Radio Ceylon celebrated it's 100th on December 16, 2025.
Why should it matter to India?
It's an interesting story
In the early 1950s, India’s Minister for Information and Broadcasting, B.V. Keskar, banned Hindi film songs on All India Radio (AIR), labeling them too "vulgar" and "Westernized."
Radio Ceylon seized this moment. Using powerful shortwave transmitters left behind by the Allied Forces after WWII (Radio SEAC), they beamed Hindi film music directly into Indian homes.
The most famous radio program in history, Binaca Geetmala was launched on Radio Ceylon in 1952.
Ameen Sayani’s iconic greeting, "Behno aur Bhaiyo" (Sisters and Brothers), reached millions of Indian listeners every Wednesday.
To this day, the Sri Lanka Broadcasting Corporation (SLBC) houses one of the world’s largest libraries of Hindi film music.
Fun Fact: When Sir Edmund Hillary and Tenzing Norgay were climbing Mount Everest in 1953, the only radio station they could clearly receive at the summit was Radio Ceylon!
@SLBCnewslk@Mahishini@airnewsalerts