by C.K. Sardana *
Public Relations is as old as human civilisation. It has existed in one form or the other. There are umpteen examples of its varied form, content and end use. An ancient clay tablet, found in Iraq, told the Sumerian farmers how to grow better crops. That was over 4000 years ago. The Arabian tales relate how the celebrated Sultan Haroon-Al-Rashid used to wander about every night in disguise to see for himself as to what the people really felt about his administration.
In the Ramayana there is a character called Bhadro who used to report to Rama about popular feelings and perceptions. Employing professional bards to sing the glory of the king was an ancient custom in India. Much of what is known today about the exploits of the kings and ancient civilisations is the result of scribes seeking to glorify the achievements of a royal patron. The Rajtarangini of Kalhana also belongs to the same genre.
Evolution
The great religious teachers from Gautama Buddha and Sankaracharya to Nanak and Kabir were master communicators. They preached, in an idiom which the common people found easy to understand. The rock inscriptions of emperor Ashok were written in local dialects for easy communication. He also sent his own children to Sri Lanka to spread the message of Buddhism. From this angle, his daughter, Sanghamitra can be described as the first woman public relations executive in history.
After all, what is Public Relations? It is to communicate to the public with a view to changing their mind set in a certain direction. Also, its purpose is to create goodwill for the communicating organisations, eventually leading to support from the public. This support is a sine qua non for the success of the given organisation. This is what great leaders, mentioned above, did.
Centuries of slavery beginning with the Mughal rule followed by the Englishmen brought in its wake a new type of Public Relations on the part of the rulers as also those spearheading the movement for Independence. The rulers tried to put forth that they were working for the people of this country and that people should cooperate in their continuance.
Besides adopting various administrative and political policies, they launched communication strategies. William Augustus Hickey brought out the first newspaper in India in 1780 for catering to the interests of the European settlers in Calcutta. It was in no way a mirror of the nation in making. Newspapers soon became a means of educating and enlightening the people. They also highlighted various socially-important issues, acting in the process as a catalyst for the growth of public opinion.
In the present century the outstanding example of a master communicator is that of Mahatma Gandhi. On 9th August 1942, he gave a call to the British rulers to quit India. This resulted in hundreds of thousands of citizens coming out for their exit once and for all. Within five years, i.e., 15th August, 1947, centuries of slavery ended and India became independent.
A systematic and organised practice of public relations in India began with the Indian Railways. The Great Indian Peninsular (GIP) Railways, for example, carried on a campaign in England in the 20s to attract tourists to India. Within the country, its Publicity Bureau introduced a travelling cinema which held open air shows at fairs, festivals and other places. This Bureau also undertook extensive advertising in newspapers and journals besides participating in exhibitions abroad to popularise the Indian Railways and tourist traffic.
During the first World War (1914-1918), the Government of India set up a Central Publicity Board. This was the first organised PR/Information set-up of the Government of India. It was renamed as Central Bureau of Information , afterwards renamed as Bureau of Public Information, and functioned as a link between the Government and the Press. One of the items on its agenda was to find out where the action of the Government was criticised. In today’s parlance, we call it "feedback".
For the first time, an Indian, namely, J. Natarajan of The Pioneer, Lucknow, was appointed as its Deputy Principal Information Officer. The Bureau also formulated a policy in 1938 for release of government advertisements. As of now, the functions of publicity and public relations and of broadcasting, television, advertising, films, publications etc. are looked after by professionals. After Independence (1947), the Government of India set up a full-fledged Ministry of Information and Broadcasting. This was a revolutionary measure in the reorganisation of the information and public relations setup of the Central Government. All the State Governments and Union Territories also have Departments of Information and Public Relations.
Role
The activities of the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting can be broadly divided into three sectors i.e., the Information Sector, the Broadcasting Sector and the Films Sector. The functions of these sectors are complementary to each other and cannot be strictly compartmentalised. Each of these sectors operate through specialised media units and their affiliated organisations.
In a developing country like India, communication of Government programmes, achievements and expectations are, no doubt, important. But equally important is communication from and to the economic sector - public sector, NGOs, public utilities, academic bodies, etc. - seeking to inform, motivate, change the mind set and finally seek public support for achieving the objectives of these organisations.
After Independence, multinational companies operating in India for several years, felt the need to communicate with the Indian people more meaningfully. In order to adjust their corporate policies to the democratic milieu, these companies increasingly turned to public relations. Among the Indian giants, the Tatas had already set up a Public Relations Department in Mumbai in 1943 headed by Shri Minoo Masani.
The public sector has, however, made a significant contribution to the birth, nurturing, growth and professionalism in public relations. Public relations in its true sense started with PSUs like HMT, BHEL, Bhilai Steel Plant, followed by NTPC, Indian Oil, VSNL, NHPC, ONGC-- to name a few. Bodies like Public Sector Public Relations Forum and SCOPE have played a notable role in professionalisation of PR discipline.
At the apex level, there is Public Relations Society of India (PRSI) set up in 1958. It is the national association for professional development of Public Relations practitioners and communication specialists. It seeks to promote Public Relations as an integral function of the management. As of now, it operates through 24 Regional Chapters throughout the country with a membership exceeding 3000.
There are, however, certain areas where PR has yet to make a full dent. These include strengthening programmes for training in this field, publication of literature on PR by seasoned proactitioners and academics, case studies on PR situations in Indian companies, equipping PR departments with professionally-trained personnel as well as latest communication equipment falling in the category of Information Technology and, above all, continuous trust and support by the management. All these are important for enabling the PR personnel to perform their role effectively, particularly in the present and future marked by fierce competition both nationally and internationally. (PIB feature)
* Bhopal - based PR Consultant
