Abstract Book of the 6th World Conference on Media and Communication
Year: 2025
[PDF]
Radio Waves of Unity: Embracing Post-Colonial Solidarity with All India Radio
Shreya Rakshit
ABSTRACT:
This paper investigates how All India Radio (AIR), under Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru, projected India’s foreign policy through broadcasts that demonstrated solidarity to Indonesia during Dutch colonial rule and with East African countries amidst media rivalry and propaganda battles with British colonial powers. It further explores how, under Indira Gandhi, rising authoritarian tendencies in media control gave Western media an opportunity to portray the Non-Aligned nations as suppressor of press freedom. Through this, AIR reflected a complex interplay between solidarity and state control, demonstrating how ambition for post-colonial unity were mediated and distorted by the contrasting political imperatives and leadership styles.
Keywords: All India Radio; decolonisation; media-authoritarianism; post-colonialism; Non-Aligned Movement