T N Ninan, Ravish Kumar chosen for RedInk Awards

LIFETIME ACHIEVEMENT AWARD FOR NINAN,

RAVISH IS ‘JOURNALIST OF THE YEAR’

MUMBAI: The Mumbai Press Club has selected the Redink Award for Lifetime Achievement in Journalism on T N Ninan, Chairman & Editorial Director of Business Standard. The award, part of the RedInk Awards for Excellence in Journalism, 2016, will be given to Mr Ninan by the Governor of Maharashtra on Tuesday, 26 April, in Mumbai.

T N Ninan

The Lifetime Achievement Award recognizes Mr Ninan’s extensive contribution to business journalism through good editorial leadership he provided over the years to a host of publications. In particular, Mr Ninan, in the face of challenging business conditions, managed to revive and stabilize the Business Standard Group as an institution with high editorial standards.

Simultaneously, the coveted Redink ‘Journalist of the Year’ Award goes to TV anchor and NDTV India’s senior Executive Editor, Ravish Kumar, for his consistent and down to earth reporting on politics and issues that concern the common man.

Apart from these two awards, the Redink Awards for Excellence in Journalism will begiven in 10 other categories for meritorious work in TV, print and digital formats. The categories include Politics, Crime, Health & Wellness, Business, Environment, Human Rights, Photography, Science & Innovation, Entertainment & Lifestyle and Sports.

The selection of award winners is made by a jury of distinguished persons with domain knowledge for each of the categories. This year the juries include Justice B N Srikrishna for Human Rights, Shobha De for Entertainment & Lifestyle, SBI chairperson Arundhati Bhattacharya for Business, Harsha Bhogle for sports and Sudheendra Kulkarni for Politics.

Nearly 1,500 entries and nominations were received this year, up from 800 received last year. The judging process for the 10 categories is currently under way and will be completed by Saturday, 16 April.

The Principal Media Partner of the Redink Awards is STAR India, and is supported by the Aditya Birla Group, Glenmark Pharmaceuticals, Zee Entertainment, Eros International, Indiabulls Housing, Dr Reddy’s Laboratories, 63 Moons Technologies and JSW Steel.

In a period when journalists and journalism are under severe threat and pressures from violence, vested interest and hashtag writing, the theme for the Redink Awards-2016 is: ‘TO RISE ABOVE IT ALL’.

The Awards will be presented to the winners at a glittering ceremony at the Jamshed Bhaba Hall, NCPA, in Mumbai on 26th April at 6.30 pm. The Guest of Honour for the event is Piyush Goyal, Union Minister for Power, Coal, new & Renewable Energy.

The RedInk Awards, the only national recognition for good journalism instituted by a professional body, have been created to raise the bar of news and feature writing in India and to encourage fair play and high ethical standards in media.

In the past, doyens of journalism including Vinod Mehta, Kuldip Nayar, N.Ram, Mrinal Pande and last year Dr Prannoy Roy have been honoured with the ‘Redink Award for Lifetime Achievement’ for their long and consistent service to the profession.

For details, contact: Mrityunjay Bose 7039441019 or Rajesh Mascarenhas 9594088999.

Young Arabs reject ISIS, view UAE as model country

Findings From Eighth Annual ASDA’A Burson-Marsteller Arab Youth Survey

• Lack of jobs and opportunities seen as the number-one recruitment driver for Daesh Saudi Arabia, United Arab Emirates (UAE) are top allies in the region but Iran’s influence is on the rise
• Arab youth split over whether the U.S. is an ally or enemy
• Five years after fighting for political freedom during the Arab Spring, today most young Arabs prioritise stability over democracy
• The UAE is viewed as a model country for the fifth straight year, and is the most favoured nation to live in and set up a business

DUBAI, UAE: Arab youth say the rise of Daesh (ISIS) remains the single biggest challenge facing the Middle East, but young people in the region overwhelmingly reject the extremist group and believe it will fail to establish an Islamic state.

That is the headline finding of the eighth annual ASDA’A Burson-Marsteller Arab Youth Survey.

