6th PR Education Day
Y Babji, National Vice President (S), PRSI
Several chapters of the Public Relations Society of India celebrated National Public Relations Education Day on 6 August 2013. The Hyderabad Chapter of PRSI had a particularly different and jubilant occasion, as it celebrated the 80th birthday of the PR pioneer, Dr CV Narasimha Reddi. A distinguished gathering comprising a high-ranking judicial authority, Vice-Chancellors of two universities, two eminent media personalities, a galaxy of PR professionals and students of PR and Journalism witnessed the milestone celebration of Dr Reddi's 80th birthday.
Everyone in the PR profession will acknowledge that Dr CV Narasimha Reddi is synonymous with Public Relations. Therefore, out of reverence and recognition of his extraordinary contribution to the profession, 6 August was named PR Education Day in 2008 on his 75th Birthday. Dr Reddi has been a universal model of a PR personality - a practitioner, teacher, author and academician. For the growth and development of Public Relations, he strengthened professional organisations, established procedures, created a knowledge base and opened opportunities for young aspirants seeking to enter the profession.
Hon'ble Justice B. Sudarshan Reddy, Lokayukta of Goa, in his address, observed:
“As far as PR is concerned, Dr CV Narasimha Reddi is an instrument and an institution himself. It is because Dr Reddi stood his ground on principles and never yielded or gone with the wind. PR and Mass Communication are twins and not cousins, as is generally believed. Therefore, if journalism is the first draft of history, PR shall be a fair draft of it. In the absence of these two branches of information and communication, citizens become victims of disinformation. Especially, people in PR must associate themselves with valid inputs and involve themselves in the policy-making process.”
When asked to give a suggestion to the profession, the Hon'ble Lokayukta quipped:
“Never invite any VIP to give ‘sandesh’ at your programmes. This ‘desh’ is like this because of such kind of ‘sandesh’.”
Instead, he suggested that VIPs should be invited “for a talk or a discussion or a lecture or a dialogue.”
Prof. S. Sathyanarayana, Vice-Chancellor of Osmania University, pointed out that India had 677 universities and 36,000 colleges and emphasised the need to introduce Public Relations education so that students could be properly trained in handling information, particularly at a time when social media was rapidly gaining popularity among young people. He also highlighted the growing need for trained PR professionals to handle social marketing campaigns. He assured the gathering that he would make efforts to facilitate research in Public Relations at Osmania University.
Prof. P. Prakash, Vice-Chancellor of Dr B. R. Ambedkar Open University, emphasised the important role Public Relations could play in removing mistrust between the governed and those who govern. He also assured the gathering that M.Phil. and Ph.D. programmes would be introduced in the University to promote the growth of Public Relations.
Dr Naga Mallika, Professor and Head, Department of Journalism, English and Foreign Languages University, Hyderabad was conferred the Best PR Teacher Award, while Sri KMK Rao, former AGM, HMT, who served as a Counsellor in Public Relations at Dr B. R. Ambedkar Open University, received the Best PR Counsellor Award.
Ms Tanusree Mukherjee, Senior Lecturer, Amity School of Journalism, who had won the All India Case Study Competition organised by the CVN PR Foundation, was also felicitated.
In addition, eight meritorious students from different universities and institutions, who had secured top positions in PR courses and subjects, were presented with merit certificates.
In his presidential address, Dr CV Narasimha Reddi observed that Public Relations had grown quantitatively in India, but not sufficiently in qualitative terms. He stressed the need for PR practitioners to acquire professional excellence.
As a gesture of encouragement towards PR education, he presented a cheque for Rs.50,000/- to the Vice-Chancellor of Dr B. R. Ambedkar Open University for instituting an annual award for the student securing the highest marks in the undergraduate course in PR and Mass Communication, which was proposed to be introduced shortly.
Dr Reddi was also ambitious in his vision for PR education. He expressed the hope that, out of the approximately 60,000 students seeking admission every year to various undergraduate programmes of the Open University, at least 6,000 would opt for B.A. in Public Relations and Mass Communication. He believed that such an expansion would contribute significantly to the growth of Public Relations and empower young people with persuasive and communicative skills.
It is traditionally believed that God gave Moses the Torah, David the Psalms, Jesus the Gospel and Muhammad the Quran. The Prophets and Messengers sent to Earth from time to time brought many valuable teachings to humanity, both through the spoken word and through the written word.
I, being an ardent believer in the truthful and ethical dimensions of Public Relations and a devoted follower of Dr CV Narasimha Reddi, sometimes feel that God must have entrusted him with the mission of propagating Public Relations. This may sound neither a blasphemy nor an exaggeration when one considers his evangelical commitment and missionary zeal to promote Public Relations on every front.
For Dr CVNR, Public Relations was not merely a profession. It was a mission, a movement and a lifelong commitment.
