War on Bengal: Enters A New Phase

[Sukla Sen]

R N Ravi, the new Governor of West Bengal since March 6, is an IPS officer who retired as a/the Special Director of the IB. During his service life, he appears to have specialised in handling counter-insurgency tasks.

Such persons are usually appointed as Governors in insurgency affected states. Mostly in the North-East.

Now, here's a brief summary, by Grok, of his immediately preceding stint in Tamil Nadu:

BEGINNING 

R N Ravi served as the Governor of Tamil Nadu from September 18, 2021, until his transfer to West Bengal in early March 2026 (around March 6-7, 2026). His nearly 4.5-year tenure was widely regarded as one of the most contentious in the state's history, characterized by repeated public and legal clashes with the elected DMK government led by Chief Minister M.K. Stalin. These conflicts often centered on accusations that Ravi overstepped his constitutional role, acted with political bias (perceived as aligned with the BJP-led Centre), and undermined federal principles and Dravidian ideology.

Key controversies include:

- **Withholding assent to state bills and creating constitutional deadlocks**: Ravi delayed or withheld assent to numerous bills passed by the Tamil Nadu Legislative Assembly, with up to 21 bills pending at times. Prominent examples included the anti-NEET exemption bill (seeking exemption from the National Eligibility-cum-Entrance Test for medical admissions), university governance reforms (e.g., shifting vice-chancellor appointments from the Governor to the state government), and amendments to various university acts. Some bills dated back to 2020. In November 2023, the state approached the Supreme Court over the inaction. In April 2025, the Supreme Court ruled that Ravi's withholding of assent to 10 repassed bills was "illegal," "arbitrary," and "erroneous," declaring them deemed assented under Article 142 powers (though a later August 2025 clarification noted no strict constitutional time limit exists for governors or the President). This led to strong criticism from Stalin and others that Ravi was obstructing elected governance.

- **Refusing to deliver or altering customary Assembly addresses and repeated walkouts**: Ravi frequently deviated from or refused to read government-prepared speeches in the Tamil Nadu Assembly, skipping sections on the "Dravidian model" of governance, social justice, or references to icons like Periyar E.V. Ramasamy, B.R. Ambedkar, Anna (C.N. Annadurai), and Karunanidhi. He walked out multiple times (e.g., in 2023, 2024, and January 2026), often citing issues like the national anthem not being played first (instead of or before the Tamil state anthem "Tamil Thaai Vaazhthu"), alleged microphone interruptions, or "misleading" claims in the speech (e.g., on investments, crime, Dalit atrocities, or drug issues). These incidents sparked high drama, with the Speaker defending assembly traditions and the DMK accusing him of disrespecting state customs.

- **Remarks on Tamil identity and culture**: In January 2023, Ravi referred to the state as "Tamilagam" (an older/historical term) instead of "Tamil Nadu," drawing widespread condemnation and protests for allegedly undermining Tamil pride and identity. He also made public comments highlighting caste discrimination, Dalit violence, temple entry restrictions, and low conviction rates in crimes against Dalits, which critics (including ministers) called "slandering" the state and politicizing social issues to contradict claims of social justice under the Dravidian model.

- **Other notable actions and rows**: These included attempting to "dismiss" Minister V. Senthilbalaji from the Cabinet (later backtracked on Union Home Ministry advice), refusing to re-induct Minister K. Ponmudy despite a Supreme Court suspension of his corruption sentence (leading to court rebuke), disputes over university vice-chancellor appointments and the National Education Policy, and controversial statements like asking students to chant "Jai Shri Ram" at a college event in April 2025 (seen as promoting a particular ideology). Symbolic rows arose over figures like Thiruvalluvar (e.g., saffron robe associations) and Vallalar (linking to sanatana dharma).

These issues fueled perceptions of Ravi as confrontational and ideologically opposed to Dravidian politics, with the DMK repeatedly demanding his removal and portraying him as a "BJP agent." His tenure ended amid relief from the ruling party, who ironically called him a "star campaigner" for highlighting central interference in opposition states. Reports from sources like The Hindu, Indian Express, New Indian Express, and Supreme Court proceedings consistently describe his time in Tamil Nadu as "tumultuous" and marked by "pursuit of controversies."

END 

So, the real issue is why such a controversial person has been brought in by abruptly replacing the incumbent one just on the eve of the poll???

Is dismissal of the state government on the cards???

Or something somewhat less dramatic and yet too sinister?

In the meanwhile, under its (shattering?) impact, the TMC has on March 7 overnight reversed its earlier disgraceful stand of standing apart and now decided to back the opposition-sponsored no-confidence motion against the incumbent Lok Sabha Speaker. All its 28 MPs have been asked to remain present and vote in favour of the motion.

One only hopes that Mamata realises the gravity of the situation and abandons her megalomaniac ambitions.

And, similarly, others also acknowledge that, right at the moment, in West Bengal it is she who stands between the state and the looming doom that the BJP is -- for the state and the country.

One can only hope against hope.

(Please also look up: 

I. Operation Banga Bijoy (invasion of Bengal) Begins!? at <https://groups.google.com/g/greenyouth/c/F_amIZzspEM>.

II. <https://www.facebook.com/share/p/1CDxuSxQ35/>.

III. "India" vs. BJP: Three Shots: Over the years ('98 - '19): One long, one middle, one close-up: at <https://groups.google.com/g/greenyouth/c/yaZSCLTlZqs/m/epPE7xt2AAAJ>.

IV. A Bid for Bengal at <https://avplayer.lib.berkeley.edu/Video-UCBOnly-MRC/(lib)a_bid_for_bengal___festival_screener>.)