“This is an important survey of how Arab youth – the largest and arguably most important demographic in the region – think about the evolving and challenging environment in which they live,” said Donald A. Baer, Worldwide Chair and CEO, Burson-Marsteller.  “Today’s Arab youth are tomorrow’s leaders, business owners, workers and consumers, and the information in this survey helps all of us to reach and understand this group better.”

Sunil John - a file pic

Sunil John, CEO of ASDA’A Burson-Marsteller, said: “Now in its eighth year, the ASDA’A Burson-Marsteller Arab Youth Survey has established itself as a key referral source across the world, and we hope that by providing this data – which we share as part of our commitment to evidence-based communications and our social responsibility – will add to further dialogue about this important segment of society.”

While three in four Arab youth are concerned about the rise of Daesh, just one in six believes the terrorist group ultimately will succeed. Though concern is rising – with 50 per cent of youth citing it as the biggest obstacle in the region, up from 37 per cent last year – tacit support for the group is declining with just 13 per cent agreeing they could see themselves supporting Daesh even if it did not use so much violence, compared with 19 per cent in 2015.

A quarter of young people believe that a lack of jobs and opportunities are the main recruitment drivers for the terrorist group, although one in four of those surveyed also said they could see no reason why anyone would want to take up with Daesh.

Arab youth cite Saudi Arabia as their biggest ally for the fifth-year running (31 per cent), followed by the UAE (28 per cent) and the U.S. (25 per cent). But views on the U.S. are increasingly polarised. While two-thirds of young Arabs view the country as an ally, one third see the country as an enemy, especially in Iraq (93 per cent), Yemen (82 per cent) and Palestine (81 per cent).

Iran’s increasing regional influence is reflected in the survey, with 13 per cent of young Arabs now viewing the country as their biggest ally – although a small majority of young Arabs (52 per cent) view it as an enemy.

Five years after the Arab Spring, most young Arabs today are prioritizing stability over democracy. In 2016, just 36 per cent of young Arabs think that the Arab world is better off following the uprisings, down from 72 per cent in 2012 at the height of unrest.

The majority of young Arabs (53 per cent) agree that promoting stability in the region is more important than promoting democracy (28 per cent).  At the same time, two thirds are calling for their leaders to do more to improve their personal freedoms and human rights.

Twenty-two per cent of young Arabs, nearly one in four, cite the UAE as the country they would most like to live in, and just as many say it is the country they would most like their country to emulate. The UAE is also the most attractive country for potential entrepreneurs: Of the young Arabs who intend to start their own business in the next five years, a quarter would choose to set up shop in the UAE if they could.

International polling firm and Burson-Marsteller subsidiary Penn Schoen Berland (PSB) conducted 3,500 face-to-face interviews with exclusively Arab national men and women aged 18-24 in the six Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries including the UAE, Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Kuwait, Oman and Bahrain; Iraq, Egypt, Jordan, Lebanon, Libya, Palestine, Tunisia, Morocco, Algeria and Yemen. The interviews were conducted from January 11 to February 22, 2016.

“With 60 per cent of the population below the age of 30, the Arab world is characterised by its vast youth population,” said Jeremy Galbraith, CEO of Burson-Marsteller Europe, Middle East and Africa (EMEA) and Global Chief Strategy Officer. “The ASDA’A Burson-Marsteller Arab Youth Survey serves as a barometer of the overarching social, political and economic trends that define the Arab world through the eyes of its youth.”

PR networking meet 'The Commune' on Apr 27 in Mumbai

‘The Commune’ is Mumbai’s first ever community dedicated to PR and Brand/ Corp Communications professionals, facilitating face to face connections in a social setup.

Our first inaugural meet is happening in Mumbai at Tonic, 1st floor – Auriga room, inside Famous Studio lane, Mahalakshmi (West) on Wednesday, April 27th at 7.30pm (followed by an engagement session and then party till 1am)

Only 50 PR & Corp communications professionals (across functions) will be permitted. This session will see a mix crowd of senior management, mid-level and junior staff. Dress code is party wear/ semi casuals/formal, come as you will.

‘The Commune’ does not charge a premium for its meet. Entry fee is just Rs.200 per person.

