Centre to name new interlocutor to Indo-Naga peace talks
Eastern Mirror Desk
Dimapur, July 20: Bearing the trademark Modi government’s knack of springing surprises, the government of India’s interlocutor to the Indo-Naga talks, RN Ravi was on Saturday named the governor of Nagaland.
The Rashtrapati Bhavan issued an order on Saturday announcing Ravi, who is also a Deputy National Security Advisor, as the successor to PB Acharya. A 1976-batch Indian Police Service (IPS) officer from Kerala, Ravi will be the 19th governor of Nagaland.
Given Ravi’s relationship with the Naga people—across political as well as social spectrums—his appointment as the governor of the state has triggered a flurry of speculations.
Chief Minister Neiphiu Rio told Eastern Mirror that he had called Ravi to congratulate him. The chief minister told Ravi that he was looking forward to working with him.
Rio said that Ravi has the trust of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, and thus, given the ‘special task’ in Nagaland.
The chief minister also spoke with Union Home Minister Amit Shah after the announcement of Ravi as the governor of Nagaland. According to him, Shah said that the central government will name a new interlocutor to replace Ravi.
Asked what impact, does he think, this move could have on the Naga peace process, Rio said: “I feel he (Ravi) has been sent to Nagaland for a purpose; he has worked very hard. He is sincere about the peace process but the outcome also depends on the Nagas.”
Rio said that this move could be taken as a positive sign as Ravi “knows so much about the Naga issue” and has had numerous interactions with the Naga people.
Political observers were of the view that, given Modi’s sharp political acumen, Ravi could have been assigned the gubernatorial role in order to oversee the transition if, and when, the final solution to the Indo-Naga negotiation is hammered out.
Ravi’s knowledge of the various—and quite messy—knots that constitute the Naga thread places him at the prime position to supervise such a transition.
Along with Ravi, the central government announced appointments and changes of governors in six states: Anandiben Patel, governor of Madhya Pradesh was transferred to Uttar Pradesh; Jagdeep Dhankar, governor of West Bengal; Ramesh Bais, governor of Tripura; Lalji Tandon, governor of Bihar was transferred to Madhya Pradesh; and Phagu Chauhan, governor of Bihar.
Brief timeline of Ravi’s career:
• Retired as Special Director of Intelligence Bureau (IB) in 2012
• Appointed Chairman of the Joint Intelligence Committee in 2014
• Appointed interlocutor and Government of India representative for Naga Peace Talks in 2014
• Appointed Deputy National Security Advisor (NSA) in 2018
• Appointed Governor of Nagaland in 2019
