Chennai, March 6 When retired IPS officer R.N. Ravi became the 26th Governor of Tamil Nadu on September 18, 2021, few would have thought that his tenure would be marked by intense confrontations with the elected government.
Whether it was the bills passed by the Tamil Nadu Assembly, the appointments of vice-chancellors, or policy disputes with the DMK regime, including the National Education Policy (NEP), Ravi remained steadfast in his views.
One of the most significant outcomes of the clashes with the DMK regime was the Supreme Court ruling, in a Presidential Reference, that governors and the President cannot be given timelines and that there was no concept of "deemed assent."
In 2023, Ravi controversially "dismissed" then-minister V.S. Senthilbalaji from the Council of Ministers following his arrest by the ED, and quickly put that decision on hold after receiving advice from the Centre. He stated that Senthilbalaji's continued presence in the Cabinet would "adversely impact the due process of law, including fair investigation, which could eventually lead to a breakdown of the constitutional machinery in the state."
The clashes between Ravi and the DMK regime centered on pending bills and other issues, including the prosecution of former AIADMK ministers like BV Ramanaa and C. Vijaya Bhaskar. In the appointment of vice-chancellors to state universities, he mandated a UGC nominee on the Search/Selection Committee, which he argued was in line with a Supreme Court decision.
However, the state government maintained that it was following relevant laws and that a UGC nominee was unwarranted.
On October 25, 2023, a petrol bomb was thrown near the Raj Bhavan main gate, escalating the conflict between Ravi and the DMK regime. The Governor's office had then alleged that verbal attacks and threats against the Governor were primarily from leaders and workers of the ruling DMK and its allies during their public meetings and on social media.
Raj Bhavan alleged: "...a studied indifference by the police to serious threats against the Honorable Governor has jeopardized the Governor's and Raj Bhavan's security...the brazen bomb attack on the Raj Bhavan is a consequence of it."
In 2022, when Ravi was on his way to attend a function at the Dharmapuram Adhinam, Raj Bhavan alleged that sticks and stones were thrown at his convoy to target the Governor. "A complaint was lodged by Raj Bhavan, but an FIR was not registered. No action was taken against the assailants," the Governor's office later claimed.
Karukka Vinoth, a history-sheeter, was convicted and sentenced to 10 years imprisonment by a special court for NIA cases in the Raj Bhavan petrol bomb attack case.
Ravi's tenure was not only marked by controversies; he also sought to innovate and organized various events at the Lok Bhavan, including the 'Think to Dare Series,' a conclave of higher education institutions, and facilitated a cultural study tour for students of the University of Lucknow. He regularly interacted with students.
Outgoing Governor Ravi has also been criticized by proponents of the Dravidian ideology for allegedly attempting to "appropriate" Tamil icons like saint-poet Thiruvalluvar and revolutionary saint Vallalar, portraying them as belonging to the Bharatiya Sanatan tradition. Ravi regularly honoured a portrait of Thiruvalluvar with sacred ashes and also observed the traditional Vaikasi Anusham star – to honour Thiruvalluvar – much to the chagrin of Dravidian ideologists.
He criticized G.U. Pope and Bishop Caldwell, alleging that they attempted to destroy the spirituality and identity of Tamil Nadu, which he hailed as the spiritual capital of India. He said that to write a parallel history of Tamil Nadu, a false narrative of racial division—of separate Dravidian and Aryan races—was created, seeking to strike at the foundational pillars of the Dravidian ideology.
Ravi never missed an opportunity to emphasise nationalism and national consciousness, and he once lamented that PhDs had been awarded for theses focused only on a handful of Dravidian ideology icons. He said at an education-related event: "When I went through the PhD thesis, it was all propaganda material, not even proper research. It was a license to get a job at the university as a professor. Such extreme politicisation of higher education institutions is rare to see. Not even one was on the Marudhu brothers. I would love to see research on the lives and times of our great freedom fighters."
Ravi repeatedly walked out of the Assembly and skipped government-prepared texts during his customary addresses, which had never been witnessed before. He touched a political raw nerve when he advocated the term 'Tamilakam' instead of Tamil Nadu, sparking strong protests from the ruling party and several others.
He regularly levelled allegations against the DMK government on several issues, including crimes against Dalits. He showed great interest in learning Tamil and organised events to mark the formation days of each state. He renamed the Durbar hall in Lok Bhavan as Bharathiar Mandapam.
R Ravi has been transferred and posted as Governor of West Bengal. His Kerala counterpart RV Arlekar has been given additional charge of Tamil Nadu.