NOVA presents an in-depth look at India's attempt to use satellite technology to leapfrog into the era of space-age communication and whether it brings benefit or blight to India's villages and rural areas.
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00:00When Indira Gandhi became Prime Minister of India,
00:03she set her country on a course of modernization
00:05through the development of science and technology.
00:09This film contains one of her last interviews
00:11before she was assassinated.
00:19For centuries, life in rural India
00:21was based on simple technologies.
00:24The ox cart.
00:26The pottery wheel.
00:30The spinning wheel.
00:36But now, even the most remote Indian villages
00:39are about to be launched into the space age.
00:43In 1983, India's own telecommunications satellite
00:46was placed into orbit.
00:48And now, television has come to rural India.
01:01This modern technology offers a window on a wider world.
01:08But what impact will television have on rural India?
01:12What benefit will the new communication technology bring?
01:16And at what cost?
01:31TELECOMMUNICATIONS
01:37In villages all over India,
01:39a technological revolution is taking place,
01:42bringing to the countryside
01:44the futuristic hardware of the space age.
01:51In the dim light of evening, a new ritual begins.
01:56These men are the caretakers for the community television set.
02:05For the first time,
02:07people living in the most remote areas of India
02:10can have instant contact with the rest of the world.
02:18Through television, this small rural community
02:22has come to join the global village.
02:44The launch of the American Space Shuttle Challenger
02:47in August of 1983
02:49was of special interest to the people of India.
03:02Within Challenger's payload bay
03:04was India's own telecommunications satellite,
03:07built by Indian scientists in conjunction with Ford Aerospace.
03:12Two decades in the planning,
03:14the satellite was designed to serve several purposes,
03:17from forecasting the weather
03:19to improving the nation's telephone system.
03:21But the main function of the satellite, called INSAT,
03:24was to make television transmission possible
03:27in the widespread underdeveloped regions of India.
03:34INSAT stands for Indian National Satellite.
03:37In geostationary orbit,
03:39its speed exactly matches that of the Earth's rotation,
03:42which keeps INSAT permanently over the heart of India.
03:48INSAT
03:55It cost $130 million to design and build INSAT,
03:59a major financial commitment for a developing nation.
04:02But it cost only a fraction of the trillion dollars
04:05that would have been needed to build
04:07a completely ground-based telecommunications system.
04:11INSAT
04:16INSAT has transformed the landscape of India.
04:19The concept of a communications satellite
04:22was first put forward in 1945
04:24by engineer and science fiction writer Arthur C. Clarke.
04:29Communication satellite enables us for the first time
04:32to send any type of communication,
04:34telephone, television, telex,
04:36anything you like to imagine,
04:38direct to any spot on the Earth's surface,
04:40at any time of the day or night.
04:42This has never been possible before.
04:44Arthur Clarke lives on the island of Sri Lanka,
04:47off the southern tip of India.
04:49Through satellite-linked computers,
04:51he communicates instantly with the Hollywood-based producers
04:54working on his latest film, 2010.
04:57It is his belief that satellite-linked technologies
05:00can be of considerable use to developing countries.
05:04Many developing countries
05:06have very little communications infrastructure
05:08at the ground level, you might say.
05:10The communications satellite will enable them
05:13to leapfrog a whole era of communications
05:16by making it possible to broadcast
05:18into particularly large developing countries,
05:21Africa, South America,
05:23every type of communication from a single satellite in space,
05:26thus doing away with billions of dollars' worth
05:30of ground equipment, which will now be unnecessary.
05:34With his own dish aerial pointed at INSAT,
05:36Arthur Clarke often watches Indian television
05:39beamed from Delhi, 2,000 miles to the north.
05:44The communications satellites, like the new Indian INSAT,
05:48which is operating now very well indeed,
05:50will, for the first time, give the whole continent of India
05:53really good telecommunications,
05:56which are absolutely essential, of course,
05:58for business, tourism, ordinary home life.
06:02And it's a quantum jump
06:05when a developing country gets this kind of communications.
06:08It transforms the whole society.
06:11Around the turn of the century,
06:13Great Britain built roads and railways
06:15and set up a communications network
06:17linking the many regions of India.
06:19The system was designed to meet the needs of the British Empire
06:23and favoured the cities.
06:25Although extensive, today the transportation system
06:28badly needs upgrading.
06:31Telephones were introduced in the 1880s.
06:34Exchanges are now run down
06:36and ground lines are inadequate.
06:38It is often easier to dial internationally
06:40than across town.
06:42Today, India's telephone system
06:44is reputedly among the worst in the world.
06:49Satellite telecommunications are intended
06:51to help India modernise
06:53its transportation and communications network.
06:57Since independence in 1947,
07:00India has worked to become a modern industrial society.
07:04Bombay, the richest city in India,
07:07is a prime example of the emphasis on urban development
07:10that goes hand in hand with progress.
07:13India has the world's second largest population,
07:16more than 700 million people.