Cost of Food/ Beverages to be paid by you directly to the club (Tonic) basis what you order. Don’t worry, we have got great offers to provide an incentivized socializing experience till 1am (check the attached invite for details)

With reference to the above, please let us know if you will be able to attend this meet.

It will be really helpful if you could also share this with your team in Mumbai. I believe they may be interested to be part of the gathering.

Please do get back at the earliest as the slots are limited. Registration closes by Thursday, April 21st.

Look forward to your response.

About 'The Commune'

‘The Commune’ is Mumbai’s first ever community dedicated to PR and Brand/ Corp Communications professionals, facilitating face to face connections in a social setup. Established by Deepak Kapoor (https://in.linkedin.com/in/deepakkapoor1), this initiative will ensure monthly gathering of the PR fraternity in the city’s best lounges and clubs. The Commune’ will achieve the following objectives:
·   Regular networking and social engagement

· Up-close access to influencers from PR, Journalism, Advertising, Media & Entertainment, Filmmaking and Radio among others,  as we'll call them for a session devised in a chat show format

·   Incentivized socializing for the PR fraternity through great discounts on F&B

·   Open access to individuals from across hierarchies & functions

·     Highlight achievements and talents of PR professionals

Best Regards,
Deepak Kapoor
Founder – The Commune
9833582474

Fly with Horses Can Fly @ A Special Price

Horses Can Fly, the first ever go-to-guide on how to build winning PRstrategies in disruptive markets in India, is now available at a special price for PRCI members and PRapport readers.

For PRCI members and and PRapport readers, the price of the book is Rs 170 (plus postage), as against its Amazon list price of Rs 225 (plus postage).

You can write to ajay@storynomics.in or call on 9820086357 for orders.

The business book has been authored by Ajay Sharma, Founder & CEO at Storynomicx, who is also the Chairman of PRCI Mumbai Chapter.

Ajay being inducted into PR Hall of Fame

Ajay was recently inducted into the Hall of Fame by the Public Relations Council of India at the 10th Global Communication Conclave.

Horses Can Fly uses recent research and in-depth analysis to illustrate how Mobile Internet and availability of cheap smartphones are dramatically altering how audiences consume news.

Horses Can Fly offers deep insights on how corporate storytelling will have to adopt new story formats and move beyond influencing media narratives ina News 3.0 world.

The book also offers a framework to manage the constant paracrisis scenarios that confront communication managers.

Horses Can Fly is written in an engagingly anecdotalstylewith short, interesting caselets. 

Click here for a complimentary e-book titled PR Handbook for News 3.0 Markets by Ajay.

https://www.dropbox.com/s/44crxl7iv3e5u0h/PR%20Playbook%20for%20News%203.0%20markets.pdf?dl=0

#20plenty4water - How IPL can raise Rs 1,000 crores plus for water fund

The Bombay High Court raised questions over wastage of water during the ongoing IPL matches.

And former IPL boss now abroad, Lalit Modi, has tweeted asking BCCI to contribute Rs 1,000 crore for Water Fund or drought relief.

We at PRCI, which has launched the #20plenty4water campaign have this suggestion to IPL and BCCI management.

Hope this will catch their attention.

And this is the least that we cricket fans also do to quench the thirst of millions of Indians struggling for water in drought-hit parts of India.

Read on to find out how!

PRCI supports Eastern Chemmeen International Short Film Awards 2016

KOCHI: The Eastern Chemmeen International Short Film Awards 2016 organised by the Global Initiative for Excellence (GIE), publishers of Global k Magazine, and supported by PRCI has invited entries from film makes.

Short films are the current rage among youth and senior age groups around the world. Besides appealing to these target groups, the Eastern Chemmeen International Film Awards will include a focus category that is attracting global attention, namely transgender issues.

“Presently, India has only a handful of short film festivals attracting national attendance. Our aim is to make Eastern Chemmeen International Short Film Awards 2016 a prominent name on the short film calendar in India and internationally, said Joe A Scaria, Executive Director, Global Initiative for Excellence addressing a press conference.

The Awards have been branded ‘Chemmeen’, which is one of the all-time classics among Indian movies, and particularly because the movie has recently celebrated its golden jubilee.

