Hon’ble Governor’s Profile
Thiru. R. N. Ravi was born in Patna, Bihar, did his Masters in Physics in 1974. Joined the Indian Police Service in 1976 served in various parts of the country. He served in the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) and led several anti-corruption crusades against organized criminal gangs.
While in the Intelligence Bureau (IB), Ministry of Home Affairs, Government of India, the premier intelligence agency of the country. He served largely in theatres of insurgencies and violence including in Jammu & Kashmir, the North East and Maoist-infected regions. He also specialized in the dynamics of human migration in South Asia and worked extensively on the political sociology of border populations.
He has played crucial roles in conflict resolutions in areas affected by ethnic insurgencies and brought several armed rebel groups into the national mainstream. He was the architect of India’s international cooperation in counter-terrorism and intelligence sharing. After retirement from Government service in 2012, he wrote regular columns in national dailies.
He was appointed as the Chairman of the Joint Intelligence Committee in the Prime Minister’s Office, whereas as the Head of the Intelligence Community, he coordinated and guided the agencies to meet the National Security needs of the Country.
He was appointed as the Centre’s Interlocutor for the Naga peace talks in August 2014. Within a short time, he could achieve a paradigm shift in the peace process by bringing the issue from abroad to the land and its people and making it truly inclusive by making the genuine stakeholders integral to it. Soon all the rebel armed groups signed agreements for a settlement of the seven decades-old separatist insurgencies within the Indian Union and the ambit of the Constitutions of India, which could usher in peace in Nagaland and the rest of North-East India. He was appointed as Deputy National Security Advisor in October 2018.
He served as the Governor of Nagaland from 01st August 2019 till 16th September 2021.
After assuming office as the 26th Governor of Tamil Nadu on 18th September 2021, Raj Bhavan, under his leadership, has launched a series of initiatives to re-energise Tamil Nadu’s rich literary, cultural and spiritual heritage that played pivotal role in shaping Bharat’s civilisational consciousness. In the true spirit of Tamil tradition, Raj Bhavan celebrates saints and sages including Thiruvalluvar, Nayanmars, Alvars, Kavichakravarti Kambar, Swami Thiruvarutprakasa Vallalar and Ayya Vaikunthar, upholding the values and wisdom they embody.
Raj Bhavan has encouraged researches to discover and document the life and work of thousands of unsung heroes of Tamil Nadu who gave their everything and sacrificed their life for the freedom of our country. Evidence-based researches have been undertaken by renowned scholars, with Raj Bhavan support; to rediscover Tamil Nadu’s eminently rich ancient legacy through old inscription-stones, palm leaves, copper plates and the classical Tamil texts that seamlessly reflect the several million old cultural and spiritual continuum of Bharat. Some of these have already been published and are available in public domain.
Raj Bhavan has been playing the role of a catalyst in encouraging academia and industry to foster startups, innovation and creation of intellectual property through institutionalisation of platforms such as periodic joint conferences of leaders of academia and industry and hosting NIRF Conclaves that celebrate excellence, share the best innovative practices and impactfully inspire the youth to bring out the best in them. Raj Bhavan hosts regular conclaves of young entrepreneurs and leaders of the MSME sector that help boost innovation and enterprise and bolster an entrepreneurial ecosystem in the State.
The promotion of the Tamil language across the country has been among the top priorities of Raj Bhavan and it has been supporting creation of Tamil language Diploma and Degree courses in universities and higher educational institutions in other parts of the country. Gauhati University has already started a Tamil language diploma course for North-East students. Students in these courses are regularly invited to fully sponsored Tamil Nadu Darshan programmes, offering immersive exposure to the State’s language, arts, culture, literature, cuisine, traditions, heritage and hospitality. Scholars and writers in the Tamil hailing from non-Tamil backgrounds are felicitated every year at Raj Bhavan on the Bharatiya Bhasha Diwas.
Under Governor Ravi’s guidance, Raj Bhavan undertakes numerous measures for revitalisation of ancient Tamil art forms such as Parai, folk dances and drama, while strengthening cultural institutions like the Kambar Kazhagams. In order to nurture and harness the inherent positive forces in Tamil society, Raj Bhavan every year identifies and felicitates unsung individuals and institutions in the State doing extraordinary services to the society in the fields of ‘Social Service’ and ‘Environment Protection’. State-level annual essay and elocution contests and awards competitions commemorating the saint poet Kavichakravarti Kambar and Mahakavi Subramania Bharathiar on their birth anniversaries are held among students to encourage them remain rooted to their literary and cultural heritage. Raj Bhavan celebrates the legacy of Baba Shaheb Ambedkar by hosting annual events including essay competitions on the Constitution Day every year.
In order to boost competitive spirit among the students of Tamil Nadu to join higher civil services of the Union and the State, Governor Ravi every year holds guidance sessions for the civil service aspirants.
Regular celebrations of festivals like Pongal, Navaratri Kolu and Advent Christmas at the Raj Bhavan with participations of several thousand people in each and periodic events like Think to Dare series spotlighting the achievements of farmers, sports personalities, scholars, entrepreneurs, women trailblazers, transgenders, children with disabilities, Raj Bhavan has been transformed into a “Lok Bhavan”.