A History of Radio Pakistan

322 Pages·2005·7.637 MB·English

by  Nihal Ahmad

H istory
of
R adio P akistan
INSIGNIA, MOTTO AND LOGO
Radio Pakistan’s insignia was designed by the well-known artist, Abdur Rahman
Chughtai. It is composed of the figure of an eagle in flight, the wings spread out in the
form of a crescent enclosing a star, giving it a two-fold association. Firstly, the crescent
and star are symbols of Islam, and secondly it incorporates Iqbal’s concept of ‘Shaheen’
as the independent spirited bird with a keen eye, lofty flight and divine attachment. In
the original insignia, the words ‘Radio Pakistan’ were inscribed in Urdu within the
crescent. These were replaced by Quranic words in 1951. The *Ahang \ Radio Pakistan’s
programme journal, carried the insignia for the first time with the Quranic inscription
and the motto in its issue for the second fortnight of August 1951.
The Arabic script inscribed within the Radio Pakistan insignia are words from the Holy
Quran, verse (Ayah) No. 83 of Surah Al-Baqarah (speak fair to the people)* and form
the motto of Radio Pakistan. These Divine words have been a guideline for Radio
Pakistan both in the concept and execution of its policies and programmes. A former
Director General of PBC, Qazi Ahmad Saeed, selected these words at the behest of Z.A.
Bokhari who wanted a Quranic verse to be adopted as Radio Pakistan’s motto. Another
claimant to the honour of choosing the motto is M.H. Shah, a former Administrative
Officer of PBC. The calligraphy of the motto is the work of Muhammad Yousuf Dehlavi.
Syed Saleem A.Gilani, a former Director General of PBC contributed the logo:
NATIONAL ANTHEM
Radio Pakistan has the unique honour of having the National Anthem rehearsed and re­
corded at its Karachi Station. The artists who performed the one minute and 20 second
National Anthem include Najam Ara, Kaukab Jahan, Tanweer Jahan, Shamim Bano, Fazal
Elahi, Mashuq Ali Khan, Muhammad Husain Mistri, Buland Iqbal and Daim Husain. Radio
Pakistan aired it on August 13, 1954, and played it in the national hook-up every evening to
allow people to get familiar with the graceful notes of their National Anthem.
%
* This is a translation by Abdullah Yusuf Ali and Muhammad Farooq-i-Azam Malik. Marmaduke
Pickthall’s translation of the same text is ‘speak kindly to mankind'.
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OXFORD
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C ontents
Preface vii
1. Introduction 1
2. Broadcasting in South Asia up to August 1947 6
3. This is Radio Pakistan 12
4. Programme Policy 25
5. Programme Makers and Programme Trends 32
6. Change of Status and Nomenclature 43
7. Programming 52
8. Overseas Broadcasts 108
9. News and Current Affairs 116
10. Planned Development (Engineering) 129
11. Radio and the Nation in War and Peace 152
12. Structure and Organization 180
13. Finance 204
14. Commercial Service/Sales 209
15. Central Productions 213
16. Pakistan Broadcasting Academy 219
17. Audience Research 225
18. Press Public Relations, Publications and Overseas Liaison 230
19. Pakistan Broadcasting Foundation 238
20. The Future 241
21. Stations 252
APPENDICES
I. Press Communique of Government of British India 271
II. Press Note of Government of British India 273
III. Recipients of PBC Awards, 1998-1999 275
IV. Recipients of PBC Awards, 1999-2000 279
vi CONTENTS
TABLES
1. Radio Pakistan at a Glance 281
2. Directors General 282
3. External Services up to 13 August 1997 283
4. External Services effective 14 August 1997 285
5. World Service 286
6. National News Bulletins 287
7. Summary of News Bulletins 288
8. Broadcast Centres (Radio Stations) in Pakistan 288
9. Fixed Transmission Schedule 290
10. Staff Position 291
11. B.R. Licences - Issued/Renewed 292
12. Broadcast Receiver Licence Collections 293
13. Total Income and Expenditure 294
14. Material Available in National Sound Archives 295
Chronology 297
Bibliography 305
Index 307
P reface
Quaid-i-Azam’s Message to the Nation
On the Inauguration of Pakistan Broadcasting Service
It is with feelings of greatest happiness and emotion that I send you my
greetings. August 15 is the birthday of the independent and sovereign State
of Pakistan. It marks the fulfilment of the destiny of the Muslim nation
which made great sacrifices in the past few years to have its homeland.
At this supreme moment my thoughts are with those valiant fighters in
our cause. Pakistan will remain grateful to them and cherish the memory
of those who are no more.
The creation of the new State has placed a tremendous responsibility on
the citizens of Pakistan. It gives them an opportunity to demonstrate to the
world how can a nation, containing many elements, live in peace and
amity and work for the betterment of all its citizens, irrespective of caste
or creed.
Our object should be peace within and peace without. We want to live
peacefully and maintain cordial and friendly relations with our immediate
neighbours and with the world at large. We have no aggressive designs
against any one. We stand by the United Nations Charter and will gladly
make our full contribution to the peace and prosperity of the world.
Muslims of India have shown to the world that they arc a united nation,
their cause is just and righteous which cannot be denied. Let us, on this
day, humbly thank God for His bounty and pray that we might be able to
prove that we are worthy of it.
This day marks the end of a poignant phase in our national history and
it should also be the beginning of a new and a noble era. Let us impress the
minorities by word, deed and thought that as long as they fulfil their duties
and obligations as loyal citizens of Pakistan, they have nothing to fear.
To the freedom loving tribes on our borders and the States beyond our
borders, we send our greetings and assure that Pakistan will respect their
status and will extend to them its most friendly co-operation in preserving
peace. We have no ambition beyond the desire to live honourably and let
others live honourably.
Today is Jumat-ul-Wida, last Friday of the holy month of Ramazan, a
day of rejoicing for all of us wherever we may be in this vast sub-continent
and for the matter of that throughout the world. Let the Muslim
