A PR storm is raging over Maggi noodles with media saying
Maggi in thick soup!
We have all handled – and keep handling – crisis in our
companies and with our clients.
In this context, I invite all of you to take part in this
debate: If I were to handle Maggi….
It may sound like an essay competition. But it is not!
Let us discuss the following issues arising out of the
Maggi Soup:
1.What
do you think of the action taken by Nestle?
2.What
would have been your recommendation the day the negative story broke in UP?
3.What
could have been done to prevent spread of negative stories about Maggi in other
centres?
4.Finally,
what the lessons for us Communication professionals from this entire episode?
Kindly rush in your responses so that we can compile all
comments and come out with a PRCI Case Study on the crisis.
Now, getting back to other issues, I am sure all of us
are excited over the prospects of launching PRCI-International. PRCI HQ is
eagerly awaiting confirmations of participation in the delegation to Dubai from
all Chapters.
Please refer to my previous note – Shining Local, Going
Global – for details.
The new academic year for Communication colleges will
soon start. Let us start compiling a list of our Guest Faculty Pool with professionals
who can be nominated on a voluntary basis to impart practical training to
students of BMM and other communication/media/PR students.
Journalism-related
subjects like Editing, Feature writing, Business of Journalism etc
I have been
teaching these subjects at MET College Bandra for last 7 years and at
Welingkar’s WeSchool Matunga since last 1 year
Mumbai
The eligibility for the Guest Faculty pool is minimum 10
years of professional experience and ability to connect with the students.
So, let us be careful while nominating faculty members to
colleges and universities.
It is also our responsibility to check feedback on the
faculty that we nominate for which we need to be in constant touch with the colleges/universities.
We can do wonders, as a team PRCI!
Meanwhile, please keep working on the Daughters’ Day
programme – as detailed in my previous mail – with focus on Sexual Harassment
at Work Place.
Sure, you have all seen the mail sent on May 24, 2015 on
Sexual Harassment – Compliance @ PRCI.
Between us and Ms. Geetha Shankar, the Chairperson of the
Internal Compliance Committee as per THE SEXUAL HARASSMENT OF WOMEN AT
WORKPLACE (PREVENTION, PROHIBITION AND REDRESSAL) ACT, 2013, we shall work out a draft plan for implementing at all Chapters.
The idea is to make sure that our daughters will be able
to work in a congenial atmosphere.
Please do not hesitate to throw questions which we shall
get answered by our honorary consultant – Vishal Kedia – whom many of us have
seen addressing a session at the 9th Global Communication Conclave
at New Delhi.
PL check the video link.
As I key-in this message, the viewership of PRapport –
your favourite emag – has crossed the 4,000 mark. Mr Narendra’s column is a big
hit, recording over 225 page views in just two days.
(Former
Information adviser to PM & Principal Information Officer and
Spokesperson
Government of India)
Prime Minister P V Narasimha Rao was to
board the special plane on his visit to New York at 10.30 AM on November 2, 1995.
He was to address the United Nations 50th anniversary ceremonial
session, somewhat a non-event. The entire Indian delegation, including myself,
was already at Palam airport, awaiting PM’s arrival.
Since returning from G-20 meeting in
Argentina barely a week earlier, the PM was engaged in hectic parleys with
political parties for holding Assembly elections in J&K that had been under
the President’s rule from 1989. Pakistan had managed to prevent the holding of
elections by assisting J&K separatists and intensifying terror and violence.
The longer India was prevented from holding the, greater was the advantage to
Pakistan internationally.
J&K voters enthusiastic over polls (Representational pic)
Islamabad was making out a strong case
before the UN and other international fora for an outside mediation
in the bilateral dispute over J&K between India and Pakistan. It was
propagating that India was deploying massive security forces in J&K for
suppressing the state people’s demand for separation and independence. By holding free
and fair elections in J&K, the prime minister wanted show to the world that
people in the Indian part of Kashmir had a choice to elect their own
government, unlike in the Pakistan occupied part of Pakistan where no elections
had ever been held since its forcible occupation in 1948.
