All India Radio to revamp Baluchi language programme

Close on the heels of Prime Minister Narendra Modi's remarks on Balochistan, state-run All India Radio (AIR) is planning to revamp its existing Baluchi language service, official sources said on Wednesday.

The External Services Division (ESD) of public broadcaster All India Radio -- run by the Information and Broadcasting Ministry -- started the Baluchi language service in 1974-75.

The ESD broadcasts daily over 50 multi-transmission programmes covering at least 106 countries in 27 languages.

These include 15 foreign language programmes, mostly from East Asia and South Asian region including Baluchi language.

Now AIR is drawing out plans to broadcast an improved news bulletin in Baluchi language through its ESD channel, the sources said.

According to officials in the Union Home Ministry, media campaign and other kinds of "awareness campaign" about the rights of the people in Baloch region and the alleged violation of human rights by Pakistan administration in the region would also be started.

As part of these initiatives, Doordarshan (DD) News had also sent a team to Geneva to interview Brahumdagh Bugti, a popular leader of the Baloch Republican Party.

Sources said security experts in India believe that if violence in Balochistan intensifies, the Pakistani army will definitely be sucked into a war that will leave Pakistan in trouble which could result in reduced interference and support to the militancy in Jammu and Kashmir.

Modi referred to the alleged human rights violations in Balochistan during an all-party meeting on Jammu and Kashmir on August 12, and in his Independence Day address, he mentioned how Baloch people had expressed their gratitude to him for drawing attention to their plight.

--IANS

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