The jury will comprise of renowned names such as Dr. Biju, a multiple national award-winning director, Bollywood sync sound expert and sound designer Jayadevan Chakkadath, prominent Cinematographer M J Radhakrishnan who has won the Kerala State Film Award 6 times for Best Cinematography, well-known Editor Manoj who won the 2015 state award for Best Editor for the film ‘Ivide’, Dr.Meena T Pillai, writer and critic who heads the Centre for Cultural Studies of Kerala University, and Angel Glady an international theatre artist and transgender activist from Chennai.

Well known journalist, Siraj Shah is the artistic director.

The best film will be give a cash prize of Rs 1 lakh.  The other awards are for best actor/actress, best director, best editor, best cinematography, best script and popular film. The popular award will be selected by the audience through social media.

An added incentive is that the winning director will get a chance to assist one of the jury members in his next movie.

The Focus Award will go to the best movie that deals with transgender issues. Gender awareness and sensitization, particularly regarding transgender issues are presently ruling media headlines across the world. The film that sheds light on transgender issues and focuses on their lives and issues will be conferred the Rituparno Ghosh award, named after the late young film maker who was candid about his own sexuality and sought to highlight sexuality-related thoughts through his works.

Contestants can make submissions only online. The entry form can be accessed on the website http://shorts.reelmonk.com/ The last date for submitting entries, with an entry fee of Rs 1,000 each, is May 9, 2016.

The awards are sponsored by Eastern Group and is supported by the Public Relations Council of India (PRCI), the leading PR & communication organisation pan-India with about 30 26, the Shenoy’s Group of Theaters, prominent theatre group in Kerala which is celebrating its Golden Jubilee, online movie platform Reel Monk, and Ergo Consulting, a leading event management company.

NavasMeeran, Chairman, Eastern Group, Vivek Paul, CEO & Co-Founder, Reelmonk, Mansoor Piman, Social Media Coordinator, also addressed the media.  

Dont ape Indian media, says Pak regulator

For long, Indian media, particularly the TV channels ave been under fire for sensational coverage and debates. Pakistan guests appearing on channels have also been having bitter experience and complaining that they do not get proper chance to speak.

Now look at this advisory issued by the Pakistan Electronic Media Regulatory Authority which is self explanatory.

Many doubted if tjhis note is genuine. It is. I checked on PRNA site - http://www.pemra.gov.pk/
- Editor

PRCI NOW Channel is up

Our own channel - PRCI NOW - is up and running.
Please check the photo album of Kolkata Conclave right away, with music and enjoy the golden movements that we experienced.

Will shortly upload some videos too.

Request all of you to keep sending good pictures and albums (by CD, if you have more than ten pictures to share with PRCI fraternity).

Enjoy!

Editor

CHANAKYA Editorial Board

Presenting the Editorial Board of CHANAKYA.

Requesting all to send in their respective contributions by April 02, 2016 for the April-16 issue.

regards

BNK

========

MANAGING EDITOR:

M.B.JAYARAM

Editor in Chief

BN KUMAR

EDITORS

RT Kumar

Vijayalakshmi

PK Pani

C J Singh

Zonal Editors

Renuka Salwan – North; B K Sahu – East; Amit Tripathi – West; Dr K R Venugopal – South

T Vinay Kumar - International

City Editors:

NEW DELHI-Gaganjit Singh; MUMBAI-Ajai Sharma; JAIPUR- Anuradha Mittal; HYDERABAD- Dr.Ghisulal Jain; CHENNAI- Suganthy S; SHOLAPUR - Ravindra Chincholkar; BHUBANESHWAR Ashok Kumar Panda; KOLKOTA; RN Mahapatra GOA. Ravi Bhatnagar; KOCHI;- US KUTTY:BARODA-- Malathi Gayakwad. VARANASI--Vishwanath Pandey.;MYSORE- Prof R N Padmanabh; PUNE-- Avinash Gawai.;BANGALORE BK Ravi; AMRAVATI – Rajesh Bobade

Columnists

S Narendra-  New Delhi

Jitender Bhargava - Mumbai.

Bish Mukherjee Sydney

Mathew Hibberd UK

Dr. Narashima Reddy Hyderabad.

