Akashvani makes affirmative changes in Punjab Bulletins amidst rumour mongering by President SGPC
NewsBharati 31-May-2023 11:36:54 AM
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On 27 May 2023, prestigious media houses like the Hindustan Times, Tribune, Financial World and a few others carried a statement by the Shiromani Gurdwara Prabandhak Committee (SGPC) condemning "the decision of stopping the broadcast of Punjabi news bulletins from the All-India Radio (Akashvani) stations operating at Delhi and Chandigarh."
It was so because there was no Regional News Unit (RNU) available in Punjab. The Ministry of Information and Broadcasting and the Home Ministry of the Government of India, while appreciating the strategic importance of Punjab as a border state and Punjabis as a very significant community spread over India as well as the world, felt that the state urgently required a RNU to ensure self-sufficiency and indigenous quality of its broadcast content.
As a consequence, Jalandhar will now prepare "five news bulletins and four FM Headlines."
It has been ensured that there is no reduction in the quantum of content. The bulletins originating in Jalandhar will be transmitted through earth-station and relayed by Delhi and Chandigarh.
The new system will accrue a large number of benefits. A few significant ones are given below:-
· The bulletins will now be totally indigenous and "Punjabi" in view of their production within Punjab.
· Bulletins will have better news and information content due to local production.
· The topics covered will be Punjab centric and thus more relevant to the issues concerning the state, this will reduce dependency on casuals that was the bane of the Delhi and Chandigarh units.
· The presentation will have a distinct Punjabi essence that will be enjoyed all the more by listeners in India and abroad.
· Coverage from a single all encompassing source will increase efficiency.
· There will be faster and better information gathering resulting in better counter mechanism for cross border information dissemination
Overall, while the quantity and broadcast reach will remain the same, the quality and presentation of the content will improve tremendously. The audience will enjoy a distinctive Punjabi flavour which it is looking for especially in places outside Punjab and in foreign countries.
Akashvani, sends out such bulletins in many Indian languages. States like Tamil Nadu, Gujarat and Maharashtra have been broadcasting their own content since long. The Union Government has been sensitive to this requirement in Punjab and has finally met the same in a proper and efficient manner, without resorting to half measures.
If dissent by opposition was necessary, it should have been on the delay that has taken place in extending this facility to Punjab and definitely not for extending the facility to Punjab.
The BJP led Union Government has taken an affirmative step to propagate the Punjabi language in its purest form and has NOT been “discriminatory against Punjab and Punjabi language" as Harjinder Singh Dhami has stated. Instead of advising the Government to "make efforts to promote regional languages," Dhami should be expressing thanks to Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his team for making special efforts to promote these very languages and especially Punjabi.
One would expect a mature organisation like the SGPC to do its homework before making a statement in the media and that too by the President of the organisation. Such attempts to spread half-truths and fake news for short term, insipid gains causes great harm to the social and cultural cohesion of the sensitive border state.
With his statement, SGPC President Harjinder Singh Dhami, has spread rumours and dissension in Punjab for petty political gains in favour of those who control him. For the Sikh community it is very sad indeed to see its august religious body stooping down to such levels.
SGPC would be well advised to look within and do what is necessary for the correct propagation of the Sikh religion and culture as is its mandate, rather than interfering in matters that do not concern it. It would be interesting to know what efforts are being made by the SGPC for promotion of Punjabi within India and world-wide. One has not come across any such initiative.
The fact that responsible media houses have carried the statement without a fact check and clarification from the Government is a matter for concern. It is hoped that such matters will be handled more professionally in future.
Punjab and the rest of the world are poised to enjoy some great broadcasts from Akashvani. There is every reason for joy and for appreciating the efforts being made by the Union Government under the aegis of Prime Minister Narendra Modi for the glory of the noble region and its people.
A detailed study of the matter indicates that the SGPC President, Harjinder Singh Dhami, who is said to have made the statement, was not aware of the facts of the matter.
