Kerala to include Governor’s responsibilities, limitations in higher secondary syllabus amid govt-Raj Bhavan tussle

Kerala’s General Education department will modify the higher secondary syllabus to include the Governor’s role, responsibilities and limitations as the Constitutional Head of Provincial Governments.

General Education Minister V. Sivankutty told reporters on Friday (June 20, 2025) that it was socially imperative that students learn about the democratic and Constitutional processes that inform the country’s federal polity, including the official role of the Governor as the de jure head of State and the well-defined Constitutional curbs on the high office.

Mr. Sivankutty said the younger generation should understand the executive power vested in the elected Chief Minister and Council of Ministers and their collective responsibility to the Legislative Assembly and the public. 

The move assumed legal and political relevance against the backdrop of protracted Kerala government-Raj Bhavan dispute over the Constitutional bounds of the Governor’s office, including alleged intervention in the administration of State-funded varsities as Chancellor, “refusing” assent to Bills passed by the Legislative Assembly inordinately, “displaying” political symbols at State events and “delaying” key Bills by reserving them for the President’s assent. Moreover, the LDF had repeatedly accused Raj Bhavan of providing a bully pulpit for Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh’s (RSS) political messaging.

Notably, Rajendra Arlekar’s assumption of the Governor’s office in January had signalled a thaw in the earlier government-Raj Bhavan relations, often characterised by publicly acrimonious and muckraking confrontations with his predecessor, Arif Mohammed Khan.

Nevertheless, Mr. Khan’s refusal to sign the Bill seeking the removal of the Governor as Chancellor of State Universities, Raj Bhavan’s opposition to the Kerala Lok Ayukta Amendment (Bill), which empowered the executive to accept or reject the ombudsman’s findings, and the former Governor’s decision to reserve some key Bills for the President’s consideration remain serious bones of contention between the political executive and the Constitutional office.

Following his swearing-in, Mr. Arlekar held out an olive branch to the government by promising to lobby the Centre for Kerala’s development, calling on Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan on the latter’s birthday, and co-hosting an “informal breakfast meeting” with Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman in New Delhi. Mr. Arlekar’s varied tack appeared to broadcast a detente and incremental normalisation of relations.

However, a coldness of manner crept has into the government-Raj Bhavan ties, with Left student organisations protesting against Mr. Arlekar’s nominations to varsity senates, accusing him of continuing Mr. Khan’s alleged bid to saffronise State varsities.

The chill seemed to reach a high point, with two Ministers walking out of Raj Bhavan recently to protest against the use of a saffron flag bearing Bharat Mata’s image, allegedly an RSS emblem, at State functions.

An apparently unrelenting Raj Bhavan dug its heels in, refused to remove the controversial image from the central hall, and termed Minister Sivankutty’s boycott a protocol violation and insult.