ABSTRACT
An important part of the projection of national power and the protection of national interests is effective international image-building. The Indians abroad have mostly retained their cultural identity, but have an intimate experience of the host culture which makes them better conveyors of Indian social values than any diplomatic mission. A nation's informational services use the international media to project a suitable image of its national society. Before 1947 the Department of External Affairs handled the international press through its External Publicity Organization (EPO), a public relations wing of the British Indian government. In 1943 the EPO was taken over by the Department of Information and Broadcasting, and remained in the Department's hands until March 1948, when it was brought into External Affairs. In 1966-67 the XP Division employed in all 566 personnel, consisting of one deputy director, eleven public relations officers, thirty-eight information officers, thirty-nine assistant information officers/attaches/registrars/research officers/editors, 145 other India-based personnel and 322 locally-recruited persons.
