BBC FIRMLY TETHERS ITSELF TO THE PAST

COLONIAL MINDSET

- SEMU BHATT

In times past, especially during the 1975-77 Emergency, the BBC was listened to as a balanced voice on developments in India.

There is a strong case which has often been disregarded for ensuring long tenures in a particular country for journalists and diplomats.

In the course of their assignments, journalists and diplomats having a long tenure in a particular country understand it in a way that those with short tenures of a few years do not.

Mark Tully was stationed in India by the BBC for so long that he was practically considered an Indian by many in the country.

In the case of diplomats, some countries who station their UN representatives for a long period get the benefit of the fact that such diplomats get on first-name terms with several whole-time UN staffers based at the UN headquarters in New York have a better chance of getting and influencing their opinion on various issues.

The same applies to those stationed in particular countries for a long period.

They link with rising politicians at an early stage of their careers, and often become friends trusted by them.

Where the BBC is concerned, its credibility in India has travelled a long way down since the Tully days.