The iconic flagship logo of national broadcaster Doordarshan has been transformed from red to saffron. A post on DD News’ official X handle said, “While our values remain the same, we are now available in a new avatar.” This was the announcement made through there.
“Be ready for an unparalleled news experience. Discover the brand-new DD News,” it continued.
However, the Opposition is seeing red over the change.
The move was slammed by member of the Rajya Sabha and ex-CEO of Prasar Bharati (DD, AIR), Jawhar Sircar, who said he has been watching the national broadcaster’s “saffronisation”.
“National broadcaster Doordarshan colours its historic flagship logo in saffron! As its ex-CEO, I have been watching its saffronisation with alarm and feel — it’s not Prasar Bharati any more — it’s Prachar Bharati!” (sic), he wrote on X.
Congress’s Manish Tewari, who was the Information and Broadcasting Minister from 2012 to 2014, alleged the logo colour change was the government’s attempt to capture government institutions.
In an exclusive conversation with India Today TV, Tewari said, “This is an attempt on the part of the government to saffronism and capture the government institutuins. The said move clearly undermines the neutrality and credibility of India’s public broadcaster.”
In response, BJP’s Andhra Pradesh state vice-president said, “When Doordarshan was launched in 1959, it had a saffron logo. Now, as the government reintroduces the original logo, liberals and Congress are outraging over it.”
“It’s blatantly obvious they harbor hate against ‘Bhagwa’ and Hindus,” (sic), he wrote on X.
Defending the national broadcaster’s move, Prasar Bharti CEO, Gaurav Dwivedi, said that the new logo is a catchy orange colour. This is a change of visual aesthetic.
“The colour is orange, not saffron,” he asserted.
“It is not just the logo that we have changed, the entire look and feel has been upgraded. It is incorrect and unfortunate that people are reading more into this. We were working on changing the look and feel of DD for the past six to eight months,” he said.
Meanwhile, sources with Prasar Bharti told India Today TV that equating the new logo as a colour associated with the BJP was “incorrect”.
Over the years, Doordarshan has changed the colour of its logo to blue, yellow and red. The two petals and globe at the centre of the logo, though, have remained the same.
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