R. N. Ravi

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In this Indian name, the name Ravindra Narayana is a patronymic, and the person should be referred to by the given name, Ravi.

R. N. Ravi
15th Governor of Tamil Nadu
Incumbent
Assumed office
18 September 2021
PresidentDroupadi Murmu
Prime MinisterNarendra Modi
Chief MinisterM. K. Stalin
Preceded byBanwarilal Purohit
Governor of Nagaland
In office
1 August 2019 – 17 September 2021
Chief MinisterNeiphiu Rio
Preceded byPadmanabha Acharya
Succeeded byJagdish Mukhi (additional charge)
Governor of Meghalaya
Additional charge
In office
18 December 2019 – 26 January 2020
Chief MinisterConrad Sangma
Preceded byTathagata Roy
Succeeded byTathagata Roy
Deputy National Security Advisor of India
In office
5 October 2018 – 31 July 2019
Preceded byArvind Gupta
Succeeded byDattatray Padsalgikar
Interlocutor of India–Naga Peace Talks
In office
September 2014 – March 2022
Preceded byOffice established
Succeeded byA. K. Mishra
Personal details
BornRavindra Narayana Ravi
(1952-04-03) 3 April 1952 (age 73)[1]
Patna, Bihar, India[2]
Residence(s)Raj Bhavan, Tamil Nadu
WebsiteGovernor profile
Source: [1]

Ravindra Narayana Ravi (born 3 April 1952) is an Indian politician and former bureaucrat serving as the 15th and current Governor of Tamil Nadu since 2021. Earlier, he served as the Governor of Nagaland and the Meghalaya.

Born in Patna in Bihar, Ravi joined the Indian Police Service in 1976 after a brief stint as a journalist. He served in the Central Bureau of Investigation and Intelligence Bureau. He was appointed as the chairman of the Joint Intelligence Committee in 2014. In October 2018, he became the deputy National Security Advisor.

After retiring from his bureaucrat career, Ravi was appointed as the governor of Nagaland in August 2019 and served till September 2021. He also held additional responsibility as the governor of Meghalaya from December 2019 to January 2020. He assumed office as the governor of Tamil Nadu on 18 September 2021.

Ravi's tenure as the governor of Tamil Nadu has seen repeated face-offs with the elected government headed by chief minister M. K. Stalin. He has been criticised as being dictatorial by Stalin, due to his reluctance and delay in giving assent to various bills passed by the state assembly. The assembly later passed a resolution urging the union government to set time limits for governors to give assent to bills. In April 2025, the Supreme Court eventually mandated time limits for governors in a landmark judgement in the case brought by the state against the governor.

Early life and career

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Ravi was born in Patna, Bihar on 3 April 1952.[1] He completed his masters degree in physics in 1974.[2] After a brief stint in journalism, he joined the Indian Police Service in 1976 and was allotted to Kerala cadre, where he served for over a decade.[3]

Ravi was later appointed to the Central Bureau of Investigation, and led anti-corruption cases against organised criminal gangs, including mining mafias. He later served in the Intelligence Bureau, where he was involved in theatres of insurgency in Jammu and Kashmir, the Northeast India, and Naxal-affected regions. After retiring from government service in 2012, he wrote opinion columns in newspapers.[2]

Political career

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In 2014, Ravi was appointed as the chairman of the Joint Intelligence Committee. He was appointed as the deputy National Security Advisor of India on 5 October 2018.[4] He also served as the interlocutor for the talks between the Government of India and National Socialist Council of Nagaland (NSCN) from 2014 to 2021.[5][6][7]

Governor of Nagaland

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Ravi was appointed the Governor of Nagaland on 20 July 2019 by the president Ram Nath Kovind.[8] During his tenure, the Nagaland Peace Accord was signed between the Indian government and NSCN in August 2015.[9][10] He had a fallout with NSCN in 2020 after an alleged misunderstanding and subsequent manipulation of the agreement by him. Later, the NSCN asked for his removal as an interlocutor.[11] According to media reports, Ravi was perceived to be targeting the NSCN while being soft on its rival Naga political outfit, consisting of seven extremist groups.[12]

After his proposed appointment as the Governor of Tamil Nadu in 2021, the Nationalist Democratic Progressive Party president Chingwang Konyak said the Nagaland government was not happy with the way Ravi functioned and said he interfered in the affairs of a popular government.[12] The Kohima Press Club boycotted the state farewell organised for Ravi to show resentment since Ravi had refused to interact with the media several times.[13]

Governor of Tamil Nadu

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On 9 September 2021, Ravi was appointed as the governor of Tamil Nadu,[14][15] and he took charge on 18 September 2021.[16] While he was welcomed by Tamil Nadu chief minister and Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK) chief M. K. Stalin,[16] his appointment was questioned by Congress and Viduthalai Chiruthaigal Katchi, allies of the ruling DMK, who claimed an ulterior motive in his appointment.[17][18]