The prime minister, in fact, had been
preparing the ground since 1993 beginning for restoring normalcy in the state
and holding of elections. Around this time, he had taken me and his trusted
political aide, P.V.R.K.Prasad into confidence and instructed us to work for
creating an enabling media environment for the polls.
Yo-Yo
Poll Parleys: Pakistan was not the only one hell
bent on frustrating Rao; there were forces within and outside Rao’s government
itself working behind the scenes to
derail his Mission J&K poll. That
had made Rao redouble his efforts to get everybody on- board. From the early
morning of his day of departure, the prime minister was having a final round of
talks with political leaders, particularly Farookh Abdullah, son of Sheikh Abdullah ,and
president of the National Conference, the state’s dominant party. NC’s
participation in the poll, therefore, was very essential. Normal political
activities by political parties in J&K had come to a total halt due to
violence and death threats held against political leaders. Against this
background, persuading political leaders to resume political activities leading
to elections was not an easy task, despite assuring maximum security cover to
political leaders. An announcement of J&K
J&K: Pak tries to spoil peace and poll
elections coinciding with the
UN’s 50th anniversary assumed significance in the context of Indo-
Pak dispute. Pakistan was sure to rake it up in this session. Besides, J&K
people had strongly signalled that they were fed up of militancy and ready for
elections and normal life.
Last
minute Search: During the negotiations, Farookh Abdullah and other
J&K leaders, had put forth a demand
that the prime minister should make an immediate national broadcast reiterating the state’s
special status (under Article 370), including the state Assembly’s right to
accept or reject the application of central laws to the state. Soon after concluding his negotiations,
Rao wanted official documents relating to J&K, in order to base his
broadcast on the commitments made in those documents. He was not satisfied with
the documents supplied by the home and external affairs ministries and called
me at the airport asking me to collect as
much material as was available with me on J&K, particularly the two agreements
reached between J&K’s leader Sheik Abdulla and the government of India. I
requested the PM to give me time to return to my office and home for gathering such papers - that
meant further delay of PM’s departure (we left at 2 pm).
Tricky
Satellite Slot: As the PM was to leave on a foreign
trip that very day, his crucial broadcast on J&K matters could not be made
from the Indian soil. Rao was halting for two days at Ouagadougou, capital of
Burkina Faso in West Africa on the way to New York. It was one of the most
backward countries, with next to nothing in terms of communication.
Blank recording? PM PV could have been foxed, but for PLan-B
Any
broadcast of PM had to be relayed
over satellite to Doordarshan in New Delhi
and within the few hours available we managed to book time on a European
satellite for 3rd and 4th November. But there was a tricky
issue. This particular satellite would hover over Ouagadougou for just an hour
in a 24 hours cycle and we could not miss it any cost. I had taken with me a
Doordarshan team specifically for the Ouagadougou leg of
the trip, so that they could uplink the recorded address of the PM through the
satellite at the fixed one hour slot.
No
out of Turn Word: The political negotiations had stipulated that
soon after the PM’s broadcast (from abroad), the union cabinet presided over by
the home minister, S.B. Chavan (in PM’s absence) was required to pass a resolution announcing the decision to
hold J&K Assembly elections. Both the PM’s broadcast and the cabinet
decision were to be publicly welcomed by the J&K leaders,
indicating their willingness to participate in the elections.
Such announcements were to be followed by a formal election notification by the
election commission. The purpose of such an arrangement was to send out a loud
and clear message of national consensus. There was to be no out of turn word.
