http://youtube.com/post/UgkxwqJf2Q7ZOZ7vEqDdC7W6Vyo8Olqodrh-?si=ezfCd3Tkqaui0DKZ [08/05, 12:08] sekarreporter1: [08/05, 11:55] Lita Srinivasan: Governors are party loyalists preferred for this colonial position, often as a reward for their services. A study by Professor Ashok Pankaj on India’s governors from 1950 to 2015 found that they were mainly politicians (52%) or retired bureaucrats (26%). Judges, lawyers, defence officials and academicians made up the rest. A fifth of all governors were former MPs or legislators.

[08/05, 12:05] sekarreporter1: http://youtube.com/post/UgkxwqJf2Q7ZOZ7vEqDdC7W6Vyo8Olqodrh-?si=ezfCd3Tkqaui0DKZ
[08/05, 12:08] sekarreporter1: [08/05, 11:55] Lita Srinivasan: Governors are party loyalists preferred for this colonial position, often as a reward for their services. A study by Professor Ashok Pankaj on India’s governors from 1950 to 2015 found that they were mainly politicians (52%) or retired bureaucrats (26%). Judges, lawyers, defence officials and academicians made up the rest. A fifth of all governors were former MPs or legislators.

Governments in Delhi have traditionally dismissed governors appointed by their rivals, further politicising the office. A study which looked at the tenures of governors between 1950 and 2015 found that only a quarter had completed their full five-year term – and 37% had lasted less than a year in office.

That is why many believe the time has come to abolish the office of the governor. “This office is generally an abomination,” says Shekhar Gupta, editor of ThePrint. “If it disappeared one day, nothing will happen.”

It is possibly easier said than done. Mr Kesavan notes that if the “governors cannot be legislated out of existence, the next best move would be to shrink the office to fit them”.

India’s governors, appointed by the president on the advice of the prime minister, are constitutional heads of the state. Although they have a largely ceremonial role, they hold a mix of legislative, executive and discretionary powers. During political crises – when a state election, for example, is inconclusive – they can decide which party is best positioned to form a government. To borrow from a cricketing analogy, the governor is expected to be an “umpire of democracy”. Is he ?
[08/05, 12:04] sekarreporter1: 👍