[Here is a brief resume of R N Ravi:

The new Governor of W.Bengal

Ravindra Narayana Ravi 

☆Personal Profile

Born: April 3, 1952, in Patna, Bihar.

▪︎Education: Master’s degree in Physics (1974).

▪︎Early Career: Brief stint in journalism before joining the civil services.

▪︎Professional Career (1976–2012)

▪︎R.N. Ravi joined the Indian Police Service (IPS) in 1976 (Kerala Cadre). 

▪︎Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI): 

Intelligence Bureau (IB): He retired in 2012 as Special Director of the IB.

▪︎National Security & Strategic Roles (2014–2021)

Following his retirement

▪︎Chairman, Joint Intelligence Committee (2014):

▪︎Naga Peace Interlocutor (2014–2021): The primary architect of the 2015 Naga Peace Framework Agreement. 

▪︎Deputy National Security Advisor (2018): 

▪︎Gubernatorial Tenures

▪︎Governor of Nagaland (2019–2021)

▪︎Governor of Meghalaya briefly.

Governor of Tamil Nadu (Sept 2021 – March 5 2026)]

Peace Is Doable

[Sukla Sen]

Hi Ashok,

Thanks for your thoughtful intervention.

As a Bengali born in Calcutta and brought up there for the first quarter century of my life, let me also add something.

The distinctive image of Bengal is undoubtedly owing to its "Bhadraloks" -- the gentry. More specifically, a very particular section of it: as represented by Rammohan Roy, Ishwarchandra Vidyasagar and, most of all, Tagore. Never mind that even among the Bhadraloks they perhaps constituted only a small minority. Many others were very much engaged in undercutting them. The most graphic and tragic case is that of the chronologically middle one of this trio: Ishwarchandra Vidyasagar. He had to spend his last life in self-imposed exile.

Be that as it may, not only the cultural image, even the political life of Bengal was for far too long controlled by the Bhadraloks.

Bagha Jatin to Khudiram to Surya Sen to C R Das to Subhash Bose -- all were upper caste Hindus. The first three were pioneering martyrs fighting against the British colonial rule.

Of course the vast plebian masses made up the ranks in the epic independence struggle.

After Independence, with the advent of electoral democracy based on universal adult franchise, things started changing -- even if rather too slowly and somewhat imperceptibly.

B C Roy, Jyoti Basu and even Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee -- the best-known Chief Ministers -- were all perfect accomplished Bhadraloks. So was perhaps the only well-known Finance Minister: Ashok Mitra. (Though he had once famously pronounced: I'm a communist and not a Bhadralok!)

Mamata Banerjee, even if a Brahmin, has made a radical, and very visible to boot, departure. With all the pluses and minuses. And it is the minuses that make her the butt of jokes -- of the elite. (I still recall, a snap of Deve Gowda, the then Prime Minister, sitting on a dias and picking his nose was carried on the top of the front page of a national newspaper with the accompanying caption: Digging Gold!)

To complete the story, Mamata is far from alone. Shuvendu Adhikari, Dilip Ghosh, Minakshi Mukherjee. That's the line-up now.

And to top it all, at the national level, now we have: Narendra (LNB*) Modi (*: <https://youtu.be/ug5RIt4r5oc>) in the PM's chair, the chair that had once hosted Jawaharlal Nehru!

Yeah!

The Bhadraloks of Bengal today are largely a degenerated lot. Like in other parts of India, Modi fans abound.

Yet, the fight against the looming doom demands that all must take part.

Of course, it's mostly the plebian masses that primarily vote for Mamata. Muslims -- for dear life. Hindu OBCs/subalterns -- to a very large extent, on account of the various hand-outs. And some others -- not excluding Bhadraloks -- for "secularism" and "democracy". Never mind that Mamata's credentials on both the counts are highly suspect.

That's where we stand.

The impact pattern of the rise of the subalterns is, as the ground level evidences indicate, is quite a bit complex. More complex than what we'd love to imagine. And maybe what the holy texts provide.

Sukla

 

Peace Is Doable

On Sun, Mar 8, 2026, 17:03 Ashok Chowdhury <ashok.c...@gmail.com> wrote:

It's no more an electoral battle amount political parties, but a fight between Bengal along with its political -cultural legacy and the regressive " Hindi - Hindu - Hindustan" regime. Backbone less Bhadraloks are not in a position to play any significant role in this battle. Common people have to play the major role.

All India Union of Forest Working People AIUFWP

toot Sarai 6  

Malviya Nagar, New Delhi 

Mobile> 09410418901,09868857723

On Sun, 8 Mar, 2026, 3:18 pm Sukla Sen via WSM-Discuss, <wsm-d...@lists.openspaceforum.net> wrote:

Too unfortunate.

But, let's see.

And do whatever we can.

Sukla

Peace Is Doable

On Sun, Mar 8, 2026, 11:45 Rabin Chakraborty <from...@gmail.com> wrote:

Yes, a dark cloud is looming large over the state of West Bengal. Some sinister design is definitely in the making to cause chaos in the state. We are contemplating terrible consequences for the state. 

But the bhadroloks of West Bengal do not appear to be disturbed much with any such consequences in the near future. We look totally helpless. We are in a lose-lose situation.

Many of our friends are hesitant to come forward to launch any program of protest with the apprehension that any such action may help Mamata to win the coming election, which may lead to earning a bad name as 'choti-chata'! -আমাদের পরিস্থিতি এখন বাংলায় যাকে বলে একেবারে সসেমিরা অবস্থা!

Warmly,

Rabin

--

Rabin Chakraborty

Mob: 9477104966

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