Shimla – Two years and counting, Himachal’s big universities are running like a ship without a captain—thanks to a never-ending ego war between Raj Bhavan and the Sukhu sarkar.
Vice-Chancellor chairs at HPU Shimla, CSK Agri Palampur, and YSPUHF Solan are either lying cold or warming under “temporary” caretakers, leaving the whole system rudderless and drifting.
Governor –CM Face-off: Universities Caught in Crossfire
The rot began back in March 2022 when HPU’s top seat went vacant. In the old days, the search started three months before, names were vetted. Still it awaits a full time regular VC.
Now? It’s become a ‘cup of tea’ affair at Raj Bhavan—brew it, sip it, and delay it.
HPKV Palampur has been headless since Aug 2023.
YSPUHF’s turn came on May 8 this year, and since then, files have flown back and forth like shuttlecocks.
This time, Raj Bhavan even extended the application date to Aug 18, ignoring the state’s attempt to pull the plug.
Professors ran to the High Court, which slapped a stay on the Governor’s “ziddi mansha” and told him to cool his heels till 18th, said a critic.
What’s really cooking? In BJP-ruled states, Governors roll out VCs like ladoos at a wedding, commented a former VC of NauniUniversity Dr Vijay SinghThakur in social media post.
In opposition states, they suddenly find brakes. Sukhu says Raj Bhavan is stalling and overstepping.
The four-page notification from Raj Bhawan, issued to counter the State Government’s withdrawal of an earlier order, collapsed in just 20 hours — stayed by the Himachal Pradesh High Court on 14th August evening.
Applicants had objected that key qualifications were omitted, causing their applications to be rejected at the first Raj Bhawan scrutiny.
Good draft or not, making laws is not Raj Bhawan’s job. That’s the Vidhan Sabha’s domain, say critics.
Yet, the notification — signed for the first time by the Governor-cum-Chancellor after the Advocate General ruled the Secretary to Governor has no such power — has now been stalled till mid-September.
Critics were blunt: “This is sheer humiliation for Raj Bhawan. People can now see in whose name such overreach is being exercised. Some behave as if they’ve been sent directly from the universe.”
Shukla had fired back, questioning the government’s own homework—not just on VCs but on the drug menace, rehab centres, and law-and-order slack.
He claimed he did was right and the people of the state would know and judge what is right and wrong.
Sukhu had countered with his war-on-drugs pitch, new rehab centres, and a ₹14.95 cr package.
Meanwhile, classrooms suffer, research stalls, and students are left wondering if their degrees will be signed by a VC or a babu.
The easy escape route? Appoint secretaries to keep the lights on till the legal dust settles.
But in the current political theatre, even that sounds too simple to happen.
In short—Raj Bhavan and Oakover Road are playing tug-of-war, and Himachal’s higher education is the rope.
#RajBhavanVsSukhu #VCVacancyMess #CampusOnHold #HimachalTussle #StudentsFedUp