During his tenure, Ravi had multiple face-offs with the Tamil Nadu government.[19] In May 2022, he had kept 21 bills passed in the Tamil Nadu assembly on hold.[20][21] He was criticised by politicians in Tamil Nadu for his delay in approving the bills and interference in the functioning of the government.[22] In April 2022, the Supreme Court questioned Ravi's action to refer the Rajiv Gandhi assassination convict A. G. Perarivalan's remission plea to the president as threatening the federal structure of government.[23][24]

In January 2023, Ravi suggested that Tamilakam would be a more suitable name for the state of Tamil Nadu and criticised that the ruling political parties in the state have been regressive in the past fifty years.[25][26] His remarks were condemned by leaders of various political parties including the ruling DMK, the opposition All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam, and other regional parties,[27][28] while being welcomed by the Bharatiya Janata Party.[29] Protests were organised by some college students against his remarks.[30]

After the governor's speech in the assembly on 9 January 2023, the state government claimed that Ravi omitted select words such as women empowerment, secularism, self-respect, and portions on B. R. Ambedkar and Dravidian leaders from the speech submitted by the state government to the governor's office.[31][32] As per convention, the governor was to read the speech prepared by the state government. Chief minister Stalin moved a resolution requesting that the speaker to relax the state assembly rules to record only the speech prepared by the state administration and strike out any passages that the governor inserted or omitted. The motion was passed by the assembly, and the original speech prepared by the state government was documented.[33][34] Ravi walked off from the assembly in the middle of the chief minister's speech on the resolution, before the assembly proceedings were closed.[35][36] On 12 February 2024, Ravi again declined to read the entire customary address provided by the state government, except for the introductory parts, and walked off from the assembly as the speaker recited the Tamil rendition of the prepared address.[37] Later in the day, a press release from the governor state that he cannot abide by the speech provided by the state government since he did not agree with many of its excerpts on "moral and factual reasons", and stated it would be "constitutional travesty" if he accepted and orated the speech.[38][39]

Ravi has been criticised as being dictatorial by Stalin.[40] Due to his reluctance and delay in giving assent to various bills passed by the state assembly, the assembly passed a resolution urging the union government to set time limits for governors to give assent to bills.[41]

In April 2025, in the case of The State of Tamil Nadu v. The Governor of Tamil Nadu, the Supreme Court of India delivered a landmark judgement mandating time limits for governors to act on bills passed by state legislatures. The Court held that the prolonged inaction on ten bills by Governor Ravi before referring them to the President, soon after their re-passage by the legislature, was unconstitutional. [42][43][44] The Supreme Court also cleared the 10 bills under the provisions of Article 142.[45]

On 20 November 2025, a five-judge constitutional bench of the Supreme Court of India issued an advisory on the April 2025 case of The State of Tamil Nadu v. The Governor of Tamil Nadu. The advisory is based on the 14 constitutional questions raised by precedent in India to the Supreme Court.[46] The five- judge bench confirmed that no timelines can be imposed on presidents or governors. Further stated that, Governors cannot sit on bills indefinitely, and the court stated that the Governor has three constitutional options: to grant assent, to reserve it for the consideration of the President, or to withhold assent and return the bill to the Legislative Assembly for reconsideration.[47][48]