07:18It is roughly the same size as Western Europe,
07:21with a similar number of constituent states.
07:24There are more than six different religions
07:27and more than 16 languages.
07:29This cultural diversity is a staggering challenge
07:32to the nation's communications system.
07:36India also has the largest middle class in the third world.
07:42But 300 million people live in poverty.
07:45Against the backdrop of their plight,
07:48millions of dollars have been spent
07:50on satellite communications.
07:52The government contends that the availability of information
07:55made possible by this new technology
07:58will narrow the gap between the rich and the poor.
08:02Still, immediate social needs must compete for funds
08:05with the costs of technological and urban development.
08:12It is in rural India,
08:14where 75% of the population lives,
08:17that satellite communication is expected
08:19to have its greatest impact.
08:23Although some villages are beginning to get electricity
08:26and reliable water sources,
08:28these people have been relatively untouched
08:30by modern development.
08:32The government maintains that satellite broadcast television
08:35is the only practical way
08:37to reach India's 700,000 villages,
08:40with information needed to overcome the poverty
08:43that has plagued the country for centuries.
08:47In 1966, Indira Gandhi was elected prime minister.
08:52She would rule for more than 15 years.
08:57In the first year of her administration,
08:59the country was torn by religious riots.
09:04Unparalleled drought and food shortages
09:07plunged the nation into a crisis.
09:09Millions of people died of starvation.
09:12Amidst this disaster, Gandhi continued a commitment
09:15to science and technology
09:17that was originally made by her father,
09:19Jawaharlal Nehru.
09:23Throughout her political career,
09:25Gandhi was fiercely determined
09:27to see her country become a world leader in science.
09:30She argued that scientific advancement
09:32was key to the long-term prosperity of the nation.
09:36Why is India backward, economically backward today?
09:39Why is it poor?
09:41It's because we missed the Industrial Revolution.
09:44Now, if we miss what is happening now
09:46and the new advances in science,
09:48then we haven't got the ghost of a chance
09:51of making up for lost time.
09:56Over the last decade,
09:57India has become a leader in science
09:59in the developing world.
10:01It is surpassed only by the United States
10:03and the Soviet Union in number of scientists.
10:07Last year, India opened its first factory
10:09for the production of microchips.
10:12The nation has also made impressive gains
10:14in the field of space science.
10:18For a country like India,
10:20which is so vast in scale
10:22and with such a large population,
10:24such a diverse population,
10:26you do need something
10:28that will enable you to reach out to people.
10:34The remotest areas,
10:36the poorest sections of the people.
10:38And I think that we can do that through space.
10:43In April of 1984,
10:45the INSAT telecommunications satellite
10:47transmitted pictures of India's first cosmonaut,
10:50aboard the Soviet spacecraft, Salyut 7.
10:54This exciting event was seen on television
10:56in cities and villages all over India.
11:03INSAT has put more than 70% of the country
11:06within the range of television signals.
11:15Television is INSAT's most controversial capability.
11:19Supporters see it as a tool to accelerate development.
11:22Detractors fear it will be used
11:24to promote government policies.
11:26And they contend that its educational potential
11:28will be eclipsed by its appeal
11:30as an entertainment medium.
11:39INSAT is the most ambitious telecommunications project
11:42to be undertaken by a third world country.
11:45In the year and a half that it has been in operation,
11:48more than 200 Earth satellite stations have been built.
11:52With INSAT, India has invested in a grand experiment
11:55to see if satellite telecommunications
11:58can provide a quantum jump into the future.
12:08The foundation for INSAT was laid in 1975
12:11with the Satellite Instructional Television Program,
12:14or SITE.
12:20SITE was a one-year experiment in educational broadcasting.
12:23Television programs were beamed to villages
12:26via the U.S. satellite ATS-6.
12:292,400 villages in six different states
12:32were equipped with their own direct reception antenna
12:35and community television set.
12:38Six, five, four, three, two, one.
12:43Roll video.
12:48In charge of the SITE project was Professor Yash Pal.
12:53The SITE experiment was a unique experience,
12:56not only for people to whom the programs were transmitted,
13:00but also for all the people who were involved in it.
13:03It had technological dimensions, social dimensions,
13:06educational dimensions.
13:08In fact, it, in a sense, transformed our media.
13:13As well as educational programs,
13:15SITE villages received, for the first time,
13:18news from the rest of India.
13:28The experiment was an engineering triumph,
13:31one of the world's first demonstrations
13:33of television reception direct from satellite.
13:36Many of the programs were geared toward regional interests.
13:40There were programs on agriculture,
13:42teacher training, and children's shows.
13:45This experiment was the first concrete expression
13:48of the Indian government's commitment to telecommunications,
13:51and it was used as proof
13:53that television could play a role in development.
13:57But SITE was a pilot project.
13:59Today, India has its own satellite.
14:02With INSAT, most of the country can receive television
14:05relayed from the satellite overhead.
14:10INSAT is a multipurpose satellite.
