Daijiworld Media Network - Kolkata
Kolkata, Mar 12: R N Ravi was sworn in as the 22nd Governor of West Bengal at a ceremony held at Raj Bhavan, Kolkata, also known as Lok Bhavan, on Thursday morning.
The oath of office was administered by Sujoy Paul, Chief Justice of the Calcutta High Court, in the presence of Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee.
Among those present at the ceremony were Assembly Speaker Biman Banerjee, senior minister and Kolkata Mayor Firhad Hakim, and Left Front chairman Biman Bose. Several senior bureaucrats and police officials also attended the event, including Chief Secretary Nandini Chakravorty. No leader from the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) was present at the programme.
Ravi was appointed Governor of West Bengal following the resignation of his predecessor C V Ananda Bose on March 5.
Before assuming charge in West Bengal, Ravi had served as Governor of Nagaland, Meghalaya and Tamil Nadu.
During his tenure as Governor of Tamil Nadu, Ravi was known for his extensive public engagement. Moving away from the traditionally distant role associated with the office, he focused on making the Raj Bhavan more accessible to civil society.
He addressed more than one lakh students, emphasising the importance of youth participation in nation-building. In addition, he personally distributed over 50,000 certificates at university convocations, organising 24 such sessions at the Raj Bhavan.
Born in Patna in Bihar, Ravi completed his master’s degree in physics in 1974 before joining the Indian Police Service in 1976.
During his service, he worked in several parts of the country and also served with the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI), where he led multiple anti-corruption operations against organised criminal groups.
He later served in the Intelligence Bureau under the Ministry of Home Affairs, India, focusing largely on regions affected by insurgency and violence, including Jammu and Kashmir, the Northeast India and Maoist-affected areas. During this period, he also specialised in the political sociology of border populations and the dynamics of migration in South Asia.
Ravi played a significant role in efforts to resolve ethnic insurgencies and was involved in bringing several armed rebel groups into the national mainstream. He also contributed to strengthening India’s international cooperation in counter-terrorism and intelligence sharing.
In August 2014, he was appointed the Centre’s interlocutor for the Naga peace talks. During the negotiations, he worked towards making the peace process more inclusive by involving various stakeholders within Nagaland.
In October 2018, he was appointed Deputy National Security Advisor. He later served as Governor of Nagaland from August 1, 2019, to September 16, 2021, before taking oath as the 26th Governor of Tamil Nadu on September 18, 2021.