become vice-chancellors fail to protect the autonomy of universities?
Some of the vice-chancellors are great academicians. But in every university, an illiterate syndicate member has been named as the point person. I shall name the man here in Kerala. Syndicate member K H Babujan calls the shots in Kerala University. The VC takes instructions from him. He is a lawyer and he can file a defamation suit against me.
But you are the one who reappointed Gopinath Ravindran...
The chief minister came to the Raj Bhavan. Rarely he comes here. I don’t know why he avoids a discussion. He said Kannur is his home district, so please give some “weightage to me”. I found his argument not without logic and I looked at it with sympathy. Later, he called me to say that a personal legal advisor of his wants to see me. The legal advisor told me that there was no need to go through the selection process if you have already told the CM that his candidate will be accommodated. He even said that the Advocate General is of the same view. He produced a letter on plain paper with no signature, no emblem. When I objected to it, he said he would bring the signed letter. Unless I ask for the opinion of the AG, he is not supposed to write to me. So, I was sure that they won’t be able to produce. But two hours later they turned up with a signed letter along with a letter from the education minister. Here I got the AG’s opinion without my asking for it. So, the option left to me was to open a full-fledged war with the government, including the AG. I did not want that. I had given my word to the CM. I argued with them for three days not to force this on me. But they refused. So I approved and the next day I said I don’t want to continue as chancellor. Somewhere, I realised that what I did was not right. Now, they are appointing somebody as an associate professor and that candidate does not have the required teaching experience. They have thrown all rules to the wind because the candidate happens to be the wife of the political secretary of the CM. It is only because of this that things have come to a boiling point.
You wrote multiple letters to the CM to take away the chancellorship. But, now when the assembly makes some changes in the VC selection process, you refuse to sign the bill.
I didn’t write multiple letters; I wrote only one. Then CM wrote four letters. In three letters, he wanted me to continue as chancellor and suggested I must also appreciate the government’s role. I asked why should I. I said I am ready to hand over everything. But, they were not ready. Somebody might have told them that UGC will take an adverse view. A senior official later came to the Raj Bhavan and showed me the draft of the fourth letter. I made some changes to that and the letter came in that form. No conditions… the government said it will ensure there won’t be any interference and requested me to continue as chancellor.
Why are you objecting to the University Bill? Will you sign it?
Have I objected? I have said I respect their rights (to make and pass the bill). But, I am not bound to sign anything and everything. I have my obligation to scrutinise anything adopted by the legislature. I have a duty to preserve the autonomy of universities.
You mean to say this legislation is anti-constitutional?
I am not saying that. It hasn’t come to me yet.
If the governor doesn’t sign the bill passed by the legislature, there will be a Constitutional logjam. What is the way out?
I don’t know. I am not here to explain what the way out is. I am here to perform my duty. My obligation is to ensure that whatever paper signed by me meets the requirement of being in accordance with the constitutional provisions and laws of the land.
If you don’t sign the bill, will you refer it to the President?
I will consider that option only if I can’t take a decision myself.
You calling Irfan Habib a ‘goonda’ and Kannur University VC a ‘criminal’ triggered a controversy…
I am sorry if you are bringing up that. I didn’t wish to use that word. This is not my terminology. If a person physically assaults you, how will you describe him? Maybe I shouldn’t have used that one. But, I am asking you... if someone invites me to his house and there are three others who attack you and he doesn’t even say he is my guest. Irfan Habib repeatedly asked why I was in Kannur and this VC didn’t once say he had invited me. After this incident when I went to Delhi, a former HRD secretary told me people in Delhi knew three days before the function that I would be attacked. What was the Kerala intelligence doing? The VC was party to the conspiracy. You can see in the video that my ADC’s shirt was torn apart. Who behaves like this? An academic? Then you will have to change the definition of academic.
As a student leader in Aligarh Muslim University in the early ’70s, you had led an agitation against Union minister Prof Nurul Hasan. Some even say you tried to manhandle him...
