Last Monday, Gujarat Governor Acharya Devvrat, 66, took additional charge of the gubernatorial office in the Mumbai Raj Bhavan as the incumbent Maharashtra Governor, C P Radhakrishnan, demitted office following his election as the Vice-President.
To reach Mumbai for his oath-taking event, Devvrat along with his wife Darshana Devi took Tejas Express from Ahmedabad, whose videos went viral on social media.
Devvrat has been known for simple living. One of his aides said that he along with his ADC had taken a Gujarat state transport’s bus to attend a government function in Anand earlier this year. “Though two bus tickets were booked online but no one knew the passengers, as the tickets do not mention names. The transport staff learnt about the Governor among the passengers when he reached the Pathik Ashram bus stop (in Gandhinagar) to board the bus,” his aide said.
Always seen in a crisp white dhoti-kurta and a Nehru jacket, Devvrat has rarely deviated from this dress code in his public appearances barring occasions like Yoga Day.
Last year, when Devvrat completed five years as the Gujarat Governor, there were intense speculations in political circles about his replacement. However, at a press event at the Gandhinagar Raj Bhavan then, Devvrat had remained unflustered, sharing a recipe of natural manure with media persons, and showing them pictures of his farm in Kurukshetra with earthworms “the size of snakes”.
Devvrat, who was appointed by the Narendra Modi government as the Gujarat Governor on July 22, 2019, has already become the longest-serving Governor of the state since its inception in 1960.
Before his gubernatorial stint in Gujarat, Devvrat had been the Himachal Pradesh Governor from August 12, 2015 to July 21, 2019. He has thus emerged as the longest-serving uninterrupted Governor during the tenure of the Modi government since 2014.
During his innings as the Gujarat Governor so far, Devvrat has cleared some significant legislation including the Gujarat Public Universities Act, 2023, meant to unify and standardise processes in varsities, and the Gujarat Public Examination (Prevention of Unfair Means) Act, 2023, which seeks to curb paper leaks in recruitment examinations providing a jail term up to 10 years and fine up to Rs 1 crore.
Another legislation that he approved was the amended Gujarat Freedom of Religion Act, which seeks to curb religious conversion through marriage by providing imprisonment of up to ten years.
Devvrat, however, did not give his assent to the Gujarat Cattle Control (Keeping and Moving) in Urban Areas Bill, which was passed after six-hour long discussion in the Gujarat Assembly in March 2022. He returned the Bill in September 2022, citing opposition from the cattle-rearing communities.
By virtue of his position as the Governor, Devvrat is the Chancellor of 24 state universities in Gujarat. He however landed in a row in October 2022 when he was named the Chancellor of Gujarat Vidyapith, which was founded by Mahatma Gandhi in 1920. He had then defended this chancellery in an interview with The Indian Express, claiming that he was also a Gandhian. “From the time I remember I have been wearing Gandhi’s khadi, Gandhi’s dhoti-kurta. Gandhi ji had huge respect towards cows and I am a gaupala. I talk about cow and agriculture, natural, poison-free farming. If Gandhi ji would have been there today he would have blessed me the most. I have dedicated my life completely on this work,” he had then said.
Several Vice-Chancellors underline Devvrat’s role as a seasoned educator, pointing to his decades of 45 experience in the field of teaching and administration.
Following his “campaign” on natural farming, breeding of indigenous cows and gurukul system of education, a large number of farmers in Gujarat are said to have transitioned from chemical-based farming to natural farming practices.
Under Devvrat’s supervision, the subject of natural farming was also included in the curriculum of Gujarat’s agricultural universities from the academic session 2022-23.
An Arya Samaj follower, Devvrat, who hails from Haryana’s Panipat, assumed the title of Acharya when he became the principal of the Kurukshetra Gurukul in 1981, where he also has a 180 acre farm.
Devvrat has been influenced by the principles of Swami Dayanand Saraswati, the founder of Arya Samaj. He got a hall built in the Gandhinagar Raj Bhavan and named it Maharishi Dayanand Sabhamandap. He also led the celebrations of the 200th birth anniversary of the reformer saint at his birth place in Morbi’s Tankara.
A Raj Bhavan staff member told The Indian Express: “All the staff have been strictly instructed to ensure all electricity appliances – from lights and fans to ACs – are switched off the moment they step out of their offices, even briefly. There have been instances when he (Devvrat) himself would switch off everything when he steps out of the conference room or the VVIP sitting area, without waiting for his staff to do it. He does not hesitate to scold the staff if these appliances remain switched on, even by mistake. The same goes in the cases where he has scolded the staff for turning on the lights in the Raj Bhavan gardens even a few minutes before dark. He also does not support the central air conditioning system, which he believes is wastage of power and money”.
Such an energy-saving bid was replicated in the entire state this summer. “The Governor launched this campaign where he himself wrote to all the district collectors and municipal commissioners as well as to the Roads and Buildings Department for switching off all street lights 30 minutes early in the morning and put them on 30 minutes late in the evening. This has resulted in enormous energy and expenditure savings for the department,” said an official.
The entire Gandhinagar Raj Bhavan now runs on solar energy. It also has a gaushala where Devvrat keeps two Gir cows and two female calves. The Governor also grows vegetables through natural farming in the Raj Bhavan premises. Sources say he carries a tiffin, packed with mostly home-cooked khichdi, to various dinner events.
“The Governor takes a daily briefing over phone about cows at his Kurukshetra gaushala,” said Harshad Patel, the V-C of Gujarat Vidyapith.
A government official said, “During his stint as the Himachal Pradesh Governor, Devvrat would always carry a tasla (shallow pan) with a broom in his car. Here in Gujarat, he went beyond that and included in his schedule a practice to visit villages twice a month for cleanliness campaign. He recently visited Prantij in this regard.”