16. Public Relation in the mythological era


Public relation is a relatively new profession which has not been explored much in the Indian corporate world. Unlike other professions, people often get confused on how to explain the work of a PR professional to someone without any background in the field of communication. What does a PR professional do? The question could be answered in various ways like, they enhance the reputation of their client, act as a liaison between an organization and its stakeholders, act as the voice of a brand, maintain media relations, handle crisis situations, etc. But what is the absolute criteria? Nobody can say for sure, because a PR professional does all these and more.

Talking about the history of PR in India, the first legal PR body, The Public Relations Society of India was formed in Mumbai in 1958. Since then, the profession has been growing and it gained speed in the early 1990s. Not much specification has been given in terms of the origin of public relation as a concept but many believe that it has been existing since the mythological times. Mahabharata and Ramayana are the epic Hindu mythologies which show the existence of strategic communication and public relation practices time and again.

The basic plot of Mahabharata is commonly known in India, but you may miss out on the communication strategies and stunts used in the epic narration that clearly show creative PR activities. Following are some of the mythological characters which can be considered as public relation or communication personalities of that era:

Krishna is an Indian god who played a major role in Mahabharata and manipulated the war by just using his brain and words. His unique approach towards people and his convincing power to make them take decisions in his favour made him the most prominent character in the epic. Sanjaya and Vidura, Dhritarashtra's (the blind king) advisor and charioteer are the best examples of communicators who did PR and negotiations in the war for peace. Another interesting character which cannot be missed is Sage Narada, the first mythological public relation personality mentioned both in Mahabharata and Ramayana. Through his creative tactics, he disseminated rulers, gods, and goddesses with the motive of establishing ‘Lok Kalyan’- the universal peace and prosperity. In Ramayana, Rama’s advisor Bhadra acted as a liaison by establishing a link between the king and the public by informing Rama of public thoughts, feelings and perceptions.

Public relation is the key to maintain a connection between an organisation and the public. As long as there is an organisation and the public it caters to, the need for public relation will always be there. The origin of Public relation in India is not clearly specified but it can be said that it is as old as human civilization. 

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