Arif Mohammed Khan is the new governor of Kerala

New Delhi, Sep 1: In a surprise move, the Centre has appointed new governors for five states in the country. In Kerala, Arif Mohammed Khan replaces P Sathasivam as the new Governor.

After being appointed as the new Kerala governor, Khan said, "It is an opportunity to serve. Fortunate to be born in a country like India which is so vast and rich in diversity. It is a great opportunity for me to know this part of India, which forms boundary of India and is called god's own country."

Among others who have been given new responsibilities are - BJP leader from Uttrakhand Bhagat Singh Koshyari, who has now been appointed as Governor of Maharashtra, Bandaru Dattatreya as Governor of Himachal, senior BJP leader Kalraj Mishra as Governor of Rajasthan and Tamilisai Soundararajan as the Governor of Telangana.

The appointments take effect from the dates the new governors take charge of their respective offices.

Arif Mohammad Khan, the Kerala Governor who batted for Triple Talaq abolition

Kerala's new Governor Arif Mohammad Khan, was born in 1951 in Bulandshahr, Uttar Pradesh. He studied from Jamia Millia School, Delhi, Aligarh Muslim University, Aligarh and Shia College, Lucknow University.

Khan started his political career as a student leader. He contested the first legislative assembly election from Siyana constituency of Bulandshahar on Bharatiya Kranti Dal party's banner but was defeated. He became a member of the legislative assembly of UP in 1977 at the age of 26.

He joined the Congress party and was elected to the Lok Sabha in 1980 from Kanpur and 1984 from Bahraich.

In 1986, he quit the Indian National Congress due to differences over the passage of Muslim Personal Law Bill which was piloted by Rajiv Gandhi in the Lok Sabha. He was against the triple talaq legislation and resigned because of differences with Rajiv Gandhi on this issue.

Khan later joined the Janata Dal and was re-elected to the Lok Sabha in 1989. During the Janata Dal rule Khan served union Minister of Civil aviation and Energy. He left the Janata Dal to join the Bahujan Samaj Party and again entered the Lok Sabha in 1998 from Bahraich.

Khan held ministerial responsibilities from 1984 to 1990. In 2004, he joined the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and unsuccessfully contested the Lok Sabha election as a BJP candidate that year from Kaisarganj constituency. Khan quit the BJP in 2007 to remain non partisan.

Outgoing Kerala Governor

P Sathasivam was born into an agricultural family as the son of late Palaniswamy and Smt. Natchiyammal at Kadappanallur Village near Bhavani in Erode district, Tamil Nadu on 27 April 1949.

He also served as Legal Adviser for several state-owned corporations, municipalities and banks. He was appointed a permanent judge of the Madras High Court on 8th January 1996 and transferred to the Punjab and Haryana High Court in 2007. He was elevated to the post of Judge of the Supreme Court on 21 August 2007. He was sworn-in as the 40th Chief Justice of India on 19 July 2013 and retired on 26 April 2014.

He assumed office as the Governor of Kerala on 05 September 2014 has pioneered a quality improvement drive in higher education by instituting the Chancellor's Award for the best university in the State.