2017 could not have started on a more depressing note for Meghalaya. The spate of rape cases that led to the arrests of several perpetrators including a sitting legislator have hardly subsided when we are now faced with allegations of sexual harassment against the Governor of the State, V Shanmuganathan an RSS pracharak. Shanmuganathan was one of the many governors appointed by the Modi Government after 2014. A rank outsider to Meghalaya and the North East, Shanmuganathan came to Shillong without any understanding of the history, culture and sensitivities of its people. It would not be wrong to surmise that this man from Tamilnadu was unable to size up the women of Meghalaya because they are outgoing and not bound by the shackles of dowry or other societal chains such as female infanticide. What he saw here must have been at odds with his idea of womanhood and he tested the waters only to get burnt. This flight of fancy has cost the Governor dearly.
The lady job-seeker who alleged wrongdoing on the part of the Governor while he had a one on one conversation with her at the Raj Bhavan, has not yet lodged a formal FIR with the police or with the State Women’s Commission. All that the media could rely on were her text messages to a journalist acquaintance that are now over a month old. This snowballed into a major controversy when over 100 Raj Bhavan staff mounted a revolt against Shanmuganathan listing out his capricious behavior and indiscretions and his high-handed attitude towards them in a letter addressed to the Prime Minister and President of India. Delhi responded swiftly and Shanmuganathan was asked to resign. The crux of the matter now is whether resignation alone is enough punishment for an arbitrary exercise of power by a Constitutional head who has taken advantage of his privileged position?