Marjorie Andrewson Australia.

Sanjeev Bhanawat  Jaipur

Dr. Manohar. Bangalore.

ADVISORY BOARD.

Vishwanath Pandey – Varanasi; Deepak Jolly – Gurgaon; Sanjeev  Bhanawat – Jaipur;

Dr Ch. Sanjay – Hyderabad;G C Banik – Mumbai;Vijayakumar – Bengaluru; Pranab Pani – Bengaluru; Harsha Suhalka – Bhopal;D Ramachandran – Hyderabad;Anil Nayak – Bengaluru;B M Sundaram – Bengaluru;Shabnam Asthana – Pune;Jayaprakash Rao – Mysore;Aparna Dharmender – Hyderabad;TVS Narayan – Hyderabad;B Thyagaraj – Bengaluru;Natesh Nair – Kerala;Dr C Manohar – Bengaluru;Arjit Majumdar – Kolkata;SR Krishnan – New Delhi;S K Kaul – New Delhi;Naomi Junaid –Bengaluru

PrezSpeak: Chanakya April 2016 and the rest of the news

This one is for those who believe that Awards do not make news.

The announcement in PRappot of Chanakya awards presented during the Kolkata conclave has been such a hit that the story has clocked record page views of a thousand, surpassing the previous highs.

http://prapport.blogspot.in/2016/01/chanakya-hall-of-fame-awards-2016.html

What is more, PRapport has now registererd over 26,000 pageviews making it one of most popular niche e-mags.

Not only does PRapport pops up Google searches, but it appears in Google alerts. I received alert on the story about PRCI-Nib Awards in association with Ernakulam Press Club.

Now, over to CHANAKYA issue of April 2016.

The next issue of PRCI House Journal - will focus on Teamwork.

We hereby invite your contributions in 200 words to 600 words on:

• What you think about teamwork,
• How it’s important, and
• How we can fail if we dont work as a team

Personal anecdotes will add flavour to your story.

Short interviews with your leaders are also welcome

Please mail contributions by Saturday, April 02, 2016.

There have been murmurs that the inaugural issue of CHANAKYA carried one too many articles by me.

Our Chairman Emeritus and Chief Mentor has taken pains to explain that that happened because not many from us sent in our contributions, despite repeated requests.

Some PRCI Chapters complained that their activities did not figure in the mag. Again, that was because we did not receive any reports of pictures on their activities. But remember, we devoted four pages for Chapter Charcha!

Let’s bury the past. Let’s look to the future.

Please, please send in your reports and contributions by the next Saturday, April 02, 2016. Do remember to send in high-res pictures, too.

This new-look PRapport has been highly appreciated. It’s easy on the eye and neat, many said.

As regards major events, I personally felt sorry to report that The Global PR Summit (scheduled to be organized by http://www.thepworld.com/pevents) for which PRCI is the Communication partner has been rescheduled. But between PWORLD and PRCI, we hope to organize it around November.

But before that, we have been asked to conduct couple of other major events, including a youth festival and a YCC summit. We shall be giving the events some shape within a month and update you.

Before I sign off, here is the latest statistics on PRapport page views:

Country	Pageviews
United States	16169
India	7770
Poland	342
Germany	247
Portugal	176
United Kingdom	128
France	106
Russia	101
United Arab Emirates	68
Hong Kong	66

Have a great time and do take care of yourselves.

Global PR Summit rescheduled

MUMBAI: The Global PR Summit, scheduled to be held in Mumbai on April 21 and 22, 2016 has been rescheduled.

The organisers of the event have regretted the inconvenience, if any, caused to PR professionals.

A fresh schedule is being worked out which shall be communicated in due course, The Global PR Summit and PRCI, which is the communication partner to the event, said.

Noise over Voice of America: I&B Secy becomes fall guy

India had to have powerful transmitters to counter Chinese propaganda during the 1962 aggression. The I&B Minister okayed an agreement with VOA which led to the government coming under domestic fire. The I&B Secy became the Bakra.

