Tussles between the governor of a state and the state government are never a pretty sight. They violate the dignity of the offices concerned and hurt the spirit of the Constitution. Disagreements between the West Bengal governor, Jagdeep Dhankhar, and the state government are as frequent as they are disturbing. New fuel has been added to the simmering flames by the state education minister, Bratya Basu, who said that the government may study the Constitution and seek legal opinion to see if the chief minister may replace the governor as chancellor of state-run universities. This came in the context of the government’s complaint that the governor is uncooperative and leaves files pending and the latter’s ire that no chancellor or vice-chancellor of private universities attended any of the meetings he called. These mutual allegations, whatever their justness, are the outcome of political opposition. Yet universities, by being their indirect occasion, are being drawn into this political whirlpool. Mr Basu’s suggestion makes that clear. The education minister referred to the Kerala governor’s suggestion to the chief minister of the state that he take over as chancellor. Maharashtra, meanwhile, is amending the law regarding public universities to limit the governor’s power to select vice-chancellors. Which is, of course, not the same as having the chief minister become chancellor.
The governor was envisaged in the Constitution as being above politics. Such a figure would do justice to the position of university chancellor. Since governors above politics have become increasingly rare, it may be argued that they should not be chancellors. A university is a place of unhindered study and research, a space where young people develop their talents freely. Political interests of the authorities would destroy that freedom and hinder impersonal learning. So a chief minister as chancellor would be as undesirable as a governor with political leanings. Any minister would be more obviously associated with party politics. To cultivate a university’s ambience of learning and creativity, a chancellor with academic credentials would seem appropriate. This was reportedly mentioned by Mr Basu, but his suggestion about the chief minister has gained prominence. However, political personalities should not be associated with universities — for the good of not just the students but ultimately of the state. This must be obvious to the education minister.