viii PREFACE
congregations in their thousands, in all the mosques, bow in all humility
before the Almighty and thank Him for His eternal kindness and generosity,
seeking His guidance and assistance in the task of making Pakistan into a
great State and themselves into its worthy citizens.
Finally, let me tell you, fellow citizens, Pakistan is a land of great
potential resources. But to build it up into a country worthy of the Muslim
nation, we shall require every ounce of energy that we possess and I am
confident that it will come from all whole-heartedly.* Pakistan Zindabad
The above message was issued and broadcast on 15 August 1947.
This book traces the development of radio broadcasting in Pakistan
from pre-Partition days to the start of the second millennium. In all
probability it is a first major attempt to compile an authentic record of
one of the country’s pioneering institutions for academic reference
and lay interest.
It is not an exhaustive study of broadcasting in Pakistan and there
may be details omitted for space considerations. Readers’ comments
and suggestions are welcome and may be accommodated in future
editions.
To add to its reference value, the first chapter in the book gives a
brief history of broadcasting from the invention of wireless technology.
It offers a comparative study of radio broadcasting in several countries
where a different system of management and programming prevailed.
In compiling and writing this book, the main challenge has been
availability of authentic material. In this respect, my association with
this organization, which spanned four decades, has proven to be an
asset. I am grateful to all those who helped me acquire relevant
material. I would particularly like to mention Qazi Ahmad Saeed,
former Director General of PBC, who made available a couple of old
reports and an article written by him on broadcasting. Also my
gratitude to Mansur Said, Head of Press and Public Relations Section
at PBC Headquarters, for his invaluable cooperation in accessing
material from the Corporation’s records. Thanks are also due to
Mansoor Zafar for his help in the preparation and editing of the
manuscript.
1
Introduction
Radio, or ‘wireless telephony’ as it was known in the early days, is
one of the most fascinating human inventions. It is universally
recognised to be among the cheapest and most pervasive media of
mass communication. As such, even with the advent of television and
the Internet, radio is still considered a powerful means of
communication and an easily available source of entertainment,
information and education. To date, there are about thirty thousand
radio stations in the world, about one-third of which are located in the
United States of America.
Beginning of W ireless T elephony
The early history of wireless (radio) communication is shrouded in
ambiguity and there have been many claimants to its invention. Mahlon
Loomis, a dentist of Washington DC, patented a wireless system as
early as 1872. In 1864, a Scottish mathematician and physicist, James
Clark Maxwell put forward the theory that an electromagnetic signal
could be dispatched without any physical link to the point of origin. In
1873, he published a paper entitled ‘A Treatise on Electricity and
Magnetism’ stating that electromagnetic wave energy must exist. Using
mathematical equations he demonstrated that electricity, light and heat
are essentially the same; they all radiate at the same speed in free
space and that this energy is invisible to the human eye.
Maxwell’s theories were corroborated by Heinrich Hertz, a German
physicist, in a series of experiments conducted between 1887-88. The
fundamental unit of frequency, the Hertz, is named after the latter.
Actual demonstrations of this wireless theory were conducted by a
French national, Edouard Branly in 1891 and a Russian professor,
Alexander Popoff on 7 May 1895. The Russians regard Popoff as the
2 A HISTORY OF RADIO PAKISTAN
inventor of radio and observe 7 May as Radio Day. A British scientist,
Sir Oliver Lodge, patented his system in 1897. Nathan B. Stubblefield
of Kentucky, USA, demonstrated his wireless telephone system in
1892. However, it is Guglielmo Marconi, an Italian, who is credited
with the invention of the radio. He patented his device in London in
1896.
The wireless equipment was first used on ships for navigational
purposes. The British Royal Navy and the US Navy first began radio
tests in 1889, followed by the German Navy in 1900. The first naval
use of radio in a war situation was during the Russo-Japanese war of
1904-5. The superiority of the Marconi equipment used by the Japanese
is credited as one of the reasons for their victory over the Russians.
In 1895, Marconi transmitted a wireless telegraph message over a
distance of a mile during initial experiments. In 1899 he transmitted
across the English Channel. On Christmas Eve of 1906, Reginald
Fessenden, a Canadian, transmitted a voice and music programme
from a transmitter at Brant Rock, Massachusetts. Charles D. Herrold
began broadcasts in 1909 from San Jose, California, and later
scheduled regular programmes. Lee de Forest broadcast the Wilson-
Hughes presidential election results in 1916. The same year, David
Samoff, another contender to radio invention fame sent a memorandum
to his chief in the American Marconi Company proposing innovative
ideas for the development of radio programming. This came to be
known as the ‘music box memo’.
Radio stations were set up in Montreal (Canada) and the Netherlands
in November 1919. Spain and Mexico went on air in 1921, France and
the Soviet Union in 1922, Germany in 1923 and Italy in 1924.
The First World War (1914-18) spurred the development and growth
of the radiotelephony industry and hastened the introduction of wireless
technology in various applications. Broadcasting began within two
years of the end of the First World War. By 1926, there were about
170 stations in Europe, 5 in Africa, 40 in Latin America, 10 in Asia,
75 in Canada, 11 in Mexico and 20 in Oceania mainly Australia, New
Zealand and the Philippines.
United States of A merica
In 1920, the first regular broadcasting station in the world was opened
by Westinghouse in Pittsburgh (USA). However, several other claims