Iconic All India Radio Going Off Air, Replaced by Akashvani: Govt Orders

GUWAHATI: The name 'All India Radio' may not be heard on the airwaves from Wednesday as the state broadcaster must only be referred to as Akashvani in all broadcasts, per a directive from the government.

The Ministry of Information and Broadcasting (I&B) has decided to enforce a law provision by which the radio vertical of Prasar Bharati will now be known only as Akashvani. This decision was announced in a satellite message sent on Wednesday, May 3, from the policy division of the office of the director general, Akashvani, to all centres throughout the country.

What is wrong, asks Manish Tiwari, a former I&B minister, with the title All India Radio being used in English? It's basically just a pointless, pointless branding effort that is unnecessary. With the exception of pure tokenism, this is meaningless.

In actuality, the phrase "Akashvani" was originally used by Nobel laureate Rabindranath Tagore in 1939 as a poetic translation of All India Radio. Since he was unable to attend the opening of the All India Radio office in Dalhousie Square, Calcutta, he sent a message to the place where the word was first used.

According to Jawahar Sircar, a TMC MP and former I&B secretary, "The freedom movement was at its height and the word Akashvani soon became a part of the subtle nationalism prevailing at that time."

Interestingly, the name Akashvani was already used by a radio station in Mysuru long before Tagore first used it in 1939.

The new announcement pattern will now be followed in addition to English, per the communication from headquarters. Thus, despite the fact that AIR is broadcast in 179 languages, the radio vertical will continue to use Hindi nomenclature.

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