By S Narendra

Former Adviser to PMs and Govt of India Spokesperson

(Political communication is the oxygen of an open democracy like India. Its role and complexion changes when a nation confronts an external threat. PC becomes a ‘aapath dharma shastra’ or weapon for survival by rallying the people behind the flag. But PC as propaganda has its downside as well since it tries to steamroll dissent, the essence of democracy. Also, peace negotiations after the armed conflict becomes difficult)

As mentioned in the previous posts, the 1962 Chinese attack was a chastening experience for Indians and its government. It made the government revisit many areas. One of them was the propaganda policy and organisation for, and its structure, people and channels. The WW II propaganda machinery such as AIR and its monitoring units in Simla that were listening to external radio broadcasts and providing inputs to intelligence wings, PIB, Armed forces Information Office, film documentary wing,  and the new five year plan publicity wing and advertising wing over -night became critical assets in the wake of Chinese aggression.

The Chinese armed  assault on India had been preceded  by propaganda aggression for several years before, especially targeting people living  in the Himalayan border areas. The government had not thus far given any attention to propaganda coming from across the borders both from the west and the east. Even within India various foreign embassies were distributing vast quantities of propaganda material.

As a student, I had the personal experience of a government funded Kannada journal publishing my article that was a translation from an English magazine that I came to know later in life was a channel for anti-communist western propaganda. Some of my journalist friends who were recipients of foreign propaganda material would translate such material and get them published in their newspapers. They were paid handsomely for their efforts by concerned the foreign embassy. The academia was influenced by supplying them with slanted articles by home country academia. Among the latter, there was an unstated bias against the west, particularly US seen as an ally of Pakistan, mostly induced by political communication.

After declaring national emergency, the government hastily put together an emergency media cell in the government for churning out official propaganda material for use by media. However, the officials working in this unit did not have China -related information resources for their work and they had to depend upon the US information service. This emergency cell soon became a patron of private feature services agencies which expected to remain credible but regularly turn out material plugging the Indian (government) view point vis a vis adversaries. Such agencies were paid on the basis of their subscriber base and impact.

During the Mrs Gandhi’s personal emergency in 1975, such feature agencies pro-actively worked for the government.

Another valuable source the emergency cell could access was the AIR’s foreign broadcast monitoring service, a relic of WW II. Located in Simla, this unit monitored world-wide broadcasts on a 24 hour basis and mainly serviced the intelligence community as well as AIR news wing. Overnight, its importance was recognised and it was given more resources. Another wing that assumed importance was the external broadcasts of AIR. While the number of foreign language broadcasts could be increased, reaching them to intended audience was a serious problem. And there by hangs a bizarre tale.

I&B Secretary Fired: The Chinese were beaming broadcasts in Hindi and other Indian languages including in north-east dialects from very powerful transmitters. Suddenly, it was realised that AIR had not been equipped with powerful transmitters even for its domestic, leave alone external, broadcasts for countering China.

  The I&B ministry’s secretary P.M.Laud I.C.S. was asked by his minister Gopala Reddy  to  come up with an immediate solution. Since the prime minister had personally pleaded for urgent and massive American military aid, the I&B secretary with the approval of his seniors had approached the US. The latter readily agreed to spare the transmitters of Voice of America radio located in Ceylon for AIR’s use and a deal was struck.

The Author

When the  the news of the deal became public, the deal met with severe criticism on the ground that such an arrangement could open Indians  to American (capitalist and anti-communist) propaganda. Not only the deal was cancelled but the secretary, P.M.   Laud was forced to quit the government to save the government’s face. 

Laud later went on to become an editor of the Financial Express.

(Next: War By Other Means..Lessons Learnt from 1962-65 wars)

Purani Jeans! Editor as Lobbyist, Nearly a Century Ago

An interesting peak into the past by Dilip Chaware 

on the ever controversial subject - LOBBYING!

The public would like to believe that that no self-respecting journalist becomes a tool for some political, business or commercial interest. Media persons, too, like to flaunt their ‘impartial’ and ‘incorruptible’ credentials. Still, clandestinely, many serve the interests of certain individuals, corporates or groups. Those within the media are aware of such operators but keep mum.

