The appointment of K. Sankaranarayanan—a former Finance Minister of Kerala and a confidant of Defence Minister A.K. Antony—as Governor of Nagaland to replace former Intelligence Bureau Chief Shyamal Datta is significant in more ways than one. As rightly pointed out by the Chief Minister himself, New Delhi has finally decided to depart from the tradition of appointing persons with police and army background as governors of politically sensitive States of the North East Region, and instead, has chosen a politician as the Governor of Nagaland this time.
Having said that, the bigger question remains on whether this is really an indication of the subtle shift in the approach of the Centre towards Nagaland and the recognition of Naga political situation as a political issue rather than that of a law and order issue or is it just going to be mere speculation on the part of the CM and the media in Nagaland. After all, a change in guard was always on the cards and appointing a politician is no big deal. While former army officers may have dominated gubernatorial appointments in the recent past, it does not mean that politicians were never given postings in Nagaland. But then if the Government of India is really sincere about the peace process and if it feels that appointing a seasoned politician will be better suited to the post-ceasefire context, one should welcome this shift in thinking. However, there are also strong reasons to suggest that the appointment of a Congress politician has more to do with electoral politics and the convenient advantage of having a man at Kohima for the Centre to keep a close eye on both the development and law and order front. And with Assembly Elections due in a few months time, such a calculation is not hard to come by.
This should not however, take anything away from his Excellency K. Sankaranarayanan, the new Governor of Nagaland, who has proved that he can be a staunch Congressman and yet manage the pulls and pressures of parties with diverse interests—having guided the United Democratic Front (UDF) in Kerala through turbulent times for 16 years. Known for his fair-play while managing the UDF coalition, Sankaranarayanan will have to play a similar role as the Constitutional head of the State and while working along side the NPF led DAN government headed by Chief Minister Neiphiu Rio.
As a seasoned politician and known as a practitioner of clean politics, Sankaranarayanan has enormous experience when it comes to governance. As a Finance Minister, he was instrumental in guiding the State through its fiscal reforms programme, though it involved some hard measures, including downsizing Government staff and reducing several benefits and was credited with leaving behind a sound exchequer behind for his successor to capitalize on. As Nagaland Governor, Mr. Sankaranarayanan would have to bring all his political skills into full play to manage both the political and development aspect of this troubled State. As rightly pointed out by Rio, his vast political experience and acumen will stand him in good stead in his new role as Governor of our State.