14:12In addition to television broadcast capabilities,
14:15it contains 8,000 telephone circuits,
14:18which are working to alleviate telephone congestion.
14:22INSAT also provides a continuous picture of India's weather.
14:26This is the first time people all over India
14:28can see their country's weather patterns on the nightly news.
14:35These pictures show the snow cover on the Himalayas.
14:39The Himalayas are the highest mountains in the world.
14:42INSAT pictures showing a dramatic change in snow cover
14:46can help scientists determine where runoff is expected.
14:51This information is used to predict floods.
14:54When the snow melts,
14:55it brings rivers of water to the valleys and plains of northern India,
14:59one of the world's most fertile growing areas.
15:05The monsoon rains that come every summer
15:07compound the hazard of floods,
15:09bringing to India more rainfall in four months
15:12than England gets in five years.
15:15In the disastrous flood of 1978,
15:18millions of people were left homeless.
15:20Thousands were killed.
15:22INSAT can be used not only to help predict such disasters,
15:26but also to instantly send warning to villages.
15:32Computer-enhanced INSAT pictures also help scientists
15:35understand complex weather patterns,
15:37such as this destructive cyclone.
15:40INSAT transmits a picture of weather activity every half hour.
15:44This information can provide 12 to 24 hours' notice
15:47of an approaching cyclone.
15:52Government offices are also making use
15:54of INSAT's telecommunication channels.
15:58Bureaucrats who coordinate programs that link national and regional offices
16:02have long depended on thick files from field workers
16:05to obtain information.
16:07Now satellite-linked computers have been introduced
16:10to cut down on paperwork and streamline administration.
16:15More than a million tourists visit India every year.
16:19The Department of Tourism is working to improve facilities
16:23in order to attract more visitors.
16:26Already many of the larger hotels have installed computers
16:30that will soon be linked nationwide by INSAT.
16:36It is hoped that this kind of booking office chaos
16:39will become obsolete.
16:41Both the national railways and airlines
16:43are introducing satellite-linked computers
16:45to help the transportation systems run on time
16:48and cope with the huge volume of travelers.
16:53The Ministry of Commerce computer is already online.
16:56It will eventually be connected via INSAT
16:59with computers in regional offices.
17:01Most computers now are imported,
17:03but India is rapidly developing its own computer industry.
17:08But INSAT's primary function in rural India
17:11is broadcast television.
17:13This is the Secunderabad earth station near Delhi,
17:16a major link-up for INSAT telecommunications.
17:19And it is the main one for radio and television broadcasts.
17:25An educational program for school children
17:27is transmitted from here to Vizag.
17:30It is the first in the world.
17:33An educational program for school children
17:35is transmitted from here to villages all over India.
17:44Half of the educational programs are produced in Delhi.
17:47The rest are made by regional stations
17:49of the Indian Broadcasting Service.
17:55There are also plans to use INSAT for adult education
17:59and to create a university of the air.
18:07Educational programs are targeted initially
18:10at six different rural states.
18:16In parts of these, like western Andhra Pradesh,
18:19hundreds of villages have been supplied
18:21with their own TV set and dish aerial.
18:25A typical INSAT village is Manikanda.
18:31The satellite receiver is located by the school building,
18:34which also houses the community TV.
18:44Education in India is an enormous challenge.
18:47Three in four are illiterate, more than 400 million people.
18:51Three quarters of all children never go to school at all
18:54or drop out before they are 12 years old.
18:57In rural areas, contact with the outside world is rare
19:01and books and equipment are in short supply.
19:08There are now 25,000 television sets in these rural villages
19:12that are intended to help compensate
19:14for the lack of other educational resources.
19:17Classes now get one and a half hours
19:19of educational television a day.
19:25A satellite reception set for a village costs nearly $3,000.
19:29Even the educational use of television has its critics,
19:33who ask whether this is the best use of available funds
19:36in the face of shortages of teachers
19:38and facilities throughout India.
19:42The director of educational communications
19:44at the Space Research Organization, Kiran Karnik, responds.
19:50Now we look on TV as playing two roles.
19:54One very important role with the TV in the school,
19:57you may not call it ETV, but it's using the TV in the school,
20:01is to use it for teacher training
20:03and to get together groups of teachers who can then be trained
20:06and therefore act as a multiplier.
20:08But even when not used in that role,
20:12the reality of the situation in India
20:15is that we will never have in the foreseeable future
20:18enough number of trained and highly qualified teachers
20:21to take care of the kind of primary school population
20:24one is talking of.
20:25And therefore one has to look necessarily
20:27for other means of playing this role.
20:30We have a lot of people in the villages.
20:32We have 400 million people who are illiterate.
20:36We have 140 million in schools.
20:39We need to build a school every five minutes
20:41in order to keep our people in school.
20:44So from our point of view,
20:46communication has to be used to work
20:48for all our developmental programs.
20:50So communication is not a luxury.
20:59Two classes at the Manikanda School
21:01are permanently taught out of doors,
21:03even in the rainy season.
