Jacob is Punjab Governor
Tribune News Service

NEW DELHI, Nov 19 — Former Cabinet Secretary Vinod Pande and Industrialist Viren Shah are among the four new Governors appointed today while Lt Gen (Retd) J F R Jacob has been moved from Goa to Punjab as its Governor.

While Mr Pande will be the new Governor of Bihar, Mr Viren Shah will be of West Bengal, according to a Rashtrapati Bhawan communique issued today.

Former Delhi Police Commissioner Ved Marwah has been appointed as the Governor of Manipur and former Planning Commission Member Mohammed Fazal as Governor of Goa.

The communique said Gen Jacob has been transferred and appointed as Governor of Punjab and Administrator of the Union Territory of Chandigarh.

Gen Jacob was appointed as Governor of Goa by the BJP government and he assumed office on April 19, 1998 and his term expires on April 18, 2003.

The other appointments will take effect from the dates they assume charge of their office.

The Centre had earlier appointed former Tamil Nadu Chief Secretary, Mr M.M. Rajendran as the Governor of Orissa.

With these appointments, the Centre has filled vacancies in all states except Karnataka where Governor Khurshid Alam Khan’s term expired on September 19, this year.

Mr Shah was a Member of the Rajya Sabha and his name was disclosed by West Bengal Chief Minister Jyoti Basu after his meeting with Home Minister L.K. Advani yesterday.

Mr Pande was the Cabinet Secretary during the National Front government in 1989-90. He will assume charge as Orissa Governor from Mr Suraj Bhan who was holding additional charge of the state.

Mr Suraj Bhan had taken additional charge after Acting Governor Justice B.M. Lal had retired in September. Prior to that the post was held by Mr Sunder Singh Bhandari who was later shifted to Gujarat.

Mr Marwah also headed the National Security Guards and also held the post of Special Secretary in the Ministry of Home Affairs. He had a brief stint in Jammu and Kashmir and has authored books on insurgency and militancy.

CHANDIGARH: Punjab’s Governor-designate Lt Gen JFR Jacob was born in Calcutta.

Commissioned into the Indian Artillery in June 1942, he saw action with his regiment during Second World War in the Middle East, Burma and later in Sumatra.

Gen Jacob will be the 29th Governor of Punjab. He succeeds Lt Gen B.K.N. Chhibber, who was appointed on September 18, 1994.

Punjab will have a retired Army officer as Governor for the third time. The other was Gen. O.P. Malhotra (December 18, 1990 to August 7, 1991) besides Gen Chhibber.

Gen Jacob graduated from the Gunnery Staff Course in the U.K. and later did the advanced artillery and missile course from Fort Sill in the USA. He served the Army for 37 years retiring on July 31, 1978.

He commanded infantry and artillery brigades, the artillery school, an infantry division, corps and finally the Eastern Command.

He was Chief of Staff Eastern Army during the critical period of Operation Liberation of Bangladesh, when he was awarded PVSM.

He is an expert on international affairs book "Surrender at Dacca; Birth of a Nation". He obtained his M.Sc. degree from Madras University.

Gen Jacob was appointed Governor of Goa on April 18, 1998.