List of governors of Punjab, India facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Governor of Punjab
Flag of India
Emblem of Punjab
Incumbent Gulab Chand Kataria since 31 July 2024
Style	His Excellency
Residence	Raj Bhavan, Chandigarh
Term length	At the pleasure of the President
Precursor	Governor of Punjab
Inaugural holder	Chandulal Madhavlal Trivedi
Formation	15 August 1947; 77 years ago (1947-08-15)
Website	Punjabrajbhavan

This article is about the Governors of Punjab, a state in India. Since India became independent on August 15, 1947, Punjab has had a Governor. The Governor is like the President's representative in the state. Since 1985, the Governor of Punjab also looks after Chandigarh, which is a special city that is the capital of both Punjab and Haryana.

The Governor's Role in Punjab

The Governor of Punjab is a very important person. They are appointed by the President of India. Think of them as the head of the state, even though the Chief Minister runs the daily government.

What Does a Governor Do?

The Governor has several key jobs:

• They make sure the state government follows the Constitution.
• They appoint the Chief Minister and other ministers.
• They can give their approval to new laws passed by the state assembly.
• They also act as the Chancellor of state universities. This means they oversee the universities.
• They have special powers during emergencies.

How Long Does a Governor Serve?

A Governor usually serves for five years. However, they can stay in office "at the pleasure of the President." This means the President can ask them to leave earlier or extend their term.

A Look at Punjab's Governors

Punjab has had many Governors since 1947. They have all played a part in the state's history. The first Governor of Punjab after India's independence was Chandulal Madhavlal Trivedi. He started his role on August 15, 1947.

Important Facts About Governors

Sometimes, a Governor might serve in an "acting capacity." This means they are temporarily filling the role. Other times, a Governor might hold "additional charge." This happens when they are already a Governor of another state but are asked to look after Punjab too.

Here is a list of the people who have served as Governor of Punjab:

S. No	Name	Portrait	Time in Office			Appointed by the President
Governors of East Punjab (1947–1950)
1	Chandulal Madhavlal Trivedi		15 August 1947	26 January 1950	2 years, 164 days	L. Mountbatten (Governor-General)
Governors of Punjab (1950–Present)
1	Chandulal Madhavlal Trivedi		26 January 1950	11 March 1953	3 years, 44 days	Rajendra Prasad
2	Chandeshwar Prasad Narayan Singh		11 March 1953	15 September 1958	5 years, 188 days
3	Narahar Vishnu Gadgil		15 September 1958	1 October 1962	4 years, 16 days
4	Pattom A. Thanu Pillai		1 October 1962	4 May 1964	1 year, 216 days	S. Radhakrishnan
5	Hafiz Mohammad Ibrahim		4 May 1964	1 September 1965	1 year, 120 days
6	Ujjal Singh		1 September 1965	26 June 1966	298 days
7	Dharma Vira		27 June 1966	1 June 1967	340 days
-	Mehar Singh		1 June 1967	16 October 1967	137 days	Zakir Husain
8	Dadappa Chintappa Pavate		16 October 1967	21 May 1973	5 years, 217 days
9	Mahendra Mohan Choudhry		21 May 1973	1 September 1977	4 years, 103 days	V. V. Giri
-	Ranjit Singh Narula		1 September 1977	24 September 1977	23 days	Neelam Sanjiva Reddy
10	Jaisukh Lal Hathi		24 September 1977	26 August 1981	3 years, 336 days
11	Aminuddin Ahmad Khan		26 August 1981	21 April 1982	238 days
12	Marri Chenna Reddy		21 April 1982	7 February 1983	292 days
-	Surjit Singh Sandhawalia		7 February 1983	21 February 1983	14 days	Zail Singh
13	Anant Prasad Sharma		21 February 1983	10 October 1983	231 days
14	Bhairab Dutt Pande		10 October 1983	3 July 1984	267 days
15	Kershasp Tehmurasp Satarawala		3 July 1984	14 March 1985	254 days
16	Arjun Singh		14 March 1985	14 November 1985	245 days
-	Hokishe Sema		14 November 1985	26 November 1985	12 days
17	Shankar Dayal Sharma		26 November 1985	2 April 1986	127 days
18	Siddhartha Shankar Ray		2 April 1986	8 December 1989	3 years, 250 days
19	Nirmal Kumar Mukherjee		8 December 1989	14 June 1990	188 days	R. Venkataraman
20	Virendra Verma		14 June 1990	18 December 1990	187 days
21	Om Prakash Malhotra		18 December 1990	7 August 1991	232 days
22	Surendra Nath		7 August 1991	9 July 1994	2 years, 336 days
-	Sudhakar Panditrao Kurdukar		10 July 1994	18 September 1994	70 days	Shankar Dayal Sharma
23	Bakshi Krishan Nath Chhibber		18 September 1994	27 November 1999	5 years, 70 days
24	Jack Farj Rafael Jacob		27 November 1999	8 May 2003	3 years, 162 days	K. R. Narayanan
25	Om Prakash Verma		8 May 2003	3 November 2004	1 year, 179 days	A. P. J. Abdul Kalam
	Akhlaqur Rahman Kidwai		3 November 2004	16 November 2004	13 days
26	Sunith Francis Rodrigues		16 November 2004	22 January 2010	5 years, 67 days
27	Shivraj Vishwanath Patil		22 January 2010	22 January 2015	5 years, 0 days	Pratibha Patil
-	Kaptan Singh Solanki		22 January 2015	22 August 2016	1 year, 213 days	Pranab Mukherjee
28	Vijayendra Pal Singh Badnore		22 August 2016	30 August 2021	5 years, 8 days
-	Banwarilal Purohit		31 August 2021	11 September 2021	11 days	Ram Nath Kovind
29	Banwarilal Purohit		11 September 2021	30 July 2024	2 years, 323 days
30	Gulab Chand Kataria		31 July 2024	Incumbent	318 days	Droupadi Murmu

Images for kids

• 

  Yadavindra Singh, the Rajpramukh of PEPSU from 1948 to 1956.

• 

  Jagatjit Singh, the Uparajpramukh of PEPSU.

See also

• Punjab, India
• Chief Minister of Punjab
• Governor (Indian states)