References

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  1. ^ a b "Profile of Honorable Governor". Government of Tamil Nadu. Retrieved 8 January 2025.
  2. ^ a b c "Hon'ble Shri. R. N. Ravi Governor of Tamil Nadu". Government of Tamil Nadu. Archived from the original on 10 January 2023. Retrieved 10 January 2023.
  3. ^ "Governor". Tamil Nadu Legislative Assembly. Archived from the original on 4 June 2025. Retrieved 1 June 2025.
  4. ^ Kalita, Prabin. "Meet your governor: R N Ravi, an officer, and tough gentleman". The Times of India. Archived from the original on 13 September 2021. Retrieved 13 September 2021.
  5. ^ "RN Ravi resigns as Modi govt's interlocutor for Naga peace talks". The Print. 22 September 2021. Archived from the original on 27 March 2022. Retrieved 27 March 2022.
  6. ^ Parashar, Utpal (11 August 2020). "NSCN-IM wants Nagaland Governor removed as interlocutor for peace talks". The Hindustan Times. Archived from the original on 27 March 2022. Retrieved 27 March 2022.
  7. ^ Sharma, Neeta. "Finally, Centre's Naga Talks Interlocutor Makes Way For Replacement". NDTV. Archived from the original on 27 March 2022. Retrieved 27 March 2022.
  8. ^ "RN Ravi Sworn In As Nagaland Governor". NDTV. Indo-Asian News Service. 1 August 2019. Archived from the original on 11 August 2019. Retrieved 16 September 2019.
  9. ^ Singh, Vijaita (15 July 2017). "Meet R.N. Ravi, who is mediating peace with the Nagas". The Hindu. ISSN 0971-751X. Archived from the original on 17 October 2020. Retrieved 17 October 2020.
  10. ^ "Nagas will never join Indian Union nor accept India s constitution : NSCN (I-M) Chief". The Wire. Archived from the original on 20 October 2020. Retrieved 17 October 2020.
  11. ^ "Uncertainty regarding Naga peace process prevails as guv RN Ravi shifts to TN". The Hindustan Times. 10 September 2021. Archived from the original on 15 September 2021. Retrieved 15 September 2021.
  12. ^ a b "Relief in Nagaland after R.N. Ravi's transfer". The Hindu. 10 September 2021. ISSN 0971-751X. Archived from the original on 13 September 2021. Retrieved 15 September 2021.
  13. ^ Ambrocia, Medolenuo (14 September 2021). "Nagaland journalists boycott Guv RN Ravi's state farewell ceremony". East Mojo. Archived from the original on 15 September 2021. Retrieved 15 September 2021.
  14. ^ "Nagaland Governor R.N. Ravi shifted to Tamil Nadu; Banwarilal Purohit moved to Punjab". The Hindu. 9 September 2021. Archived from the original on 13 September 2021. Retrieved 13 September 2021.
  15. ^ "Nagaland Governor RN Ravi transferred to Tamil Nadu". Scroll. Archived from the original on 15 September 2021. Retrieved 15 September 2021.
  16. ^ a b "Stalin greets RN Ravi, says TN welcomes him". Outlook. Archived from the original on 15 September 2021. Retrieved 15 September 2021.
  17. ^ "TN political leaders question former IB officer RN Ravi's appointment as Governor". The News Minute. 11 September 2021. Archived from the original on 15 September 2021. Retrieved 15 September 2021.
  18. ^ "DMK allies oppose R N Ravi's appointment as Tamil Nadu Governor". Deccan Herald. 12 September 2021. Archived from the original on 12 September 2021. Retrieved 13 September 2021.
  19. ^ Kumar, D. Suresh (8 April 2025). "Five big controversial actions of Tamil Nadu Governor R.N. Ravi". The Hindu. Archived from the original on 8 April 2025. Retrieved 9 April 2025.
  20. ^ "Tamil Nadu government seeks right to pick vice-chancellors". The Telegraph. Archived from the original on 8 September 2022. Retrieved 8 September 2022.
  21. ^ "There are 21 Bills pending before the TN Governor: What experts think". News Minute. 3 June 2022. Retrieved 1 June 2025.
  22. ^ "Why SC's observation on governor's role is significant in Tamil Nadu". The Week. Archived from the original on 8 September 2022. Retrieved 8 September 2022.
  23. ^ "'Dangerous Precedent for Federalism': SC on TN Governor Referring Perarivalan Plea to President". The Wire. Archived from the original on 8 September 2022. Retrieved 8 September 2022.
  24. ^ "Supreme Court glare on TN Governor move to bypass govt". 29 April 2022. Archived from the original on 8 September 2022. Retrieved 8 September 2022.
  25. ^ Varsha Sriram (9 January 2023). "Tamil Nadu vs 'Tamizhagam': Why Governor RN Ravi's latest remarks have sparked a row with DMK". The Indian Express. Archived from the original on 9 January 2023. Retrieved 10 January 2023.
  26. ^ ""Thamizhagam More Appropriate Than Tamil Nadu": Row Over Governor RN Ravi's Remark". NDTV. Archived from the original on 9 January 2023. Retrieved 10 January 2023.
  27. ^ "Tamizhagam or Tamil Nadu? Lost in translation in Governor-DMK tussle". The Indian Express. 8 January 2023. Archived from the original on 11 January 2023. Retrieved 11 January 2023.
