Communication technique or any discipline of ‘social sciences’ has its own history of evolution. The discipline of Public Relations (PR) all over world as in India took centuries to get its formal structure. A robust connection of an Indian king with his subjects has its roots in ancient times of Ramayana. No king could survive for long without well being and happiness of his people. This was possible only when the rulers and the public were in perfect communication and harmony with each other.
There are many but the best name to be quoted as the most ancient public relation personnel is Narada Muni, communicating between kings, between the king and the general population. He had his pulse on the minds of the people, its happiness, its fears, its anger and its general sentiments and which he passed on to the king, alerting him of any threat coming to his rule. Narada was an effective public communicator to the kings, the so called internal communication of modern day, whom he wished to work for universal prosperity and peace, which was called lok Kalyan. Narada travelled long distances, visited courts of kings and passed on the information from one king to another, used truth as his tool yet hiding secrets which could threaten peace and well being of the king and people. His communication tools and language could well be used as template by PR personnel in modern day communication.
Communication hides in its fold huge things about the real generator of the message, the real master, and carries messages aiming to influence multiple targets. When lord Hanuman set afire the whole kingdom of Ravana he sent two messages, of his own might and might of his master lord Rama to Ravana and his army and to the people of his kingdom. Other message was an assurance to the ‘Vaanar Sena’ (monkey army) of lord Rama, of the capacity of lord Rama and his army to destroy Ravana and his army. It was a great morale booster to the ‘Vaanar Sena’, the army of lord Rama that they can defeat the army of Ravana. Today’s corporate world works almost on the same basics. The achievement of an organization boosts the morale of its employees and also gives a tough competition to the competitors.
The clock of time moves to medieval age. Mughal period saw a PR taking systematic shape , aiming to draw public attention and to occupy the public mind space, an exercise to make the empire a powerful institution and arbiter of fate of the people. Especially during the rule of Emperor Akbar, quite effective and important methods of communication were introduced. He introduced Jharokha Darshan. (window audience.). By all means of communication, Akbar ensured that he could listen and resolve the grievances and problems of people. Everyday Akbar spent few hours sitting in balcony and conversed with the common people who looked up to the Emperor as the virtuous and of highest integrity. So be it any matter on economy or societal issue, it was the emperors duty to resolve it.
The communication system played a vital role in strengthening the PR of the emperor to his courtyards, who were kings of different kingdoms. There were different categories of news writers and informers. These writers and informers served as the bridge of communication between the court of the emperor and different provinces of India. Pigeons were trained to carry messages from one place to another. Besides that tunnel runners and drummers and horse riders were used between different forts and kingdoms.
This effective system of communication is relevant in today’s world as well. The government has introduced various help lines to the common public in the form of telephone numbers and email IDs. People can raise their voice for any concern through such modes of communication. Besides, in a democratic country, people have right to freedom of expression, expressed in form of Dharnas, (demonstrations and rallies), which are taken quite seriously by the society and the government, who accordingly react and resolve the issues.
Even in the corporate world, the CEO’s are expected to take care of the well-being of his employees. It is the duty of the CEO to connect with each and every employee of his company and resolve day-to-day issues. The CEO is also responsible for enhancing the image of his company for the external audiences. This image building exercise depends a lot on what media writes and thinks about the CEO and his organisation. Therefore, here also the role of internal public relations and external public relations is of paramount importance.
(The writer is a national media consultant and his views are personal. He can be contacted at: sudhanshu.patni@gmail.com)