Abstract: If not new, the conflicts between the Governors and the state governments are increasingly hitting headlines in the recent years. These conflicts open up further debates on the constitutionality of the office of the Governor and the Governor as a political agent of the ruling regime at the Centre. Considering the changing nature of center-state relationship in India, this discussion intends to reason with the multiple roles of the Governors. In doing so, the discussion reflects on the nature of the conflicts between the Governors and the state governments; the constitutional ambiguities in offering solutions to these conflicts; the apathy and indifferences of the governors in exercising their constitutional powers in safeguarding the rights and entitlements of the marginalized sections; and the politicization of the office of the Governor in furthering the electoral agendas of the political parties.
About the speakers: Professor SS Meenakshisundaram is Visiting Professor at School of Social Sciences in NIAS. He joined the Karnataka cadre of the Indian Administrative Service in 1968. During his career he had held a number of assignments including Secretary, Rural Development and Panchayati Raj department when Karnataka launched its new system of panchayatiraj institutions. Besides several articles and papers on Panchayatiraj and Rural Development, he has also published a book on "Decentralization in Developing Countries" with special reference to Nigeria, China and India during 1994. After working as Principal Secretary to the Chief Minister of Karnataka and Joint Secretary to three Prime Ministers of India, he also served as Adviser in the Planning Commission and Secretary in the Ministry of Rural Development. His research interests include rural development, poverty alleviation, voluntary action and decentralized governance.
Dr. Anshuman Behera is an Associate Professor in Conflict Resolution and Peace Research Programme at NIAS, Bengaluru. A trained Political Scientist, his main areas of research interest are in the field of political violence and internal conflicts in India, Nepal and Bangladesh, Democracy and Governance in India, Political Theory and the Social Impacts of Development. Apart from his extensive work on the Maoist insurgency in India and militancy in South Asia, Dr. Behera has also written on insurgency in Myanmar and Nepal. Governance in the Northeastern states and the Social Impact Assessment of infrastructure projects in India are his present research areas.