  28. ^ "Political leaders disapprove of Governor's 'Tamizhagam' remark". The Hindu. 6 January 2023. Archived from the original on 11 January 2023. Retrieved 11 January 2023.
  29. ^ "Tamil Nadu vs Tamizhagam — Governor Ravi stirs up political storm in DMK-ruled state". The Print. 9 January 2023. Archived from the original on 11 January 2023. Retrieved 11 January 2023.
  30. ^ "ஆளுநருக்கு எதிராக போராட்டத்தில் குதித்த கல்லூரி மாணவர்கள்...பதாகைகளில் குறிப்பிட்டிருந்த வார்த்தைகள் என்னென்ன?" [College student protest against the governor]. Malai Murasu (in Tamil). 10 January 2023. Archived from the original on 19 January 2023. Retrieved 19 January 2023.
  31. ^ Sekar, Divya. "உரையில் தவிர்த்த வார்த்தைகள், கொதித்த திமுகவினர், வெளியேறிய ஆளுநர்" [Governor avoided words during his speech, DMK members object]. The Hindustan Times (in Tamil). Archived from the original on 9 January 2023. Retrieved 10 January 2023.
  32. ^ Fathima, Azeefa; Ahmed, Shabbir (9 January 2023). "TN Governor skips portions on Dravidian leaders and Ambedkar in speech, CM objects". News Minute. Archived from the original on 9 January 2023. Retrieved 10 January 2023.
  33. ^ "TamilNadu: What does rule 17 of the TNLA say?". DT Next. 9 January 2023. Archived from the original on 26 January 2023. Retrieved 26 January 2023.
  34. ^ "வாசிக்கப்படாத 'வார்த்தைகள்' முதல் ஆர்.என்.ரவி வெளிநடப்பு வரை - ஆளுநர் உரை நிகழ்வின் 'சம்பவங்கள்'" [Unstated words to Ravi's exit]. The Hindu (in Tamil). 9 January 2023. Archived from the original on 9 January 2023. Retrieved 10 January 2023.
  35. ^ "முதல்வர் பேசிக்கொண்டிருக்கும்போதே விறுவிறுவென வெளியேறிய ஆளுநர் ஆர்.என். ரவி" [Governor Ravi exits when chief minister was speaking]. Nakkheeran (in Tamil). 9 January 2023. Archived from the original on 9 January 2023. Retrieved 10 January 2023.
  36. ^ Stalin, J Sam Daniel; Kumar, Akhil. "Tamil Nadu Governor Walks Out Amid Row With MK Stalin Over His Speech". NDTV. Archived from the original on 9 January 2023. Retrieved 10 January 2023.
  37. ^ Muruganandham, T. (12 February 2024). "TN Governor Ravi refuses to read customary address in assembly, walks out before session ends". The New Indian Express. Archived from the original on 6 May 2024. Retrieved 6 May 2024.
  38. ^ "Tamil Nadu Governor R.N. Ravi refuses to read Governor's address at T.N. Assembly". The Hindu. ISSN 0971-751X. Archived from the original on 12 February 2024. Retrieved 12 February 2024.
  39. ^ "TN Guv RN Ravi refuses to read customary speech in Assembly on 'moral grounds'". The News Minute. 12 February 2024. Archived from the original on 6 May 2024. Retrieved 6 May 2024.
  40. ^ "The Governor should not think he is a great dictator, says Chief Minister". The Hindu. 7 April 2023. Archived from the original on 22 May 2024. Retrieved 24 November 2024.
  41. ^ "Hours After TN Assembly Resolution Criticising Governor, R.N.Ravi Passes Long-Pending Bill". The Wire. 11 April 2023. Archived from the original on 29 June 2023. Retrieved 9 April 2025.
  42. ^ Rajagopal, Krishnadas (8 April 2025). "Supreme Court finds Tamil Nadu Governor's conduct on 10 re-passed Bills was 'unconstitutional', puts Governors on the clock". The Hindu. Archived from the original on 8 April 2025. Retrieved 9 April 2025.
  43. ^ Gursimran Kaur Bakshi. "Governor Can't Reserve Bill For President's Assent After It Was Re-Enacted By Assembly : Supreme Court". Live Law. Archived from the original on 9 April 2025. Retrieved 9 April 2025.
  44. ^ G, Ananthakrishnan (8 April 2025). "'Must act with due deference to conventions of parliamentary democracy': Supreme Court sets aside TN Governor's reservation of 10 Bills". The Indian Express. Archived from the original on 9 April 2025. Retrieved 5 November 2025.
  45. ^ Vats, Aparna (8 April 2025). "How Supreme Court cleared 10 Bills using extraordinary powers". India Today. Retrieved 5 November 2025.
  46. ^ Rajagopal, Krishnadas (20 November 2025). "Presidential Reference hearings saw SC repeat it is not expected to 'overrule' T.N. Governor case verdict". The Hindu. ISSN 0971-751X. Retrieved 20 November 2025.
  47. ^ Staff, T. N. M. (20 November 2025). "No timeline, but Governors can't sit on Bills indefinitely, says Supreme Court". The News Minute. Retrieved 20 November 2025.
  48. ^ NDTV (20 November 2025). “Supreme Court’s Note On President, Governors, Bills Explained In 10 Points”. Retrieved [date accessed].
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Wikimedia Commons has media related to R. N. Ravi.
Political offices
Preceded by Governor of Nagaland
1 August 2019 - 17 September 2021 		Succeeded by
Jagdish Mukhi
Additional Charge
Preceded by Governor of Meghalaya
Additional Charge
18 December 2019 - 26 January 2020 		Succeeded by
Preceded by Governor of Tamil Nadu
18 September 2021 - Present 		Incumbent