21:06Of India's half a million schools,
21:08two-thirds have no school buildings at all.
21:12In addition, a third are either one-teacher schools
21:15or are at times simply unstaffed.
21:24Some critics argue that teachers, buildings and equipment
21:27should be higher priorities than television.
21:31And so the new press...
21:33One outspoken critic of the government's attempt
21:35to use television for education and development
21:38is the former leader of the Lok Dal opposition party,
21:41George Fernandez.
21:43I keep giving statistics of the number of primary schools we have
21:47and the kind of problems that these schools have.
21:49You don't have blackboards,
21:50you don't have drinking water,
21:51you don't have teachers.
21:52There are 3,000 schools in the country
21:53at this moment without teachers.
21:55I was in Indravilli, in Andhra Pradesh,
21:57day before yesterday.
21:58They asked the goons,
21:59are there schools in your villages?
22:00And they don't have.
22:01And one young man came up and said,
22:03the teacher in my school died five months back.
22:05Since then, there is no school.
22:07So against the backdrop of that,
22:09where exactly are you going to fit the TV?
22:11In any case, where is...
22:12There is electricity in the rural areas to take your TV.
22:14You don't have electricity for the pumps.
22:16Are you going to take electricity to...
22:18Are you going to install television sets
22:20and provide them with electricity?
22:22The whole thing is absurd.
22:23It's not going to work in this country.
22:29Only a small percentage of Indian villages have electricity,
22:33generally those near the roads and larger towns.
22:38In villages around Manikanda,
22:40television sets have broken down
22:42and resources for maintenance are inadequate.
22:45Manikanda is therefore fortunate
22:47in having both electricity and a television that works.
22:51In villages like Manikanda,
22:53INSAT beams down adult education programs
22:56from noon to 1 p.m. each day.
22:58Some of the programs are made abroad,
23:01in the United States, France, and the United Kingdom.
23:04A third will be produced by India's own universities.
23:08These programs are aimed at combating illiteracy,
23:11improving living conditions,
23:13and spreading the word about democracy.
23:17The government maintains
23:18that this will narrow the information gap
23:21between urban and rural areas.
23:23Now, through TV, we can have a higher level of education.
23:28We can bring to the rural community programs
23:32for the farmers, for the rural women,
23:35for artisans, and so on,
23:38and above all, give them information.
23:41Our people also need to know about health problems,
23:45sanitation, cleanliness,
23:49the unity of the country,
23:51the diversity of the country,
23:53things which will help to keep them together
23:56and give them a sense of national oneness,
24:00as well as a desire to participate
24:04in all aspects of national life
24:06and to be a part of the global community.
24:09All aspects of national life,
24:11and to do whatever they can for themselves.
24:14That, then, is the hope.
24:16But what is the reality?
24:18Is it naive to believe that television
24:20can help alleviate so widespread
24:22and intractable a problem as poverty in India?
24:26This Manikanda family survives
24:28by making beedis, crude cigarettes.
24:40If you want more,
24:42you need money from the company.
24:44If you want a bigger company,
24:46you need money from the company.
24:48If they have money, we have money.
24:51If they don't have money,
24:53where can we get it from?
24:55Is this 9 rupees enough for you to survive?
24:58It's not enough.
25:00What do you do with it?
25:02Instead of working hard,
25:04we work like this.
25:07This family sells the cigarettes
25:09at a low price to a middleman
25:11who markets them in town.
25:13Cooperatives do away with the middleman,
25:15but most villagers lack the knowledge to organize.
25:18Now educational television
25:20provides information on cooperatives.
25:22Unfortunately, the poorest villagers
25:24lack the necessary start-up funds.
25:32The poorest of the poor are the Harijans,
25:35or untouchables,
25:37the lowest grouping in India's age-old caste system.
25:40In many places, they are still forced
25:42to live, eat, and pray outside of the village
25:45and can't even go to the well for water.
25:48The government has television programs
25:50telling the Harijans about loans
25:52that are exclusively available to them.
25:54The broadcasts are followed up
25:56by a visit from a field worker
25:58who brings the money to the village.
26:00The goal of these programs
26:02is to break through the isolation of the Harijans,
26:04but it is too soon to tell
26:06if the programs will have any impact
26:08on the caste system.
26:12Television also provides information
26:14on alternative fuels.
26:16Unfortunately, this information
26:18is not always relevant.
26:20In this village, alternative fuels
26:22are seldom available,
26:24so the people really have no options.
26:26They must continue to cut down
26:28firewood for cooking.
26:30The wood supply near this village
26:32is limited.
26:34In some areas, villagers travel for days
26:36just to collect enough wood for one week.
26:46Clean water is another scarce resource.
26:48Seventy percent of the available water
26:50in India is polluted
26:52and a major source of ill health.
27:02Although television provides information
27:04about hygiene, nutrition, and family planning,
27:06most villages do not have
27:08modern health care facilities.
27:10Some, like Manikanda,
27:12have small primary health centers,
27:14but the village health worker
27:16has no real training and few medicines.
