DW Hindi and DW Urdu: 60 years of innovation

The final decision was made in early August 1964: DW had 14 days to launch its Hindi and Urdu radio programs, since the two countries’ independence days (August 14 in Pakistan and August 15 in India) were chosen as the target dates to start broadcasting. And they did it. Two weeks after the decision, DW broadcast its first programs in the two new languages.

DW reached very different target markets in 1964. Pakistan consisted of West and East Pakistan, which became Bangladesh after gaining independence in 1971. In India, Jawaharlal Nehru, who, apart from Gandhi, was one of the most eminent politicians of the day, had just died and the country still had a population of under 500 million. Much like today, India and Pakistan were very suspicious of each other. They had already gone to war in 1964 and over the course of the coming years, they would fight three more times (1965, 1971 and 1999). The threats continued to increase, as both countries would become nuclear powers a few years later.

Taking the tense situation into account, DW decided to offer two national programs: One for Pakistan and one for India. The goal of both offerings was, above all, to explain German positions in a world dominated by Cold War policy.

Understanding instead of conflict

Even though the Indo-Pakistani conflicts of the past 60 years have had a heavy impact on the coverage, both countries have a lot in common and that should not be forgotten. India and Pakistan do not only share a common colonial history under British rule, but also a rich culture, music, culinary preferences as well as a love for regional film productions from Bollywood and Lollywood.

Debarati Guha, Head of Programs for Asia: "The goal of our coverage in Hindi and Urdu has always been to emphasize what both countries have in common, to promote understanding and to counter nationalistic tones." One example of this is the "Aao Baat Karein" show, which features a journalist from Hindi and a host from Urdu who, together, dive into a topic that is relevant for both countries.

Ahead of its time

DW's online news websites in Hindi and Urdu were the first of their kind in the world at the end of the 1990s, and the social media offering was expanded in 2013.

In 2019, DW opened a studio in New Delhi and, for the first time, employed permanent regional local staff for the Hindi and Urdu editorial departments.

"Basically, we have been reinventing our program again and again for 60 years. Our offerings can only do justice to our dynamic markets if we remain dynamic ourselves," says Adnan Ishaq, Head of Urdu Service. Mahesh Jha, Head of DW Hindi, picks up on the idea and adds: "Innovation yes, but also continuity! In our program offerings, this results from DW's values and goals. Users in India and Pakistan know that they receive reliable, fact-based information from us."

An optimistic view of the future

Together, a total of over 1.7 billion people live in both countries. About 30 percent of the population in both countries is under the age of 14. DW Hindi and DW Urdu have therefore introduced youth formats to be able to reach DW's young target audience in the long term. With the #DWGoesToCampus project, the services go directly to the universities in order to address the coming generations directly.

The latest product, "Bae-sharm Isha" (literally: Isha unashamed) was just launched. The modern video format for a young audience was created in close cooperation with Distribution Asia. It addresses taboos and tackles social hot topics, always in direct exchange with DW's target audience in South Asia.