First, we should assume that it is true. I was the first ever undergraduate secretary (of the students’ union). I was only 20 years old. Are you saying then because at the age of 20 I was leading a procession that became violent, therefore Irfan Habib at the age of 80 can attack me? What logic! Brilliant! Nurul Hassan saab was the Union education minister then. If there had been any violence, it would have been reported to the police. On that day, the students’ union had taken a decision not to welcome any government official. He had come to his former department and there was a protest. Nurul Hassan saab was escorted out peacefully.
You spoke about appointing a committee to look into complaints of nepotism in universities.
Honestly, I never spoke about such a committee. Many people came to meet me in Delhi with complaints. I asked everyone to give these in writing. I told them clearly that no complaint will go unaddressed.
Recently, the state government called for more powers to states in the appointment of governors...
Everybody is entitled to their views (laughs). There may be people who feel they are more knowledgeable and wiser than our constitutional fathers. I respect that and will not question them. They are entitled to such kind of humorous opinions.
Is the post of governor really necessary?
If we read the proceedings of the Constituent Assembly and the situation prevailing at the time, we can appreciate why the institution of the governor was constituted. India has always been culturally and spiritually united. But politically, it was deeply fragmented. There was also the trauma caused due to the partition. People of Kerala may not understand the depth of the trauma in the minds of people in Northern India due to the partition. The Constitution makers were conscious of the fact that this would continue. Elected governments hence could buckle under popular pressure and become prone to doing things that may affect the sense of unity. Hence the institution of the governor becomes absolutely
imperative.
You have quite a large fan following in Kerala. Some even say you have occupied the space of the opposition leader…
(Laughs) I do not want to comment on this. But I can tell you I’m overwhelmed seeing the response I get when I go to public functions.
Your critics point out your silence on the remission of the sentences of the accused in the Bilkis Bano case.
The critics have not so far pointed out whether any rule has been violated to give relief to those who have already spent 14 years in jail. Here (in Kerala) a man (Manichan) who was responsible for the death of many people was given a remission.
But, what about the reception they received when they came out of prison?
After 2002, I was in Gujarat for five months. I mobilised a lot of resources for the victims. I was very critical of Narendra Modiji initially. If I had not stayed in Gujarat, possibly my view of him would not have changed. In those five months, I realised that you cannot blame any one individual. Because, much more heinous crimes were committed during the times of Chimanbhai Patel, Madhavsinh Singh Solanki and even earlier. Before 2002, there was not a single year when at least one riot had not occurred. After 2002, there was not a single complaint. Then I realised that irrespective of who is the chief minister, the hatred is deep-rooted. When we criticise Narendra Modi, we are actually knocking at the wrong door.
You have said that Muslim law does not come from Quran. Are you suggesting that education through Madrassas should be stopped?
Madrassa means an educational institution. But the kind of syllabus they follow here is not allowed even in Muslim countries. How can you do that? I am not asking them to discard it from the syllabus. But if you are keen to retain such things in the syllabus, don’t describe this as the Shariat. When you say Shariat, it means it comes from God.
There’s a talk that Islamophobia is increasing in the country. What is your take?
I do not know. But if you insult a young girl who’s meritorious and so intelligent on stage, what kind of reaction will that evoke? You will always have a fear in your mind. People will feel that if these people are given an upper hand, even women of my family would not be allowed to come on stage. This is bound to happen. For Islamophobia, non-Muslims are not responsible. It is these clerics.
Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan has not uttered a word against you although you have been making statements against his government. What’s your equation with him?
Every issue I have dealt with is on merit. I have no personal complaints against him. I am not really comfortable with the fact that he nominates others to talk to me. He may have his own genuine problems. I do sympathise with him. When I assess him as a chief minister, I am repeatedly given to understand that he is under tremendous pressure, and is forced to do things even against his will.
You mean to say someone is forcing him to do things?
Naturally. If you ask a question to a minister, he looks at his personal staff. From where do these personal staff come from?
You mean the party?
Why should I answer that? You tell me. Where does his political secretary come from? So, I do deeply sympathise with him.