The Constitution of India states that the “executive power of the State shall be vested in the Governor” and rules that the governor shall be appointed by the President “by warrant under his hand and seal” and hold office “during the pleasure of the President”. But pierce the constitutional gravitas accorded to this high office and all you are left with are a handful of elderly personages in those elderly edifices known as Raj Bhavans. Some of them — like the indestructible Madan Lal Khurana or the ever-active Mohammed Fazal, may still nurse political ambitions, despite their declining years. Others like P.S. Ramamohan Rao, caught in an untidy war of words between the Tamil Nadu chief minister and the Central government, may prefer to duck and exit. Some may have a taste for organic farming, others for organic versification, but when you finally come down to it, this country has rarely been blessed with a governor who has brought stature to his/her office — all the more so in these days of partisanship and patronage.Yes, we realise that the Sarkaria Commission made the governor something of a centrepiece of the nation’s federal structure, the main pointperson in Centre-state relations, but when was the last time you heard of governors who conducted themselves in the manner required of them? There is just no point bemoaning the fall of this high office. It may be more profitable to abolish the post all together.Imagine, with that one move, we will be spared the spectacle of chief ministerial tantrums over gubernatorial choices and the prospect of indifferent Republic Day speeches. We will also not have to transfer out and transfer in people when one government is replaced by another in New Delhi, nor will we have to spend time writing lengthy treatises on the importance of the office. Besides, it would free up all that priceless real estate that presently house these eminences, absolutely free of cost. This is one post — come to think about it — that is useful only to the ruling dispensation. It comes in as a handy lollipop to reward an old party factotum or as a convenient way to ship an unwanted deckhand to the high seas of political oblivion.