The author - Dilip Chaware is a
veteran journalist and active member
of PRCI Mumbai Chapter's
Managing Committee

Similarly, the ones actually lobbying never admit that she or he is working for a particular interest. Against the backdrop of the present media-related expose and the subsequent outrage in India, it will be interesting to read about the lobbying done by an American editor about a century ago, though for an altogether different motive. Thus, if some journalists are doing lobbying today, albeit surreptitiously, one can only console oneself by saying that the profession has come a full circle, indeed.

‘Editor as Lobbyist’ is a chapter in the book, “My Twenty-Five Years in China” written by famous journalist John B. Powell. The book was published in 1945 by the Macmillan Company of New York after Powell returned to the US for good in 1942.  Powell first went to China in 1917. This is the story of those 25 years, during which he edited and published the China Weekly Review, became managing director of the China Press and was the Far Eastern correspondent for several American and British newspapers. 

He covered the civil wars in China, the Japanese invasion of Manchuria and the early years of Second World War. His vivid description of the events before and after Pearl Harbour based on first-hand information earned him all-round plaudits. Powell was imprisoned and tortured by the Japanese at that time. The book is full of interesting events and anecdotes. One of them relates to Powell’s performance as a ‘lobbyist’ for the US. But he was not condemned for doing this. On the other hand, his contribution gave a great boost to the American industry. Powell has described his ‘lobbying’ effort with utmost transparency since he had nothing to hide. In fact, he was proud doing it for his country.

After the Review became self-sufficient, Powell decided to undertake a trip to the US for ‘establishing advertising contacts’ in 1920. Before his departure, he was invited by the chairman of the American Chamber of Commerce for a farewell dinner. Many prominent Americans turned up for the dinner at which a strange request was made to Powell. He was asked to “go to Washington and put through a China Trade Act, providing federal incorporation for American concerns doing business in the Far East.” He was assured that his hotel expenses in Washington would be defrayed by the Chamber.  From the tone of the book, it is obvious that neither Powell nor the Chamber felt that anything improper was happening in asking him to ‘lobby’ for them.

In the US, Powell arranged to meet the President-elect, Warren Harding. When he explained the purpose of the call, Harding promised to help him and lived up to his word. The object of the meeting was to pass a bill through Congress for adopting the China Trade Act. Powell broached the subject at the Press Club in Washington since he had no firsthand experience of the Capitol. 

The journalists laughed at him and some veterans explained that Washington was full of people who had come there ‘to get a bill through Congress.’ They (the lobbyists) expected it to happen in a few weeks. However, they had stayed on and on and in many cases, the lobbying job became their sole source of support.

Powell persevered and a ‘hearing’ was held for the bill since Herbert Hoover, who was then secretary of commerce, understood its importance. The proceedings were printed in a special edition of the Congressional Record and its copies were sent to chambers of commerce by Powell to arouse their interest. He was successful in achieving this but unwittingly, he was instrumental in sparking off a war between the State and Commerce departments since both wanted credit for the legislation. However, the bill again was held up due to Washington’s typical style of functioning. Powell then had a brilliant idea. He went to Boston, used his business contacts. As a result, Congress received many representations from Boston area, urging it to pass the bill early. Eventually, the bill was passed since many Congressmen had received communications from influential bankers and industrialists about it.

The China Trade Act became of great assistance to small business enterprises. Moreover, it fitted neatly with Hoover’s plans of expansion of American business in China. Powell proudly stated that this was the first federal Act ever passed for the incorporation of commercial companies directly under the government. In later years, practically all important American firms doing business in the Far East were incorporated under this Act. One beneficiary of the Act was the shipping industry. Thanks to the Act, it could compete with British or Japanese shipping lines on an equal footing.

Powell, the accomplished professional, lucidly describes working of the Capitol in those days, the rivalries and jealousies between and within various departments of the administration, the shortcuts to get something done by Congress and the post WW I atmosphere, in general. He has not flinched at all while writing about his lobbying initiative since his conscience was clear. He knew that what he was trying was not for any personal or corporate gain but was for his country. So, nobody challenged him to prove his credentials neither did he pursue the lobbying activity thereafter. As soon as the Act was passed, he was back in China, where he stated, till 1942.