27:26The nearest hospital or doctor
27:28is half a day's walk.
27:30This is another example of how
27:32educational television needs to be
27:34backed up by material resources.
27:38Village life revolves around agriculture,
27:40and this farmer finds
27:42educational programs useful.
28:00For those who can afford fertilizer
28:02and own land,
28:04the information beamed from INSAT
28:06has proved valuable.
28:08But nine out of ten villagers
28:10do not have access to
28:12the basic necessities
28:14of a healthy life.
28:20For those who can afford fertilizer
28:22and own land,
28:24the information beamed from INSAT
28:26has proved valuable.
28:28But nine out of ten villagers
28:30do not own land and have no capital.
28:32Most earn a meager
28:34and insecure living as day laborers.
28:36The problem remains that
28:38those who need help the most
28:40are still the least able to make use
28:42of the information provided by INSAT.
28:52Communication can do a great deal,
28:54but it cannot really have
28:56substantial meaning unless
28:58we can tie in with the agencies
29:00that are in the field to deliver
29:02the physical goods that are required.
29:04If one is doing a campaign on health,
29:06one has to make sure that the infrastructure
29:08is there to support what we are doing.
29:10Television, of course, is not a panacea.
29:12Our communication is not enough by itself.
29:14When you communicate,
29:16you are only supplying one part
29:18of interaction. The proper interaction
29:20has to involve transactions,
29:22various other things,
29:24extension work, other type of information.
29:26So it only facilitates that.
29:28By itself, it's clearly
29:30never going to be enough.
29:32If one is to take care of
29:34immediate problems,
29:36it can be done in the short term.
29:38I mean, the question is, for example,
29:40if there's no water in the village,
29:42why do you want a television set?
29:44This is true, but it's not one against the other.
29:46Because if one is to just provide water,
29:48it's like giving charity,
29:50and the thing ends there.
29:52I think communication is very necessary
29:54to enable people to reach
29:56some kind of higher level
29:58of both knowledge and aspiration.
30:00Programs shown in Manikanda
30:02are transmitted from Delhi via Inset.
30:04By contrast,
30:06people in the Keda district
30:08receive locally produced programs.
30:10In charge of Keda's production facility
30:12is Kiran Karnik.
30:14Decentralized television
30:16is absolutely essential
30:18when one talks of using television for development.
30:20Most of the problems
30:22related to development
30:24are to be dealt with at the local level.
30:26Take a simple example like a health problem,
30:28an epidemic that suddenly breaks out,
30:30or a sudden change in the weather pattern,
30:32an unexpected storm.
30:34Now, if the medium is to play some role
30:36in trying to alleviate
30:38these problems, then it has to be
30:40dealing with these very local problems.
30:42You cannot have a program
30:44that is all-encompassing and useful
30:46to everybody. It will not have the kind of impact
30:48that a local program dealing with local
30:50and immediate problems can have.
30:52Locally produced programs
30:54have been transmitted to villages
30:56in the Keda district since 1976.
30:58Programs are beamed
31:00not by satellite,
31:02but direct from a local transmitter.
31:04Keda is a direct descendant
31:06of the Site Pilot Project,
31:08and is an experiment in decentralized
31:10broadcast television.
31:12In this small studio,
31:14villagers participate in making simple,
31:16relevant programs of their own.
31:18Firstly, we have
31:20a very well-defined target audience.
31:22Secondly,
31:24we've made sure that this audience
31:26that we have has access to the medium
31:28by making sure their community
31:30sits in these villages.
31:32And thirdly, we have a system
31:34where we try and involve the audience
31:36and get feedback from them on what's happening
31:38so we're able to keep the programs in tune
31:40with what their needs are.
31:46The Keda Project
31:54The Keda Project
31:56produces both news and educational programs.
32:00This show is a popular weekly drama,
32:02a kind of soap opera.
32:04The Keda Project
32:14Firmly rooted
32:16in the villagers' own experience,
32:18the program conveys information
32:20about specific local problems.
32:22In this episode,
32:24a middle-class doctor from the city
32:26is finding it difficult to understand
32:28the village way of life.
32:34In this episode,
32:36a middle-class doctor from the city
32:38is finding it difficult to understand
32:40the village way of life.
33:04With all the Keda programs,
33:06care is taken to link up
33:08with agencies working in the field,
33:10in this case,
33:12the Ministry of Health.
33:14Similar programs have been produced
33:16in conjunction with
33:18the Ministry of Languages
33:20and the Family Planning Association.
33:22Keda provides the villages
33:24an hour and a half
33:26of programming a day.
33:28In addition,
33:30the district receives national programs
33:32via INSAT.
33:34There are 500 government sets
33:36and 2,000 private sets
33:38that now serve Keda's 5 million people.
33:50Another Keda program
33:52is produced in cooperation
33:54with the Department of Agriculture.
33:56It provides information
33:58about the care of livestock.
