<p>The group will submit a statement to the British High Commission tomorrow.<br />"We, the undersigned, are astonished at the news that the BBC management has decided to stop transmission of BBC Hindi radio on short wave from April one, 2011," the statement said.<br /><br />It said for nearly seven decades BBC Hindi radio has been a credible source of unbiased and accurate information, especially in times of crisis: The 1971 war, the emergency in 1975 and the communal riots after the demolition of the Ayodhya mosque in 1992.<br /><br />Ten million listeners in India -- most of them in rural and often very poor areas -- need BBC Hindi radio and the accurate, impartial and independent news it provides, it said.<br /><br />The statement further said that the BBC Hindi transmissions are accessible in rural and remote areas, and as short wave receivers can be battery operated, it is available in places without electricity or during power cuts. It is an essential source of learning for school children and college students in rural India preparing for competitive exams and that it cannot be silenced in times when democracy is under threat.<br /><br />"We strongly urge the UK Government to re-think its decision to severely cut the funding for the BBC World Service to enable the continued transmissions of BBC Hindi on short wave radio," it said.<br /><br />The list of people who have signed the petition include broadcaster and author Sir Mark Tully, Gillian Wright, Booker Prize winner Arundhati Roy, authors Vikram Seth, William Dalrymple, historian Ram Guha, journalist and columnist Kuldip Nayyar, sarod maestro Amjad Ali Khan, journalist Inder Malhotra, Editorial Director of India Today M J Akbar and former IPS officer Kiran Bedi.</p>
<p>The group will submit a statement to the British High Commission tomorrow.<br />"We, the undersigned, are astonished at the news that the BBC management has decided to stop transmission of BBC Hindi radio on short wave from April one, 2011," the statement said.<br /><br />It said for nearly seven decades BBC Hindi radio has been a credible source of unbiased and accurate information, especially in times of crisis: The 1971 war, the emergency in 1975 and the communal riots after the demolition of the Ayodhya mosque in 1992.<br /><br />Ten million listeners in India -- most of them in rural and often very poor areas -- need BBC Hindi radio and the accurate, impartial and independent news it provides, it said.<br /><br />The statement further said that the BBC Hindi transmissions are accessible in rural and remote areas, and as short wave receivers can be battery operated, it is available in places without electricity or during power cuts. It is an essential source of learning for school children and college students in rural India preparing for competitive exams and that it cannot be silenced in times when democracy is under threat.<br /><br />"We strongly urge the UK Government to re-think its decision to severely cut the funding for the BBC World Service to enable the continued transmissions of BBC Hindi on short wave radio," it said.<br /><br />The list of people who have signed the petition include broadcaster and author Sir Mark Tully, Gillian Wright, Booker Prize winner Arundhati Roy, authors Vikram Seth, William Dalrymple, historian Ram Guha, journalist and columnist Kuldip Nayyar, sarod maestro Amjad Ali Khan, journalist Inder Malhotra, Editorial Director of India Today M J Akbar and former IPS officer Kiran Bedi.</p>