All India Radio: Pioneering News Broadcasting in India

When India gained independence in August 1947, one of the very first voices that reached millions of citizens wasn’t a politician’s – it was a newsreader’s, coming through a crackling radio set tuned to All India Radio. For nearly a century, All India Radio (AIR), officially known as Akashvani, has served as the country’s most enduring public broadcaster – informing, educating, and connecting a diverse nation through the power of the spoken word. Its journey from a colonial-era experiment to one of the world’s largest radio networks is a fascinating chapter in Indian media history.

The origins of radio broadcasting in India 🔗

Radio broadcasting in India did not begin with All India Radio. It started with small, private radio clubs. The Radio Club of Bombay carried out the first known transmission in June 1923, followed by similar clubs in Calcutta and Madras. These early efforts were driven more by enthusiasm than commercial viability.

In 1927, a private enterprise called the Indian Broadcasting Company (IBC) was authorised to operate two stations – one in Bombay (launched on 23 July 1927) and another in Calcutta (26 August 1927). July 23 is now observed as National Broadcasting Day in India. However, the IBC struggled financially and went into liquidation by March 1930.

Following the IBC’s collapse, the colonial government stepped in and established the Indian State Broadcasting Service (ISBS) on 1 April 1930, initially on an experimental basis. The service was made permanent in May 1932. Then, on 8 June 1936, the ISBS was officially renamed All India Radio – a name that reflected its pan-Indian ambition.

Lionel Fielden and the early institutional framework 🔗

A key figure in AIR’s early development was Lionel Fielden, a senior BBC producer who was appointed as the first Controller of Broadcasting in India in 1935. Fielden brought professional broadcasting standards to the fledgling organisation. Under his leadership, AIR’s news operations took shape, and the first news bulletin from the Delhi station was broadcast on 19 January 1936.

Fielden laid the groundwork for what would become a massive national institution. He helped establish AIR’s professional framework, including its approach to news – a function that would eventually become one of the organisation’s most important services.

AIR during independence and partition 🔗

All India Radio played a critical role during the momentous events of 1947. On 3 June 1947, when Lord Mountbatten announced the partition plan, AIR broadcast speeches by Jawaharlal Nehru, Mohammed Ali Jinnah, and Baldev Singh – leaders representing the three communities most affected by the division. These broadcasts reached millions at a time when radio was the only mass electronic medium available.

The partition itself had a direct impact on AIR’s infrastructure. Of the nine existing stations, India retained six – in Delhi, Bombay, Calcutta, Madras, Tiruchirapalli, and Lucknow. The stations at Lahore, Peshawar, and Dhaka went to Pakistan. At that point, AIR covered just about 2.5% of India’s geographical area and reached roughly 11% of the population. There were only about 250,000 radio sets in the entire country.

Despite these limitations, AIR became the primary voice of the newly independent nation. It was through AIR that people heard official announcements, news about rehabilitation efforts, and messages of unity during an extremely turbulent period.

The rise of the News Services Division (NSD) 🔗

News broadcasting at AIR has a structured history. The Central News Organisation (CNO) was established on 1 August 1937, with Charles Barnes serving as its first News Editor. Barnes later became the first Director of News. The outbreak of World War II in 1939 significantly accelerated the development of the CNO – wartime conditions demanded more frequent and comprehensive news bulletins, and a Monitoring Service was set up in 1939 to track foreign broadcasts.

After independence, the CNO was reorganised. In 1948, it was split into two distinct divisions: the News Services Division (NSD) and the External Services Division (ESD). The NSD was tasked with domestic news broadcasting, while the ESD handled international outreach.

How the NSD operates today 🔗

The NSD is headed by a Director General (News), one of the most senior officers of the Indian Information Service. The headquarters in New Delhi houses several operational wings, including the General News Room, Hindi News Room, Reporting Unit, Talks and Current Affairs Unit, Newsreel Unit, Indian Language Units, and an IT and Website unit.

