On 16th April 2024, DD News announced on X (previously Twitter), the change of their logo. While the basic structure of the two petals and the globe remains the same, the colour changed from ruby red to saffron. In its official announcement post on X, DD News stated:
‘While our values remain the same, we are now available in a new avatar. Get ready for a news journey like never before..Experience the all-new DD News! We have the courage to put:
Accuracy over speed
Facts over claims
Truth over sensationalism
Because if it is on DD News, it is the truth!
DD News – Bharosa Sach Ka.’
The saffron stain
DMK President and Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M K Stalin slammed the logo change of public broadcaster Doordarshan and claimed it to be a ‘precursor’ to the BJP’s ‘conspiracy’ of ‘saffronising everything.’
Stalin goes on to assert how Doordarshan has been given a ‘Saffron Stain,’ ‘These (steps like logo change) are a precursor to that. The 2024 Lok Sabha election outcome will show the public rising up against such fascism.’
He went on to recount the instances of the right-wing-led saffronisation drive and recollected how earlier, the Tamil saint-poet Tiruvalluvar was ‘saffronised,’ ‘Saffron paint was poured on statues of great leaders of Tamil Nadu.’
The reaction of the opposition sparked a debate on saffronisation and the fear that it may engulf the news fraternity, starting from DD News.
The opposition unanimously opposed the logo change calling it ‘grossly illegal’ and depicting a ‘pro-BJP bias’ of the news broadcasting channel, Doordarshan.
The saffronisation debate
The reaction of the opposition sparked a debate on saffronisation and the fear that it may engulf the news fraternity, starting from DD News. While many comments on the announcement post questioned the intentions of colouring the logo saffron, especially at this time, the broadcasters seem to have their own reason.
According to some government sources, the broadcaster says that they changed the red colour to orange for more visibility and colour combinations that attract more attention. To this they add the fact that many private channels have the same colour combinations, re-kindling the fear of most people, is the new logo just the beginning of the saffronisation of DD?
Opposition versus the ruling party
Leaders of opposition parties questioned the timing of unveiling the new logo, ahead of the Lok Sabha polls. Chief Minister of West Bengal and TMC Supremo, Mamata Banerjee questioned the move and called it ‘unethical’ and ‘illegal’. She even went ahead and called the Election Commission of India to interfere in the matter as this violated the Model Code of Conduct.
The debate soon turned political when Amit Malviya, the BJP IT chief joined in and called the logo change a ‘homecoming for the national broadcaster.’ He thanks Banerjee for not using her usual abusive and crass language and states that the saffron logo was first tested in 1982. Hence the eventual change is just like a homecoming for Doordarshan.
The significance of the saffron colour
In an attempt to polarise the nation and toot the horn of us versus them, the ruling party divided colours. While green was allotted to the Muslim religion, saffron was reserved for the Hindu nationalists.
From homes to offices to commercial spaces, you see houses hoisting a saffron flag or saffron-clad politicians ruling states. The colour was historically used to unite the Hindus to claim freedom, a symbol that ultimately became representative of domination and violence.
The colour of sacrifice soon became the colour of aggression and the symbolism claimed its prominence through passive sources of representation. From education to advertisement, communication soon became coloured and saffron painted the fancies of stereotypes swiftly.
Relevance of the timing of the logo change to saffron
In the milieu of Lok Sabha elections, a national broadcaster of news painting itself saffron symbolises the re-iteration of the ruling party and Hindu nationalism. The colour would subconsciously evoke the emotions of Hindu fanaticism and BJP bias.
Just a few days ahead of the elections, this change could impact the voter’s choice and their free will.
Just a few days ahead of the elections, this change could impact the voter’s choice and their free will. While the broadcaster’s comment on how some private news channels follow the same colour combination could be acknowledged, it cannot be accepted. It is not comparable for a public news channel to mimic the acts of private channels. It is this very negligence (or deliberate act) that ignites the question of whether this is but the beginning of the saffronisation of DD.
No action of Doordarshan must evoke a sense of it siding with a specific religion or a specific political ideology, as it is the news broadcaster of a secular democracy. Agencies are generally believed to be careful of their colour combinations and choices, so the change of logo begs to question of the intention.
Spat between the CEO and the ex-CEO
Jawhar Sircar, ex-CEO of Prasad Bharti and Rajya Sabha MP from TMC has been watching Doordarshan’s ‘saffronisation with alarm.’ He claims in his social media posts that the logo change is an ‘optical construct.’ The identities of the party and the state are merged together. He is alarmed because in a totalitarian regime, one cannot differentiate party from state, and the saffronisation could prove as a step towards that decision.
He goes on to say that Doordarshan is ‘not Prasad Bharati anymore, it’s Prachar (publicity) Bharati,’ hinting towards Doordarshan becoming a tool for the publicity of the ruling party.
Prasar Bharati CEO Gaurav Dwivedi dismissed all criticism asserting that DD India, the English news channel of Doordarshan, changed its logo to saffron a few months ahead of the G20. The move before the elections must not be seen with suspicion, it is but ‘two news channels from the same group’ following the ‘same visual aesthetic.’
The saga of DD news
After its inception in 1959, DD News has changed the colour of its logo from saffron to blue to yellow to red. In the process of experimenting with its identity, it has also removed the words ‘Satyam Shivam Sundaram.’
An MOU (Memorandum of Undertaking) signed between Prasar Bharati and Khadi India in September 2023 requires the anchors to only wear Khadi outfits. The broadcaster explained this step as promoting India’s rich heritage and modernity.
After Ram Mandir’s inauguration, the broadcasters decided to telecast the morning prayers offered to Ram Lalla’s idol daily. They celebrated this as a commitment to cultural and traditional values.
While prayers and Khadi is a depiction of Indian heritage and tradition, it is but a part of it. Representing it as a holistic depiction marginalises the minorities further as their representation blurs from the national news platform.
The saffronisation of news or what is colloquially called Godi Media is a reality that India has been combatting daily, but the saffron logo of Doordarshan is a step too steep in the direction of promoting only one political thought.
The colour change is a visual stamp of the idea that one party and its thoughts reign supreme in today’s India.
India is a land of diversity. It is built on the beauty of many cultures, languages, and colours. The fact that the Doordarshan broadcasters could only find the saffron colour to look attractive is a little bizarre. The colour change is a visual stamp of the idea that one party and its thoughts reign supreme in today’s India. While the fence-sitters might be surprised by the amount of criticism this move is garnering, the idea is to call out any bias as and when it represents itself.
The saffronisation of the Doordarshan logo is indeed a step towards the past, accepting the ghost of Hindu fanaticism and violent nationalism.
