Governors in India: The power and the privilege

Right from the start, the governor’s presence has been a thorn in Centre-State relations. Despite several Commissions and court judgments decreeing that the governor must follow the State Cabinet’s advice in most matters, governors continue to do the Centre’s bidding even as crores of rupees of taxpayer money from the States’ coffers are spent every year to maintain them in their splendour.

What commissions and judgments pronounced

Over several decades, there have been several Commission reports and Court judgments on the vexed issue of Central control in State matters and the role of governors. A look at the most significant ones:

Where the Raj Bhavans are

There are 38 Raj Bhavans all over India. Five States have two Raj Bhavans each: Tamil Nadu (Chennai and Ooty), Uttarakhand (Dehradun and Nainital), West Bengal (Kolkata and Darjeeling), Odisha (Bhubaneswar and Puri), and Madhya Pradesh (Bhopal and Pachmarhi).

Raj Bhavan, Kolkata.

Chandigarh is the only city with two Raj Bhavans (Punjab and Haryana). Maharashtra is home to four Raj Bhavans: Mumbai, Nagpur, Pune, and Mahabaleshwar.