And
the gaffe: The prime
minister of a big country like India visiting a far off small African country
was a rare event and the President of Burkina Faso ,had fully filled up PM’s the two -day visit with
engagements. We officials were entrusted with the job of drafting the PM’s broadcast
address could hardly get a few minutes for consultation with PM in-between his
crowded diplomatic engagements. When it came to preparing his speeches, Rao was
his own draftsman and very demanding when it came to researching
facts. We had managed to put together a final draft and I took the PM to an
improvised recoding room for recording the broadcast. The Doordarshan camera
person switched on his camera and gave the go-ahead signal. The PM spent about half an hour for recording the
speech and left the room after ascertaining that the recording was okay. Only a
few minutes were left for our departure for the airport when the Doordarshan cameraman
came trembling and blurted out: ‘Sir, PM’s broadcast... there was no tape in
the camera’. You can imagine the gravity of this carelessness by a small link
in the chain and its profound consequences.
Luckily, breaking the official procedure
that required only Doordarshan to record official broadcasts, I had asked the
cameraman of the Asian News International (who was in the
accompanying media party), Surinder Singh, also to be present while recording Narasimha
Rao’s broadcast. And, Surinder's tape saved the day, and a historic
broadcast of the prime minister managed to catch the elusive satellite uplink. Another
Disaster Averted. Lesson: Always keep plan B. I can never forget Surinder's big help! God bless him wherever he is is!
When PM’s goes abroad, a team of
telecommunication experts travel in advance and rig up a ‘hot line’
communication connection with the PMO in New Delhi. Normally, senior officials
accompanying the PM have access to it. I was using this
facility to be in touch with my office. During one of my calls, my deputy
informed me that he had been asked by the union home secretary to
arrange a press conference for him, a few hours before the PM’s broadcast. This
was not part of the political arrangements set before PM’s departure from India
and no one in the government was supposed to speak on the J&K matters until
after the PM’s broadcast.
My deputy had duly followed the home
secretary’s instructions and had not cared to inform me. As Narasimha Rao was
closeted with his Burkina Faso president, I could not consult him about the
home secretary’s press conference.
The author (sunarendra@gmail.com)
The then home secretary was also
concurrently secretary in the department of J&K affairs, of which the PM
was in charge. And, the home secretary was known to have his own mind and speak
out of turn. I feared that his media interaction was very likely to stray into
J&K elections that hung in the balance. Using the PM’s hot line, I spoke to the home
secretary, enquiring about the subject matter of his press conference and how
he planned to respond to questions about J&K issues.
Pulling his rank, the home secretary asked
me ‘Do I need the PIO’s permission to meet the Press’? I responded: ’sir, you
are very senior and trusted by the government. You are free to address the
press conference. Since some delicate political issues are there, the media would
not be interested in any other subject you may like to brief them. They could
trip you and put words into your mouth. I think you are slated for higher positions,
and as a well wisher I am calling to caution you. You are free to address the
press conference. But I will bring this to PM’s notice’. The home secretary’s
response was “Thank you Narendra, I will take your advice’. He cancelled the
press conference.
In a further development in the case of PR professional Misbah Quadri accusing her broker of forcing her to evict an apartment on the grounds of her being a Muslim, on Saturday the Public Relations Council of India (PRCI), the premier body of public relations practitioners across the country, took serious note of the issue. It has sent an email to Mumbai police commissioner Rakesh Maria, requesting him to conduct a high-level and thorough inquiry into the incident.
On Wednesday, when The Asian Age reporter had visited the building in which the flat is situated, it was found that there was a Muslim family of six members living in the building and so was another Muslim girl who was part of a group that lived there as tenants. However, Ms Quadri claimed that the other Muslims were allowed in the building because they were “influential” people.
The supervisor of the society, Rajesh Nasnolkar, had denied any such bias and pointed out the other Muslims living there, who claimed to be staying in peace.
Meanwhile, the broker whom Ms Quadri has accused, who is known only as Bansal, said on Saturday, “I have been very upset as her accusations — however false— have affected my business.”
In a letter dated April 16, 2015, nearly 10 days before Ms Quadri made her claim, Mr Bansal had written to the Wadala police station seeking action against her for “staying in the flat without lease and license agreement registration.”
