Guv, Gov, Going, Gone

I’m sure you know the meaning of the word “Governor”. If you don’t, let me refresh your memory. The Dictionary describes “Governor” as Administrator, Regulator, Head, Controller, Chief and Ruler, among several other not-so-appropriate terms of reference. However, political meaning and understanding, as opposed to the literal and factual meaning of words, are most often poles apart.

To the best of my knowledge, the word “Governor” does not have a synonym in any Indian—nay, Oriental—language. There are many Indian alternatives, depending on the geographical location of the domain, or realm, or state. The office of the “Governor General of India” was thrust upon a subjugated peoples all over the sub-continent in the year 1833 (even though there were umpteen nabobs added to the scores of princes and rajas and, when the East India Company was superseded by the British monarchy, the office remained intact beyond Independence in 1947, with Earl Mountbatten serving as the last British “viceroy”. He was succeeded by Shri Chakravarti Rajagopalachari, India’s first and only Governor-General, until the post was abolished on 26 January 1950, when the country became a Republic.

The word “Governor” has a different meaning when it comes to Britain and the United States of America. For one thing, only in the British Empire was the governor also called Viceroy. The Governor in the USA has legislative powers in the state he/she governs, but this is not the case in free India. Over here, the incumbent is a titular Head, more in an advisory role, but we have come across, time and time again, that quite a few Governors over-step their limits and even refuse to pass Bills that have been cleared in the State Assemblies. The reasons for this could be political, or personal, or both, but when boundaries are crossed, questions are sure to be raised regarding the continuing relevance of the office itself.

The half-word “Guv” is almost colloquial and in today’s parlance may even have the effect of a jibe or a barb. It is almost similar to requesting a bus-ticket from the “conductor-Saar”. Most Governors have had distinguished careers in the public domain, and many carry the weight of their high office with dignity and elan, but that has not always been the case. For a Governor to fully fulfill his gubernatorial duties, he/ she must be impartial, be exempt from external political maneuvering, be sensitive to the sensitivities and sensibilities of the State, and be a master of the situation, any situation, that he/she may be in. As the first citizen of the State, it is (in my mind, at least) the Governor’s solemn duty to put the State and its peoples first. And, since the Legislative Assembly of the State has always been mandated by the people, it is imperative that its supreme role in governance be recognized and accepted.

Of course, a Governor may have reservations, but when the People have spoken (albeit through their representatives), the first citizen must accede. The People must always take precedence over the Person; that is why elections are held and new leaders emerge, while others slip into the background. The Governor must never become a mere “Guvnor”. When that happens, the time is ripe for that particular office to sail into the sunset.

All of you, dear Readers, have heard the saying “Power corrupts, absolute power corrupts absolutely”. Some of you may also have come across the philosophy: “The end justifies the means”. In order to keep a democracy dynamic, it is necessary to have a system of checks (not cheques) and balances (not of the individual kind). I believe that the Legislative Councils of many States still have that kind of role to play. I think the time is ripe for the re-introduction, or revival, or both, of the Legislative Councils in all the States of India—a purely apolitical, people-sensitive, ear-to-the-ground, body of upstanding men and women, who may not be able to stall or defeat a legislative decree, but who must be willing to call a spade a spade.

When that happens, if that ever happens, the bells will toll: “Ding, dong; going, gone”.

And then, another colonial edifice will crumble.

Have any of you heard of Ozymandias (King of Kings)?