34:00It aims to teach methods
34:02of animal husbandry,
34:04including vaccination,
34:06artificial insemination,
34:08and the feeding of cattle.
34:20This is the Amul Milk Farmers Cooperative
34:22in the Keda district.
34:24Amul is collectively owned
34:26by 100,000 farmers.
34:30The cooperative owns its own dairy
34:32and provides most of the milk and cheese
34:34for Bombay.
34:36The Amul cooperative recently reported
34:38higher milk yields and healthier livestock.
34:40Proponents of the Keda project
34:42believe that the local television programs
34:44have in part been responsible.
34:50These villagers have gathered
34:52to discuss such television programs.
34:54The feedback that they provide
34:56to Keda researchers is a vital part
34:58of the Keda project.
35:28Research of the social scientists
35:30involved with the Keda project
35:32suggests that carefully planned
35:34relevant programs can play
35:36a useful role in development.
35:38But the dedication and achievements
35:40of this pioneering group
35:42have yet to be replicated
35:44on a national scale.
35:46Laughter
35:56Just as regional programs like Keda
35:58are proving their effectiveness,
36:00they may be facing growing competition
36:02for a new era is dawning
36:04in Indian television.
36:06The new prosperity of the Indian middle class
36:08has led to a surging demand
36:10for urban commodities,
36:12specifically consumer electronics.
36:16Video cassette recorder sales
36:18are booming.
36:20Video shops and communal viewing halls
36:22are springing up in both cities
36:24and rural areas.
36:28The video boom began
36:30during the 1982 Asiad Games,
36:32the eastern counterpart to the Olympics.
36:34The government slashed import duties
36:36on VCRs,
36:38and a few domestic companies
36:40started manufacturing sets.
36:42So India's avid sports fans
36:44were able to buy video cassette players
36:46to record this momentous occasion.
36:52With half a million VCRs
36:54in home and communal use,
36:56video now reaches the masses
36:58with entertainment,
37:00such as this Indian musical.
37:10Indian films frequently mix
37:12the language, styles, and traditions of India
37:14with those of the West.
37:16Here, a scene from Ram Ki Ganga,
37:18a movie released in 1984,
37:20is reminiscent of American musical comedy.
37:32But thematically, the film is Indian.
37:42Ram Ganga is actually a religious story
37:44that upholds the ancient custom
37:46of arranged marriages.
38:04The recent video explosion
38:06is providing an outlet for imported films.
38:08American movies are increasingly popular.
38:12But most of the features
38:14still come from India's own
38:16filmmaking industry,
38:18the largest in the world.
38:24Bombay, the Hollywood of India,
38:26produces more than 200 films a year,
38:28including many that will be
38:30beamed via Insat into villages.
38:32In 1984, India's film industry
38:34turned out 763 films,
38:36investing $20 billion.
38:38The film industry depends largely
38:40on revenue from trendy,
38:42low-budget films.
38:44The Indian high art films
38:46seen in the West
38:48are not blockbusters in India.
38:54Producers do continue to make films
38:56that reflect the unique heritage
38:58of the country.
39:00And an increasing number
39:02are releasing features
39:04that raise social or political issues,
39:06ranging from police brutality
39:08to the ancient dowry system.
39:10But the vast majority
39:12of India's films are fantasies,
39:14violent adventure stories,
39:16musicals,
39:18and romance.
39:24There has been much debate
39:26in the Indian press about the effect
39:28of the encroaching video boom
39:30and the increased use of Insat
39:32to broadcast feature films.
39:34These flashy offerings
39:36are already competing
39:38with educational programs
39:40for viewers' attention.
39:42Some critics fear that
39:44the TV's educational use
39:46will be overshadowed
39:48by the demand
39:50for entertaining programs.
39:52Because the most popular films
39:54portray a westernized
39:56and urbanized lifestyle,
39:58there is concern that
40:00Indian traditions
40:02and cultural diversity
40:04will be lost.
40:16The Indian film does not
40:18try to relate itself
40:20to the reality of India.
40:22The commercial films,
40:24which Bombay or other centers
40:26of film production put out
40:28in this country,
40:30try to tell the Indian people
40:32to go a step beyond that.
40:34And the step beyond is that
40:36whereas the cultural values
40:38which films in the west present
40:40are by and large rooted
40:42in the situations that prevail there,
40:44in our case, they again try
40:46to put across cultural values
40:48and economic ideas
40:50which are not related
40:52to people's lives
40:54and which then create
40:56false impressions
40:58and certain urges and demands
41:00which cannot be fulfilled.
41:06In the villages of rural India,
41:08televised feature films
41:10draw audiences from miles around.
41:16Two or more Indian films
41:18are screened every week.
41:20The musical is a favorite.
41:31In Manikanda,
41:33audiences for these screenings
41:35often exceed 500 people,
41:37a third of the village,
41:39all gathered by the one
41:41community TV set.
41:47Television programs
41:49are a part of the
41:51cultural heritage
41:53of the village.
41:56Television programs
41:58also introduce them
42:00to a world of different values.
