Written by Jose Jacob, VU2JOS, National Institute of Amateur Radio, Hyderabad, IndiaThe External Services Division of All India Radio, India’s cultural ambassador to the world, celebrated its 70th anniversary a couple of weeks back, on October 1. The external broadcasts were started on October 1, 1939 by the then British Government of India to counter the propaganda of the Nazis directed at the Afghan people.
The first broadcasts from the new AIR External Services Division were in the Pushto language and beamed to Afghanistan, and also to the then North West Frontier Province. These days the North West Frontier Province forms a part of the neighboring country of Pakistan. Soon afterwards, additional broadcasts were started in several other languages
Dari, Persian & Arabic to the West
Burmese, Japanese, Chinese, Malay & French to the East
English for wide area coverage
These days, the External Services from All India Radio are on the air in 27 languages (16 foreign and 11 Indian languages) with a total program output of 70 & 1/4 hours per day. The foreign language broadcasts are radiated on both mediumwave and shortwave and they are beamed mainly to the countries of the Middle East and several areas of Asia. The External Service programming in Indian languages is intended mainly for expatriate Indians working in the many countries in the same areas.
The external service with the longest duration each day is the Urdu Service for coverage in
Pakistan round the clock on internet radio, and on shortwave & mediumwave for 12 & 1/4 hrs daily. English broadcasts to various parts of the world, under the title “General Overseas Service”, are on the air for 8 & 1/4 hours each day.
During the Haj season, when many pilgrims are making a journey to Mecca in Saudi Arabia, All India Radio presents a special series of broadcasts in the Urdu language beamed to Saudi Arabia. In addition, the External Services of AIR is broadcasting to Europe in the new broadcasting mode DRM (Digital Radio Mondial).
The programming of the External Services Division of All India Radio is broadcast on shortwave from the high power transmitters installed at 8 different locations throughout India and they range in power up to 500 kW. On mediumwave, the programming is carried from high powered transmitters at three different locations: Jalandhar, Kolkata and Tuticorin. Some of these mediumwave transmitters are rated at super power, right up to 1,000 kW output. The shortwave programming is beamed to different areas of the world, except not to the Americas, although All India Radio is often heard in the Americas by many radio hobbyists.
Each of the language services is a composite program, presenting news, commentaries, press reviews, talks on matters of general and cultural interest, as well as occasional feature programs and documentaries. Indian music is very popular, traditional Indian style as well as cinema tunes. Most of the external service programming originates in the New Broadcasting House located in Delhi, though 8 regional studios throughout India also contribute programming from their regional areas.
The External Services Division of AIR has been a vital link between India and the rest of the world, especially with those countries where there are Indian emigrants and people of Indian origin. It projects the Indian point of view on matters of national and international importance and demonstrates our way of life through its various programs.
Beautiful QSL cards are issued to the radio hobbyists from time to time by AIR in New Delhi for reception reports of their broadcasts. These are very much sought after by international radio hobbyists.
With the wide choices available today in the international media scene like Internet and TV, it is true that the number of listeners for shortwave broadcasting has diminished in recent time. Because of this, together with the high cost of running shortwave facilities and also the changes in political equations, many countries have been prompted to curtail or even completely abandon their External Service broadcasts. However it is still business as usual for All India Radio’s External Services.
We here at Wavescan congratulate All India Radio on the important occasion of the 70th anniversary of their External Services Division.
(NWS 34 via Adrian Peterson/AWR)