Previously, three Punjabi bulletins were aired by Akashvani from Delhi and two from Chandigarh. Chandigarh also broadcasted four FM headlines. No bulletin was being aired from Jalandhar where only the content prepared by Delhi and Chandigarh was broadcasted. The bulletins were prepared with information available from the General News Room of Delhi and Chandigarh.
It was so because there was no Regional News Unit (RNU) available in Punjab. The Ministry of Information and Broadcasting and the Home Ministry of the Government of India, while appreciating the strategic importance of Punjab as a border state and Punjabis as a very significant community spread over India as well as the world, felt that the state urgently required a RNU to ensure self-sufficiency and indigenous quality of its broadcast content.
With this objective in mind, Jalandhar was selected for creation of RNU ability since it already had basic infrastructure available. Finally the RNU capability at Radio Station, Jalandhar has been operationalised.
It has been ensured that there is no reduction in the quantum of content. The bulletins originating in Jalandhar will be transmitted through earth-station and relayed by Delhi and Chandigarh.
The new system will accrue a large number of benefits. A few significant ones are given below:-
· The bulletins will now be totally indigenous and "Punjabi" in view of their production within Punjab.
· Bulletins will have better news and information content due to local production.
· The topics covered will be Punjab centric and thus more relevant to the issues concerning the state, this will reduce dependency on casuals that was the bane of the Delhi and Chandigarh units.
· The presentation will have a distinct Punjabi essence that will be enjoyed all the more by listeners in India and abroad.
· Coverage from a single all encompassing source will increase efficiency.
· There will be faster and better information gathering resulting in better counter mechanism for cross border information dissemination
Overall, while the quantity and broadcast reach will remain the same, the quality and presentation of the content will improve tremendously. The audience will enjoy a distinctive Punjabi flavour which it is looking for especially in places outside Punjab and in foreign countries.
Akashvani, sends out such bulletins in many Indian languages. States like Tamil Nadu, Gujarat and Maharashtra have been broadcasting their own content since long. The Union Government has been sensitive to this requirement in Punjab and has finally met the same in a proper and efficient manner, without resorting to half measures.
If dissent by opposition was necessary, it should have been on the delay that has taken place in extending this facility to Punjab and definitely not for extending the facility to Punjab.
The BJP led Union Government has taken an affirmative step to propagate the Punjabi language in its purest form and has NOT been “discriminatory against Punjab and Punjabi language" as Harjinder Singh Dhami has stated. Instead of advising the Government to "make efforts to promote regional languages," Dhami should be expressing thanks to Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his team for making special efforts to promote these very languages and especially Punjabi.
One would expect a mature organisation like the SGPC to do its homework before making a statement in the media and that too by the President of the organisation. Such attempts to spread half-truths and fake news for short term, insipid gains causes great harm to the social and cultural cohesion of the sensitive border state.
With his statement, SGPC President Harjinder Singh Dhami, has spread rumours and dissension in Punjab for petty political gains in favour of those who control him. For the Sikh community it is very sad indeed to see its august religious body stooping down to such levels.
SGPC would be well advised to look within and do what is necessary for the correct propagation of the Sikh religion and culture as is its mandate, rather than interfering in matters that do not concern it. It would be interesting to know what efforts are being made by the SGPC for promotion of Punjabi within India and world-wide. One has not come across any such initiative.
The fact that responsible media houses have carried the statement without a fact check and clarification from the Government is a matter for concern. It is hoped that such matters will be handled more professionally in future.
Punjab and the rest of the world are poised to enjoy some great broadcasts from Akashvani. There is every reason for joy and for appreciating the efforts being made by the Union Government under the aegis of Prime Minister Narendra Modi for the glory of the noble region and its people.
Colonel Jaibans Singh
Colonel (Retired) Jaibans Singh, a reputed analyst of Indian defence and security affairs, has an abiding interest in issues related to national security, internal security, geopolitical developments and defence strategy in the context of the nation. His area of specialty encompasses Jammu and Kashmir, Pakistan and China. Jaibans Singh contributes to a large number of newspapers, defence magazines, news agencies and web sites. He is also the Editor-in-Chief of www.defenceinfo.com, a popular web portal on defence news and views.