Akashvani@91

Mrinal Chatterjee

On 8 June Akashvani completes 90 years and turns 91. On this day in 1936, the Indian State Broadcasting Service was renamed All India Radio (AIR). It adopted another name – Akashvani in 1956.

From its early years under colonial administration to becoming a vital nation-building tool after Independence, AIR has played many roles—educator, entertainer, cultural archivist and emergency communicator. Generations grew up listening to news bulletins, classical music concerts, rural broadcasts, sports commentaries and iconic programmes that shaped public memory.

In a country marked by immense linguistic and cultural diversity, AIR’s greatest contribution has perhaps been its ability to speak in hundreds of languages and dialects. It brought information to places where newspapers arrived late and television signals struggled to reach. During wars, natural disasters and national crises, radio remained reliable when other media faltered.

The rise of television, private FM channels and digital platforms prompted repeated predictions of radio’s decline. Yet AIR adapted—expanding FM services, embracing digital broadcasting and making content available online. Today, podcasts, mobile streaming and community engagement have extended its relevance to younger audiences.

AIR (Akashvani) presently operates 591 stations, reaching 98 percent of India’s population, broadcasting in 23 languages and 146 dialects. Akashvani’s External Services Division broadcasts to over 100 countries, projecting India’s voice globally and connecting with the diaspora.

As Akashvani completes 91 years, its story is not merely about a broadcasting institution. It is about India listening to itself—across regions, generations and social divides—through a medium that continues to prove that sound still matters.

Language, Market and Media

Recently I attended the 76th Annual Conference of the International Communication Association (ICA) held at Sister Nivedita University, Kolkata. The conference theme was: Communication and Inequalities in Context. I participated in a panel discussion on “Language, Markets and Media: Inequalities in Global and Vernacular Communication”.

Language is not merely a medium of communication; it is also a carrier of identity, knowledge, power and economic opportunity. In the contemporary media ecosystem, shaped by globalization, digital platforms, and market-driven communication, inequalities between dominant global languages and vernacular languages have become increasingly visible. The relationship between language, market, and media creates hierarchies in access, visibility, participation, and representation. Globalization has rapidly transformed the scale and speed of global interconnectedness. 

It has also increased linguistic inequalities, privileging languages with larger markets and technological infrastructures.

In multilingual societies such as India, these inequalities become particularly complex. Consider the scale: India has 22 official languages, 122 major languages and 1,599 other languages/mother tongues. When all regional dialects and sub-dialects are included, estimates exceed 19,500 across the subcontinent.

In India literally hundreds of languages coexist within a media economy that increasingly rewards standardization, scalability, and advertising value. Consequently, global and national markets often prioritize dominant languages while smaller linguistic communities struggle for representation.

How could the inequality be reduced? The conference attempted to find answers. I’ll write about what I suggested, next week in this column. Watch this space.

Cockroach: The Super Survivor

Scientists say cockroaches have existed for millions of years. This means while dinosaurs vanished, empires collapsed, and humans invented artificial intelligence, the cockroach simply looked around and said, “I’ll stay.”

A cockroach possesses remarkable confidence. Humans panic at job interviews, taxes, and social media comments. A cockroach casually walks across your dining table during dinner, makes eye contact, and continues its journey with the calmness of a spiritual guru.

No motivational speaker has achieved what cockroaches practise daily: resilience. Hit it with a slipper? It escapes. Spray insecticide? It disappears temporarily, perhaps for strategic consultations. Seal cracks? It discovers new borders. If determination could be bottled, cockroach DNA would dominate the market.

Their greatest talent, however, is timing. During daylight, they observe strict invisibility. At exactly 2:13 a.m., when you enter the kitchen half-asleep searching for water, they organise what appears to be a national convention.

Politicians discuss coalition-building, corporations teach networking, and survival experts sell expensive courses. Cockroaches mastered all these skills ages ago—working in teams, hiding resources, adapting rapidly, and occupying every available space.

If civilization collapses tomorrow, historians may never remain to record it. But somewhere, under a broken cupboard, a cockroach will emerge, adjust its antennae, and prepare for another successful era.