42:26Manikanda has become
42:28part of the global village
42:30and in so doing has joined
42:32the consumer society.
42:55...which are not within the reach of the ordinary man.
42:57You are taking TV into every home,
42:59the rich and the poor.
43:01You are trying to cater to the rich
43:03and at the same time
43:05tantalize the poor with items
43:07that are just not available to them.
43:09You are destroying them.
43:11You are destroying them both in terms of
43:13values and you are
43:15creating situation in which
43:17the poor will then have to find
43:19ways and means of acquiring those things
43:21which they are told are
43:23very necessary for them,
43:25but which are beyond their reach.
43:27There are two television channels in India,
43:29both government-owned.
43:31One channel transmits
43:33mostly educational programs
43:35in six different languages.
43:37The other broadcasts movies
43:39and national news in prime time
43:41and allows commercials.
43:53...protein nutrition...
44:07Some of the programs watched here
44:09may come as a bit of a surprise.
44:17I love Lucy!
44:19Starring Lucille Ball
44:21and Desi Arnaz.
44:43Besides American shows,
44:45British dramas, documentaries, soap operas
44:47and sporting events are shown.
44:52By the end of the third night,
44:54with 300 miles of rough road behind them,
44:56the leaders were pulling clear.
45:00Programs imported from the West
45:02now comprise more than 10%
45:04of the weekly TV schedule.
45:06Many programs seen throughout
45:08the country are in languages
45:10rural people don't speak.
45:12English and Hindi are spoken
45:14on all programs transmitted after 8 p.m.
45:16Yet English is understood
45:18by less than 3% of the population
45:20and even Hindi by only 40%.
45:30In a country with a diverse
45:32cultural heritage, television's
45:34use of a predominant language
45:36is a consequence of a centralized network.
45:38Uniformity could help
45:40bring together a people
45:42divided by religion, geography
45:44and class.
45:46But there is concern that
45:48English-speaking villagers
45:50will be denied access
45:52not only to the entertainment
45:54but also to the educational
45:56value of television.
45:58Further, it is feared that
46:00the regional languages and customs
46:02not shown on television
46:04will ultimately fade away.
46:06Will television unify India
46:08at the cost of its cultural diversity?
46:10India is a country of many cultures.
46:12The tribal culture,
46:14what is relevant in the North
46:16South, music, song, dance
46:18of each area, of each region,
46:20of each people differs.
46:22What we are now going to do
46:24through the satellite system
46:26is to give to the people
46:28something that is not indigenous
46:30something that does not belong to them
46:32and in the process try to shake
46:34their own confidence in their own values
46:36and give them nothing new in return
46:38except something that is synthetic.
46:40Television can counterbalance
46:42balance that to some extent
46:44by creating regional cultures
46:46and by convincing the people
46:48that what they are doing
46:50is really a good thing,
46:52that it is not something
46:54to be sneered at,
46:56it is not something
46:58that is less than the city culture.
47:00Critics always doubted
47:02Mrs. Gandhi's promise
47:04to use INSAT to educate
47:06and address the needs
47:08of her culturally diverse country.
47:10The government owns
47:13Her critics accused Mrs. Gandhi
47:15of using television as a vehicle
47:17for self-promotion, in particular
47:19by keeping a tight rein
47:21on television news.
47:25The government-owned broadcasting service
47:27airs half a dozen
47:2910 to 15 minute news reports a day.
47:33The reports consist mostly
47:35of commentators reading national news
47:37because the news organizations
47:39are still too ill-equipped
47:41to provide much on-location
47:43regional coverage.
47:45The news is presented
47:47in either English or Hindi.
47:53Individual news stories
47:55are not necessarily read
47:57in both languages.
48:03Over the years,
48:05members of parliament
48:07and the national press
48:09have turned over
48:11to an autonomous body.
48:13Thus far, the government
48:15has resisted.
48:17Mrs. Gandhi defended
48:19the government's monopoly
48:21on broadcasting,
48:23saying it was necessary
48:25to ensure the balance
48:27between entertainment
48:29and educational programming
48:31vital to a developing country.
48:33India is the world's
48:35largest democracy,
48:37but Netaji Subhash Ghosh
48:39gave the slogan,
48:41all the people of the language...
48:43Ghosh Media, electronic media
48:45particularly in this country,
48:47has been in the hands of the government.
48:49And the government,
48:51through whatever bureaucratic
48:53or political network it operates,
48:55has tried to centralize authority.
48:57Now what's now going to happen
48:59insofar as Insight is concerned
49:01is that you will now be able
49:03to reach out to people
49:05in one shot,
49:07put across ideas in one shot,
49:09sitting here in Delhi.
49:11The Indian broadcast system
49:13faces a dilemma.
49:15For the most part, it is located
49:17in the city and influenced
49:19by the middle class.
49:23This new urban elite
49:25wants more entertainment
49:27and has less need
49:29for educational programs.
49:31But catering to these tastes
49:33uses Indian television
49:35as a tool for development.
