80 years of All India Radio : Legends and milestones

Paramita Ghosh, Hindustan Times
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How did AIR get its name? The answer lies in what Lionel Fielden, the first Controller of Broadcasting said to Viceroy Linlithgow after a banquet. The name, Indian State Broadcasting Service (begun on an experimental basis for two years in 1930), suggested Fielden, was rather bureaucratic. The Viceroy, rising to the bait, agreed it was a mouthful. "All India Radio," mumbled the Viceroy after serious prompting by the broadcaster. "The very thing!" exclaimed Fielden, "and what beautiful initials!"

AIR was born on June 8, 1936. Urdu humourist Sir Syed Ahmed Shah Bokhari (before the formation of Pakistan in 1947) was the first director general. PC Chowdhuri was independent India's first DG.

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