Archive · 14 Aug 2026
UP Governor Anandiben Patel stirs debate with university campus advice
A governor is like the head of a whole state, and Anandiben Patel is the Governor of Uttar Pradesh in India.
She is 84 years old and has had this job longer than anyone before her.
She visits universities to check how students live, what they eat, and how safe they feel.
During these visits, she told women students not to move in together with boyfriends before marriage.
She also said that before becoming teachers or officers, women should first learn to be good mothers.
She asked colleges not to serve meat in their mess halls.
At a university in Gorakhpur, the hometown of the Chief Minister, she said the buildings and food were not good enough.
Some people agree with her and say her visits help schools get better hostels and rules.
Others, like politician Akhilesh Yadav, think her words show the government is doing a bad job.
She became famous earlier as the first woman Chief Minister of Gujarat.
Anandiben Patel, 84, is Uttar Pradesh's longest-serving Governor, now in her seventh year in the post.
As Chancellor of state universities, she has toured campuses, scrutinising mess food, hostels, sanitation and student welfare.
She advised women students against live-in relationships and said women should be 'expert mothers' before pursuing careers.
At Gorakhpur University, in Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath's constituency, she flagged infrastructure gaps and possible drug abuse.
Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav said her remarks exposed irregularities in the 'Gorakhpur model' and corruption in BJP governments.
- Who
- Anandiben Patel, Governor of Uttar Pradesh and former Chief Minister of Gujarat, with reactions from Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav.
- What
- The Governor's hands-on university inspections and advice on student life, from live-in relationships and non-veg food to motherhood, drew both support and political criticism.
- When
- From October 2025 to August 2026.
- Where
- Universities across Uttar Pradesh, India, including Varanasi, Lucknow, Gorakhpur and Jhansi.
- Why
- As Chancellor, Patel believes universities should prepare youth for life beyond campus, not only award degrees.
Supporters
Critics
University oversight
Supporters
Officials and aides say Patel's hands-on tours pressure universities to fix infrastructure and student welfare gaps and to draft anti-narcotics guidelines.
Critics
Akhilesh Yadav said that while unravelling the 'Gorakhpur model', irregularities in the 'Gujarat model' came to light, with corruption common to BJP governments in both states.
Advice on personal lives
Supporters
Aides say Patel sincerely believes universities prepare youth for life beyond campus, which is why she speaks on food, relationships and family roles.
Critics
The Ram Manohar Lohia Institute noted its mess menu is decided by a committee of students, signalling her non-veg advice is not binding.
Governor's relations with government
Supporters
People close to her say she takes her Chancellor role seriously and ensures she doesn't step on toes.
Critics
Her rare individual meetings with ministers in 2022 drew eyebrows amid chatter about unhappiness among the ranks.
- Subject
- Anandiben Patel, Governor of Uttar Pradesh
- Age
- 84
- Role
- Governor, Chancellor of state universities, and former first woman Chief Minister of Gujarat
- Tenure
- Seventh year as UP Governor; appointed in July 2019
- Universities visited
- Nearly all state universities in Uttar Pradesh; only two or three remain unvisited
- Key remarks
- Advice against live-in relationships and non-veg hostel food; calls for 'garbh sanskar' and 'expert mother' ideals
- Main critic
- Akhilesh Yadav, Samajwadi Party chief and former Chief Minister
- Political background
- Joined politics in 1987; former teacher; worked closely with Narendra Modi in Gujarat