An insight into the evolution of Public Relations post-Independence

By Kriti Raj

15^th August 2022 marked the 75 golden years of India’s Independence. We achieved freedom after a long wait of 250 years. The Government of India celebrated this occasion as ‘Azadi ka Amrit Mahotsav’.

Post-Independence, India is developing and different sectors of the economy are flourishing at a very fast rate. Once branded as a “third world country”, India today is among the biggest economies of the world. Media is considered the fourth pillar of democratic India. It acts as a connecting link between the Government and the people of this country. It plays a major role in leading India to the roadmap of development and success.

Public Relations or popularly known as PR plays its part in the media while contributing in the rise of India’s economy. As a field, it has been evolving for a long time.

A clay tablet found in ancient Iraq that promoted agricultural techniques is considered the first known example of public relations. One of the earliest cases of crisis management through public relations was in the 1890s, when 80 baseball players left the National League. With the help of a little media outreach, the National League was able to help straighten out management-labor disputes and secure the relationships among the players, fans and owners. The appearance of the term public relations was in the 1897 book of railway literature. In 1906, Mr. Ivy Lee became the first public relations counselor and was hired by famous industrialist John D. Rockefeller. He changed Rockefeller’s tycoon image into one of a man who was concerned for the livelihood of his workers. With this new image in hand, he was able to talk to the press, workers, and stage events.

Religious leaders like Buddha, Shankar Acharya were master communicators. Mahatma Gandhi, being an excellent communicator, informed and persuaded the masses and brought them together to achieve Independence. Today as a result of this we are glorifying 75 years of India’s Independence.

The systematic practice of public relations began with the Indian railways in 1920 as it used festivals and exhibitions to attract tourists. After Independence, the Government of India set up a Ministry of Information and Broadcasting.

Now in the 20^th century, public relations tactics have helped to build most of the well-known brands in the world. Now PR specialists are focusing less on traditional efforts and are trying to make outreach and engagement with the media more organic. In the present scenario, we can see ‘Azadi ka Amrit Mahotsav’ as a public relations strategy by the Government to showcase the convergence of the values and glories of the freedom struggle to the world.

The Information and Broadcasting Ministry undertook all-around outreach through traditional means such as cultural programs, nukkad natak, TV programmes as well as through digital media. Public Relations is playing an important role in influencing behaviours. The remarkable growth of digital platforms has helped in the growth of the public relations field.