While speaking to this newspaper, he accused her of “fake stunt for publicity” and playing the minority card for the “betterment of her career prospects.” According to him, “a broker has no role in taking the decision of who stays and who doesn’t.” He also went on to say that, “She has told me that she’s harassing me so that she can go to Big Boss (a popular reality-based television show).”
He added, “Otherwise why wouldn’t she go to the police and file a statement instead of giving a new statement to the media every other day?”
He further said that only after she gives a statement to the police would he speak in detail. Meanwhile, the roommates who were also allegedly forced to leave with Ms Quadri were unavailable for comment.
Railway Minister Suresh Prabhu unveils Special Booklet of “Top 100 Articles of
2014”
Eminent journalist TCA
Srinivasa Raghavan conferred with Lifetime Achievement Award
Author and columnist, AV
Rajwade conferred with Hall of Fame
NEW DELHI: Shriram
Sanlam Awards for Excellence in Financial Journalism for the 3rd
year in succession was conducted in a well attended glittering function held here on May 15, 2015.
The
highlight of the event was the key note address delivered by Gideon Rachman,
Chief Foreign Affairs Commentator, Financial Times.
For the first time ever, the top 100 nominations
found its coverage in a special booklet released on the occasion by Railway Minister Suresh
Prabhu.
(From L to R): Ian Kirk, T N Ninan, Atmadip Ray, N Madhavan, A V Rajwade, T C A Srinivasa Raghavan, Ajay Piramal, Aarati Krishnan, Goutam Das, Debashis Basu, M Rajshekhar, Devangshu Datta
TCA Srinivasa Raghavan was conferred with the prestigious
Lifetime Achievement Award and Mr. A V Rajwade was conferred with the special Hall
Of Fame Award at the 3rd Edition of the Shriram Sanlam Awards for
Excellence in Financial Journalism by the Chief guest, Hon. Union Minister of Railways, Government of India, Suresh
Prabhu in the presence of Mr. Ajay Piramal (Chairman, Shriram Capital Limited)
and Mr.Ian Kirk (Deputy CEO, Sanlam Group) amongst others. Winners and Runner
Ups in various categories are:
3.Financial Institutions –
Winner: Raghu Mohan, Runner Up: Atmadip Ray & M. Rajshekhar
4.Sectoral Issues –
Winner: Aarati Krishnan , Runner Up : Goutam
Das & N. Madhavan
Mr. G. S. Sundararajan, Wholetime Director, Shriram
Capital Limited said, “The winners of Shriram Sanlam Awards for Excellence in
Financial Journalism 2014 represent the best of that fraternity. Shriram Capital and Sanlam recognize that the potential
of Financial Journalism and the positive impact it can create to the economy as
a whole. These awards are aimed at encouraging a transformational approach to
Financial Journalism in the medium term.”
Institute for Financial Management and Research
(IFMR), Chennai played an important and independent role in the selection
process by scrutinizing the nominations and making them available for the Jury
Members for their consideration.
The distinguished panel of independent jury members comprised of Mr. Gopal Srinivasan (Chairman & Managing Director – TVS Capital
Ltd.); Mr. Srinivasan K. Swamy (Chairman & Managing Director, R. K. Swamy
BBDO); Ms. Ashu Suyash (MD & CEO, CRISIL); Mr. Adit Jain (Chairman, IMA
Asia), Mr. Swaminathan S. Aiyar, Consulting Editor of Economic Times and Mr. T.
N. Ninan (Chairman, Business Standard).
About
Shriram Capital Ltd.
Shriram Capital Limited (SCL) is the overarching
holding company for the Financial Services and Insurance entities of the
Shriram Group, created with the primary objective of optimizing the synergies
across the Group’s entities. Established in 1974, Shriram Group is one of the
most respected Groups in India with a predominant presence in financial
services. Shriram Capital Limited (SCL) is the overarching holding arm of all
the financial services entities of the group. Currently its financial service businesses
include commercial vehicle (CV) financing, retail financing, chit fund,
equipment financing, mortgages, life insurance, general insurance, stock
broking, distribution of financial products and wealth advisory services. The
Group manages assets of over US$ 13 billion. The Group has been promoting
Financial Inclusion of low income families and small businesses. SCL and its
operating entities, have an overall customer base in excess of 10.2 million,
more than 42,000 employees across 2,400 offices.