As per Prasar Bharati’s official data, the NSD today broadcasts 647 bulletins daily, amounting to nearly 56 hours of news content in approximately 90 languages and dialects. It delivers news across Home, Regional, External, and DTH (Direct-to-Home) services. Additionally, 314 hourly news headlines are broadcast in FM mode from 41 AIR stations.

Regional News Units 🔗

Regional news bulletins were introduced in the early 1950s. The first regional bulletins were broadcast in April 1953 from the Lucknow and Nagpur stations. By 1954-55, Regional News Units (RNUs) were set up in Bombay, Madras, and Calcutta. Today, there are 46 Regional News Units functioning across the country, producing 469 daily bulletins in 75 languages. These units are crucial for serving local audiences – for many people in smaller towns and villages, regional AIR bulletins remain a primary source of national and international news.

Iconic broadcasters who defined AIR’s news legacy 🔗

Several broadcasters became household names through their work at All India Radio, particularly before the arrival of television and private media.

Melville de Mellow 🔗

Melville de Mellow (1913-1989) is widely regarded as one of India’s greatest radio broadcasters. A former military officer who joined AIR in 1950, de Mellow became famous for his deep-voiced, dramatic style of commentary. His most celebrated broadcast was a seven-hour live commentary of Mahatma Gandhi’s funeral procession in January 1948 – a broadcast that is remembered as one of the finest moments in Indian radio history. He was also the voice of India’s Republic Day parade for several years, and his commentary on India-Pakistan hockey matches captivated listeners across the country. The Government of India honoured him with the Padma Shri in 1963. His work inspired veteran Hindi commentator Jasdev Singh, who went on to receive both the Padma Shri and Padma Bhushan.

Saeeda Bano – India’s first female newsreader 🔗

On 13 August 1947 – just two days before India’s independence – Saeeda Bano read her first Urdu news bulletin on AIR Delhi, becoming India’s first female radio newsreader. At the time, no woman had held such a position at either AIR or the BBC. Born in Bhopal and married against her will at a young age, Bano walked out of her marriage, moved to Delhi as a single mother, and carved out a career in broadcasting during one of the most turbulent periods in Indian history. She retired as a newsreader in 1965 but continued working as a producer for AIR’s Urdu service well into her 70s.

Other notable voices 🔗

Several other newsreaders gained national prominence through AIR. Surajit Sen delivered a famous report from Dhaka in 1971 as Pakistan’s Lt. Gen. A.A.K. Niazi signed the Instrument of Surrender, marking the end of the India-Pakistan war and the creation of Bangladesh. Newsreaders like Lotika Ratnam, Vinod Kashyap, and Barun Haldar became trusted voices in Indian households during the decades when radio was the dominant medium.

Broadcasting in multiple languages and dialects 🔗

One of AIR’s most significant contributions has been its commitment to multilingual broadcasting. India is a country of extraordinary linguistic diversity, and AIR has made it a point to serve this diversity from the very beginning.

Today, AIR broadcasts in 23 languages and 146 dialects. Its Home Service operates through stations located across the country, covering about 92% of India’s geographical area and reaching nearly the entire population. The NSD alone delivers news in all 22 scheduled languages of the Indian Constitution, including Assamese, Bengali, Dogri, Gujarati, Hindi, Kannada, Kashmiri, Konkani, Malayalam, Manipuri, Marathi, Maithili, Nepali, Odia, Punjabi, Sanskrit, Santhali, Sindhi, Tamil, Telugu, and Urdu.

The External Services Division extends this reach internationally, broadcasting in 11 Indian and 16 foreign languages to more than 100 countries. These programmes are designed to keep overseas listeners informed about developments in India and to share Indian music and culture globally.

AIR’s role in shaping public discourse and national identity 🔗

Beyond delivering news, AIR has played a profound role in nation-building. In a country with vast regional, linguistic, and cultural differences, radio served as a unifying thread – especially in the decades before television became widespread.