49:39Indian television
49:41has reached a crossroads.
49:43Critics argue that control
49:45of Insight's broadcast schedule
49:47must become more decentralized.
49:49Both politically and culturally,
49:51it must meet the needs
49:53of all of India.
49:55I think over-centralization
49:57would lead to very inefficient
49:59use of the medium
50:01because nobody has all the wisdom.
50:03And in fact,
50:05it may lead to homogenization
50:07and in some sense, you may say,
50:09it can lead to indoctrination.
50:11Not in political sense necessarily,
50:13but indoctrination with values
50:15which pertain to only one center.
50:17And that is not interaction.
50:19If we have to have development,
50:21we have to have interaction.
50:23And in order to have interaction,
50:25it's necessary that origination
50:27of ideas, images, programs
50:29in many, many places.
50:31So decentralization is absolutely
50:33essential if the programs,
50:35if the whole effort has to be
50:37towards development.
50:39It depends on how it is decentralized
50:41and what use is made of it.
50:43Because if by decentralizing
50:45the tendency
50:47is to create a divisive
50:49attitude,
50:51that would not be good
50:53because we have to keep national unity
50:55in view all the time.
50:57In making all these programs,
50:59it is absolutely essential
51:01that the inputs,
51:03that the access to the medium
51:05is provided by the potential beneficiaries.
51:07Otherwise,
51:09it just becomes propagandizing
51:11or it becomes sermons.
51:13So it has to be a live thing.
51:15Everybody can't have
51:17a microphone in front of him,
51:19but on the other hand,
51:21he should have an access
51:23to be able to get to the medium
51:26Still in its infancy,
51:28INSAT took 20 years
51:30to become a reality.
51:32Now there are more than 30 million
51:34television sets in India
51:36and the number is steadily growing.
51:38INSAT was a major
51:40technological feat linked
51:42to a philosophical commitment
51:44to development.
51:46As a microcosm of the impact
51:48of technology on the third world,
51:50India's experience with INSAT
51:52will be carefully watched.
51:55It is not necessary
51:57that space technology should lead
51:59to increase of inequalities.
52:01However, if it's not properly used,
52:03it could be.
52:05There is a lot of discussion
52:07going on in India
52:09as to how to use the new technology.
52:11But I am exceedingly optimistic.
52:13A country which took the courage
52:15to do a massive experiment
52:17like SITE,
52:19before anybody else had done
52:21such an experiment anywhere else,
52:23which went on
52:25to then have an INSAT
52:27with a commitment
52:29for using communication
52:31for social purposes,
52:33I think the discussion
52:35is definitely going to lead
52:37to a direction which will
52:39be beneficial and which
52:41will go in the right direction.
52:43There will be further
52:45concentration of political power
52:47in the hands of the urban elite
52:49as the satellite programs
52:51attempt may to condition people's minds
52:53around individuals, around parties,
52:55around leaders,
52:57and around an elitist order.
52:59And at the same time,
53:01an attempt may to numb their conscience.
53:03Nobody is going to discuss to them
53:05about what is happening in Indravilli
53:07where a hundred-odd goons were massacred.
53:09Nobody is going to tell them
53:11why it is necessary to organize themselves
53:13and assert their authority,
53:15assert their power, assert their own democratic rights.
53:17Nobody is going to discuss this.
53:19Nobody is going to discuss today
53:21on Indian television or on Indian radio,
53:23and it is not going to be discussed tomorrow.
53:25Holistic use of communication
53:27is what I would like to see.
53:29That we should not differentiate
53:31communication, broadcasting, telecommunication
53:33from educational activity,
53:35health activity, agricultural extension,
53:37and so on.
53:39Every time we want to do a new thing,
53:41we put a new structure out there.
53:43Education people have nothing to do
53:45whatsoever with agriculture extension people
53:47or health people.
53:49Health has nothing to do
53:51with social problems,
53:53and broadcasting has nothing
53:55whatever to do with all this.
53:57Unless we mix all these
53:59and say that this is one way
54:01of people getting together
54:03with each other,
54:05getting in touch with each other,
54:07transferring information,
54:09unless we begin to do that,
54:11we are not going to make
54:13proper use of the new opportunities.
54:15On October 31st, 1984,
54:17Indira Gandhi was assassinated.
54:19Television provided the means
54:21for millions throughout the country
54:23to watch her funeral.
54:25Mrs. Gandhi had pledged
54:27to bring about a new social order
54:29through mass communication.
54:31She promised to use
54:33the new communication technologies
54:35to further India's development.
54:39Television is her legacy.
54:41Now, as a new political era begins,
54:43it remains to be seen
54:45whether the promise will be fulfilled.
55:43The material on this videocassette
55:45is protected by copyright.
55:47Any resemblance to actual people
55:49or events is purely coincidental.
56:13It is for private use only,
56:15and any other use,
56:17including copying, reproducing,
56:19or performance in public,
56:21in whole or in part,
56:23is prohibited by law.