About
Sanlam Group
Sanlam Group established in 1918, is a financial
services group based in South Africa. The Sanlam Group conducts its business
through Sanlam Limited, the corporate head office and four business clusters.
Sanlam provides financial solutions to Individuals and Institutional clients in
the form of individual, group and short-term insurance, personal financial
services such as estate planning, trusts, home and personal loans, savings and
linked products, investment, asset management, property asset management, stock
broking, risk management and capital market activities. Sanlam operates
throughout South Africa, and has business interests elsewhere in Africa,
Europe, India, Malaysia, USA, and Australia.
The Queen's third, and supposedly the last, trip to India
would be remembered for wrong reasons!
By
S.Narendra
(Former Information Adviser to PM and
Government Spokesperson)
Queen Elizabeth Regina of Britain
visited India, the erstwhile ‘jewel in the crown’ of British empire, in 1997,the
year India was celebrating her 50th anniversary of independence.
This third visit (she had come to India in 1961 and 1983) of the present
British monarch was supposed to be her last. Unfortunately, this ceremonial visit
became the most memorable for the wrong reasons.
The sour points of the visit began with
the itinerary itself, as she was to arrive in India after a visit to Islamabad.
India has always frowned upon the big western powers linking the two nations
with a hyphen India-Pakistan. As I said in my last column, the then ruling
labour government of Tony Blair and its foreign minister, Robin Cook, had taken
the stand that Britain as a former ruler of the subcontinent had a mediator’s role
in the bilateral Kashmir dispute. Further, the Labour Government had reiterated its support for holding a plebiscite
in J&K, a demand of Pakistan that had been long ago rejected by India.
The officials of the Buckingham palace
who had arrived in advance for making
arrangements for the royal visit had irked the Indian side, thanks to their
overbearing behaviour. Like most ceremonial visits, this royal one was a big
lens photo op, mainly to be presented to the people in both the countries
through pomp and ceremony feeding the visual media
This story concerns the Queen’s proposed
visit to Jalianwalabagh martyrs memorial near Amritsar, that was included in
her itinerary. The British government had suggested this visit as a political gesture
to the Indian, especially the Sikh community back home, who form an important
political constituency. This proposal had run into considerable controversy as
the sections of people in Punjab had demanded that the Queen tender a public apology
for the atrocity committed in Jalianwalabagh in 1929 and the media in Punjab
had taken up this call. It will be recalled that
General Dyer had used his troops to shoot
on a peaceful assembly of people on Baisaki festival day, April 13, in
which thousands had been killed, although the official records showed only 329
as dead. It became a turning point in India’s freedomstruggle.
After the independence, India has built
a martyrs memorial at the site. The entire national media, particularly the
visual media (about 60-80 strong in Delhi and their brethren in Punjab) were
keen to be present for covering this historic visit by the Queen.
In the normal course, it used to be one
of my responsibilities to oversee media arrangements for such visits but for
some reason I had not been involved in this instance! It so happened that when
prime minister Inder Kumar Gujral was attending a function in Delhi, the visual
media association representatives complained to him that the arrangements being
made for the Queen’s visit to Jalianwalabagh were inadequate and they were
bring excluded. The prime minister then and there took me to task (I did not
mind it because it was more for effect) and instructed me to take a helicopter
and visit Jalianwalabagh, accompanied by the office bearers of the Visual media
association and officials of the External Affairs ministry.