Education and rural development 🔗

AIR took its educational mandate seriously. Agricultural programmes provided farmers with information about weather, new farming techniques, crop prices, and government schemes. School broadcasts supplemented classroom learning. For a country with significant literacy challenges, the spoken word through radio became a powerful instrument for public education and awareness.

Disaster communication 🔗

During natural disasters – cyclones, floods, earthquakes – AIR stations have consistently served as critical communication hubs. When other forms of communication fail, a simple transistor radio tuned to an AIR frequency often remains the most reliable source of warnings and relief information, particularly in remote areas.

The Akashvani identity 🔗

In 1956, All India Radio officially adopted the name Akashvani, a Sanskrit term meaning “Voice from the Sky.” The name had been in informal use since 1943 and was borrowed from a private station, Akashvani Mysore, which had been set up in 1935. The Akashvani signature tune, composed by Walter Kaufmann – a Jewish musician who fled Nazi persecution and joined AIR in 1937 – remains one of the most recognisable sounds in Indian broadcasting.

AIR’s expansion and modernisation 🔗

From just six stations at independence, AIR has grown into a massive network. It now operates over 480 broadcasting stations and more than 650 transmitters. In 1957, the Vividh Bharati service was launched to offer entertainment programming, including film music, plays, and comedy – competing directly with the hugely popular Radio Ceylon. A national channel was introduced in 1988, and service to India’s northeast began in 1989.

AIR has also embraced new platforms. The NewsOnAir mobile application allows listeners to access live bulletins, archived content, and regional broadcasts. The NSD maintains a strong presence on social media platforms including Facebook, X (formerly Twitter), YouTube, and Instagram. A news-on-phone service, first introduced in 1998 in New Delhi, expanded to multiple cities across India.

FM broadcasting, which started from Chennai in 1977, has seen significant expansion. AIR now operates FM Rainbow channels targeting urban audiences and FM Gold channels offering composite news and entertainment from Delhi, Kolkata, Chennai, and Mumbai.

Challenges and criticism 🔗

AIR has not been without its critics. Since its inception, it has faced allegations of pro-government reporting. The Indian government appointed two significant committees to examine this – the Chanda Committee (1964) and the Verghese Committee (1977) – both of which recommended greater autonomy. This eventually led to the establishment of Prasar Bharati, India’s public service broadcasting corporation, in 1997. AIR and Doordarshan both function under Prasar Bharati’s umbrella.

Despite these structural changes, questions about editorial independence continue to surface. The rise of private FM radio stations since the early 2000s and the explosion of digital media have also challenged AIR’s dominance, particularly among younger, urban audiences.

AIR’s enduring relevance 🔗

Even in an era of 24-hour television news channels, podcasts, and social media, All India Radio retains a unique importance. Its reach into India’s remotest areas – where internet connectivity is limited and television signals are weak – remains unmatched. For millions of Indians, especially in rural and tribal regions, an AIR bulletin on a basic transistor radio is still the most trusted and accessible source of news.

The NSD’s ability to deliver news in 90 languages and dialects, the vast correspondent network spread across India and abroad, and AIR’s infrastructure covering 92% of the country’s geography make it an institution with no real parallel in Indian media.

What do you think? In an age dominated by social media and digital news platforms, can a state-run radio broadcaster like All India Radio maintain its credibility and relevance – especially among younger generations? And should AIR be given full editorial autonomy to strengthen its role as a truly independent public service broadcaster?

References

1. https://www.britannica.com/topic/All-India-Radio
2. https://www.pib.gov.in/PressNoteDetails.aspx?NoteId=151941&ModuleId=3
3. https://www.newsonair.gov.in/news-services-division/
4. https://prasarbharati.gov.in/news-services/
5. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Melville_de_Mellow
6. https://madrascourier.com/biography/saeeda-bano-indias-first-female-newscaster/
7. https://prasarbharati.gov.in/growth-development/