Criticising the move, Baalu said his party was fully against the decision to "jettison" the popular All India Radio name.
Published May 07, 2023 | 7:21 PM ⚊ Updated May 07, 2023 | 7:30 PM
TR Baalu.
The decision of the Centre to remove the usage of the words All India Radio altogether and use Akashvani instead of it is drawing criticism from all over the country.
The ruling DMK in Tamil Nadu on Sunday, 7 May, hit out at the Centre and demanded that the Union government restore the name AIR.
Writing to Union Minister of Information and Broadcasting Anurag Singh Thakur, DMK Parliamentarian TR Baalu referred to media reports on Prasar Bharati’s “direction” to stop using the words All India Radio and instead use the word Akashvani and said the “sudden decision is unwarranted.”
Blaming the Centre, Baalu said his party was fully against the decision to “jettison” the popular name All India Radio.
“In the circumstances, I request you to kindly intervene in the matter and advise Prasar Bharati suitably so that the earlier practice is restored by it immediately.”
Though Prasar Bharati claimed that this was an old decision and AIR stations have been advised to implement it, Baalu, also the leader of the DMK Parliamentary party, said the move was “not proper and is not acceptable at all”.
“Already, people in Tamil Nadu and elsewhere have started protesting the action of Prasar Bharati.”
Several political parties in Tamil Nadu have condemned the action “to deny the rightful place of Tamil in All India Radio and impose Hindi” in its place.
Radio stations in Tamil Nadu have been using the name ‘Vaanoli’, the Tamil equivalent of Akashvani, he said.
According to the Prasar Bharati (Broadcasting Corporation of India) Act, 1990, ‘Akashvani’ means the offices, stations and other establishments, by whatever name called, which, immediately before the appointed day, formed part of or were under the Director-General, All India Radio of the Union Ministry of Information and Broadcasting.
The Prasar Bharati Act came into force on 15 November, 1997.
“The aforesaid statutory provision which has replaced the name AIR to the ‘Akashvani’ may be brought to the notice of all so that names and titles get in tune with the provisions of the Prasar Bharati Act of 1990 passed by the Parliament,” the internal order by the Prasar Bharati said.
It was Rabindranath Tagore who used the term ‘Akashvani’ to refer to All India Radio in a poem he had written for the inauguration of the Calcutta shortwave service in 1939.
The change of All India Radio to ‘Akashvani’ has evoked mixed reactions from the public with some people claiming that the AIR was a brand name and changing it was unnecessary.
However, some people claimed that ‘Akashvani’ reflected India’s culture.
“AIR is an abbreviation that has become a term in itself. And it is a source of evolving nostalgia — from memories of the 9 o’clock English news bulletin to the jingles which preceded, for years, the only shows where teenagers could hear Western music — from The Beatles to Pink Floyd, down to Michael Jackson and Aerosmith. Perhaps, AIR can co-exist with Akashvani even today. All India Radio, then, can be for all of India,” said the Indian Express in its editorial.
(With PTI inputs)