I held a preliminary meeting with
representatives of the ministry of external affairs, visual media, British high
commission, and officials of the Buckingham palace. The latter were very
reluctant to revisit the arrangements they had planned. I, with my journalistic
instinct, had earlier suggested to the visual media representatives that they
should threaten to boycott the entire visit if they were excluded from the
Jalianwalabagh coverage. When they aired this threat, it had the desired effect.
Accompanied by representatives of the British government, MEA and visual media,
I visited the site. On arrival, the officials of the Punjab government poured out the
difficulties they had faced in dealing with the London officials on the one
side and from the protests they were facing from the local media on the other.
On site what I found was a small
platform built at a height of six feet that could hardly accommodate about a
dozen people. The British representatives had insisted on accommodating all
British visual media, leaving barely room for the Indian official media. The platform itself had been placed about 30
to 40 feet away from the actual memorial where the queen was to lay a wreath
and spend a few minutes. The platform was positioned at the back –end, instead
of facing centre point of the memorial where visitors pay the floral tribute.
I made notes and a sketch of the site
and the platform’s position and informed the accompanying Indian and foreign
team members that I will apprise the prime minister of what I had witnessed and
recommend my plan. On return I submitted my conclusions to PM and requested him
to direct the MEA to invite the senior officials of the British commission and Buckingham
palace for a meeting with me in my chamber.
A meeting was duly held in my room in
Shastri Bhavan where the British Deputy high commissioner along with the
Buckingham palace officials were present. Expressing my dissatisfaction with the
arrangements, I argued for maximum access to national and state level visual
media. One of my suggestions was to totally change the position of the platform
and place it in such a way that it faces the royal visitor.
The memorial consists of a structure
where a visitor has to enter from the from the left, place the wreath at the memorial and move right to
exit. The British team was willing to enlarge the platform to accommodate a
larger media contingent but averse to my suggestion to place it facing the
visiting dignitary. After exasperating negotiations, I explained : “Gentleman, I
am sure Her Majesty would be wearing a
skirt, and while placing the wreath, she would bend, making the skirt go up and
the visual media located as it is at present could capture something we all
don’t want them to capture!”
The Author (sunarendra@gmail.com)
The British negotiating team had a hard
time in suppressing their embarrassed laughter and agreed to shift the
platform. Addressing the visual media representatives, I told them: “Gentleman,
given the controversy surrounding the Jalianwalabagh, our attempt should be to
enable the visual media to get a good view of the Queen and the expression of
her eyes. I am sure Her Majesty would also slightly bow her head while standing
for a few minutes in front of the site. Such visual coverage would convey the
intended message more than any words’.
The Queen’s floral tribute at
Jalianwalabagh went down very well with the people and the media. Here is a
headline from a British newspaper: In India, Queen Bows Her Head Over a Massacre in 1919.
The queen’s
consort, Prince Phillip, who had visited the Jalianwalabagh site before the
Queen, had put his foot in the mouth by questioning the casualty figures. But
the Queen’s bow made amends for her husband’s indiscretion.
I hope you have been noting our activities on PRapport
and via mails from Jayaram.
This week, I have a lot to talk about!
PRCI-International
First and foremost, we are all set to see our dream of
going global coming true. PRCI-International will soon be a reality, and not a
mere promise or announcement.
With our dynamic Vinay Kumar, Director –PRCI-I, getting into
action, we shall open our UAE Chapter in December.
Dubai is calling us! Let’s go there in good numbers and
spread the PRCI movement.
Please indicate your confirmation to join the team to
Dubai so that we can block your tickets. You are aware as to how airfares shoot
up as we get closer to the travel date. We are negotiating with travel agents
to do bulk booking at concessional tariff. The tickets can be blocked ex the
city of your choice.
To give you an idea of return airfare by Indigo to Dubai:
Rs 16,800 (ex-Bangalore)
Rs 19,600 (ex-Kochi)
Rs 23,800 (ex-Mumbai and Kolkata)
RS. 15,700 (ex.Delhi )
VISA expenses
come to another Rs 5,000 each
So, please rush with your confirmations latest by May 31, 2015. We can make the
payments within a month. PRCI HQ is compiling the list.
Other details have been mailed to all Chapters.
Our next international destination can be either
Singapore, Kuala Lumpur, Oman or Sharjah.
We are also working aggressively on PRCI-I USA (with
multiple chapters), Australia and even SAARC.
Daughters’ Day
Getting back to India, suggest we plan for our annual the
Daughters’ Day programmes for July 03, 2015 (coinciding with PRCI formation day)
onward as per local convenience.
This year, our focus can be in sexual harassment at work
places.
We have decided to set up a Compliance Cell which is
mandatory for any organization with more than 10 people working. It is
applicable to organizations like PRCI and even sports events and clubs.
We are happy to inform you that ComplyKaro – an organization
spearheading awareness about meeting the compliance – has agreed to be our
honorary advisor in setting up and running the Compliance Cell @PRCI. Please
check Vishal Kedia’s interview (Comply or face Jail) to PRapport for details - http://prapport.blogspot.in/2015/04/comply-or-face-jail-must-comply-with.html
The Cell details will shortly be announced in consultation
with the GC.
We can plan activities related to preventing sexual
harassment at work places and Vishal Kedia will be happy to guide us.
Chapter, YCC Activities
I am sure we are all working on and conducting local
level activities. Please flood us with reports and pictures for PRapport.
Soon, we will have the PRCI mag Chanakya and YCC mag Kautilya
out.
Please send in your contributions in the form of:
Activity reports
Planned activities
Opinion pieces
We shall soon float a topic for your and other PR
professionals’ opinions which we can carry in Chanakya. Till then....
And how I survived the litmus test for PR credibility!
By
S.Narendra
(Former
Advisor to PM and ex-spokesperson, Government of India)
Ceremonial
visits are normally filled with visually rich ceremonies and banquets and above
all photo ops. When the British Queen Elizabeth’s visit to India was proposed in 1993, during prime minister John
Major’s India tour, it was supposed to
be a goodwill visit filled with symbolism and sentiments for strengthening a historic partnership. But when the visit
actually happened in 1997 October, it was trailed by controversy and left a
further trail of avoidable bitterness.
Right to mediate in Paradise on Earth?
The
then Labour government of Tony Blair in London had openly declared its
intention to play a mediator’s role in the Kashmir dispute between India and
Pakistan. What was more galling was that this government had claimed that such
a role falls naturally on Britain as a former ruler of the sub-continent! And
this stand was being articulated by its foreign secretary Robin Cook, who was
to accompany the Queen during her India itinerary that coincided with India’s
50th anniversary of independence. Another sore point with India was
that the Queen was arriving in India after a visit to Islamabad, where Pakistan
was bound to put the Kashmir issue in front.
Gore-Bhoot: In Delhi, the British
envoy was Sir David Gore-Booth, had not endeared himself to both the British
and the Indian media with his public pronouncements on the Kashmir issue and
his unwelcome comments on the Punjab people’s demand for a royal apology for
the atrocities committed by British officials at Jalianwalabagh in 1929. While
the British media referred to him as blumbering Sir David, the Hindi media had
begun to refer to this envoy as ‘Gore-bhoot’ (white ghost).
The
visits of ceremonial heads of states such as that of the Queen are largely
surrounded by atmospherics and high but empty diplomatese. In this case the
atmosphere was getting more and more polluted with indiscretions on both the
sides. The advance party that came to India from the Buckingham palace were
very arrogant and had obviously forgotten that India was no longer their colony.
A brief circulated by them to Indian
business persons and others who were to interact with the visiting head of
Britain contained tips like, when you meet the dignitary, address her as ‘Your Majesty’ first time and then
onwards ‘Ma’m’ pronounced as xxxx etc.
As
they say when things go wrong, they tend to go very wrong. The government was
keeping its fingers crossed and was treading very
carefully to ensure that the Queen’s sojourn passes off without more
controversy. In the meanwhile, there was news in media circles that a London based
journalist of Indian origin, Shyam Bhatia (known for his off –beat new stories)
was in the capital. He is the son of a great editor (late) Prem Bhatia whose
columns were noted for their elegance as well as insights. Senior Bhatia
belonged to a fast eroding generation of media persons who were sticklers for
facts and propriety. I had the privilege
of knowing him as an elderly friend, who
would make it a point to seek an
appointment with me every
month for a briefing. Senior Bhatia was a
contemporary of the then prime minister Inder
Kumar Gujaral as well his family friend from Punjab.
Back
to Bhatia Jr. His presence in Delhi on the eve of the Queen’s visit shadowed by
controversies and I had requested the
prime minister’s personal office to inform me if Shyam Bhatia
soiught a meeting (as he was
bound to do as a family friend) with Gujral. I learnt a few days later that
Shyam Bhatia had departed, taking this matter off my mind.
The
Queen’s arrival in Delhi was just a few days away. On not-so fine morning around 5.30, Mike Wooldridge
of BBC New Delhi bureau rang me up. He first apologised to me for phoning at
such an early hour. The foreign correspondents rarely call at inconvenient
hours unless the matter brooks no delay. Wooldridge of BBC, was indeed checking
up an important story circulating in
London. He said: “Narendraji, has the prime minister called Britain, a fourth rate
power? The Observer of London is publishing an interview of Prime Minister
Gujral, and if he has given the
interview, BBC would like to use the story. London wants me to get
confirmation’. Wooldridge also mentioned that the Observer seems to a have had a
recorded tape of the interview. I requested the correspondent for 30 minutes to
respond.
With
some difficulty the PM was woken up (as I said in my previous column he was a
late riser!) and I informed him of the interview. His first reaction was to
deny the interview. When I told him that his interview was on tape, and gave
him a gist of Wooldridge’s query to me, he seemed to be very upset.
Off-the-record, On the record
He told me
that what he had spoken to Shyam Bhatia was not supposed to be on record. I
submitted to PM that we cannot prevent BBC from broadcasting the story, since
the Observer interview would be carried by almost all the British media. I
suggested that during the course of the day we could perhaps say, as a face
saving measure, that the PM has been misquoted. I also requested him to immediately
advice the foreign ministry about the diplomatic steps they should take for
damage control.
When
I returned Wooldridge’s call and told him that BBC could go ahead with the
story, he could not believe: “Sir, you are not denying it”.
Spokespersons’ Credibility: A government’s (or for
that matter any organisations’) interests are best served, if and when it helps
the Spokesperson retain his or her credibility, rather than make him defend the
indefensible. A compromised news source is not an asset either to the
organization or to the media. In the episode narrated here, if I had denied the
PM’s interview or asked BBC not to use the story, not only my credibility as a
Spokesperson would have suffered a major dent, but also any attempt to put pressure
on the media not to use a factual story would have dissuaded the
newspersons from contacting me for checking up facts or
stories.
The author
Ours
is a very difficult and delicate role where we have to guard (and balance) the
interest of the organisation that we represent as well as the media person who
is our gateway to the media world. During my stint as the Spokesperson of
Government of India, I had tried to build a record of not misleading the media
as well as not to put pressure on media when their facts were correct, except
in cases where the very survival of the government was at stake or when it
involved matters of national security.
When
I took over as the Principal Information Officer and Spokesperson, I had announced
to the media that I would be available on 24x7 basis for them to check any
information relating to the government. As a result more than once (for
instance during the break-out of Surat Plague, seize of holy
shrines in Kashmir), I was woken up by agencies at the dead of night for checking
on rumours. The foreign correspondents stationed in India rarely picked up a
story relating to government from Indian media or wire agencies before
verifying its veracity from me. Because of my public announcement, no one in
media could have an excuse for not checking up information before publishing a
story (sunarendra@gmail.com).
