Role of Media in Development Communication
Unit 2-2.4
Notes by Sis Patricia Michelle Mathias
The role of media was always based on the foundation of communication entailing the giving of a message or information. In the field of Development Communication too, Mass media was always considered as a tool to communicate, instruct, inform, conscientize and attract people to adopt a particular, product, project or habit. As rightly said by ‘Wilbur Schramm that the role of media in development was to inform, instruct and participate’. (Sharma and Uniyal, 2016) [1] This was initially the approach, especially during the Modernisation era. Media was considered to be an important tool to disseminate thoughts, ideas, ideology, values and products.
According to Paolo Mefalopulos the initial stages of development communication were rooted in the highly criticised Sender-Message-Channel-Receiver (SMCR) model which when implemented correctly could possibly attain behavioural change among people. “This model has been revised a number of times in attempts to strengthen the active role of the “receivers” by including their feedback in the communication model”. (Mefalopulos, 2008) [2]This was a uni-directional, top to down approach, which was the primary reason for its criticism.
While, Mass Media was considered to be an integral part of Development Communication, studies in the long run that focused on Participatory Communication focused on participatory media or community media. These were basically the Traditional media that is a part of every culture, or tradition and has existed for ages. For instance, in India puppetry, Folk theatre, Folk dances, Street plays etc, have existed for long. Each state has its own tradition and culture. And this Folk media in the initial days had its importance. This concept could also be well described as Entertainment-education. The media provided entertainment but carried a value or a social message.
Singhal and Rogers define ‘Entertainment-education’ as the process of purposely designing and implementing a media message to both entertain and educate, in order to increase audience members’ knowledge about an educational issue, create favourable attitudes, and change overt behaviour. Entertainment-education seeks to capitalize on the appeal of popular media to show individuals how they can live safer, healthier and happier lives. (Singhal and Rogers 1999)[3]
Thus, both traditional and Mass Media have been used over the years as aids in development. Mass Media like the Newspaper, Radio and Television played diverse roles in promoting development communication. Community Radio has been around for ages and is popular. Today, the internet and Social networking forums have become tools of bringing to us the voice of the voiceless.
However, while we discover the importance of media. We need to primarily understand, that media is one among the tools that become an agent to promote Development purposes. Initially, history is evidence, that in many places, the media experiment failed as people were sceptical to adapt to new technology and many countries were so poor that they did not even have electricity or infrastructure for the same. It took many years, for people to build the infrastructure and adapt to technology and media. However, the traditional media were always popular, despite the fact that today, many traditional forms are gradually dying out.
Dr Kumar (2011) in his research paper writes that “The availability of mass-media, media institutions in a country itself is no guarantee that media will be used by the people: (i) mass media are usually not available where they are needed the most for development purposes, (ii) whatever media are available and are received usually do not carry the kind of information that might aid development, (ii) the mass media content may not be relevant enough in a given situation to aid development and (iv)even if functionally relevant information is available, the infrastructure and input may not be available”.[4] The Scholar basically emphasises that for media is a tool that depends on other circumstances and facilities available and cannot be simply implemented.
Even Mass Media and New media has its own usage. They are the ‘means of development’ and not ‘development’ itself. For instance, The World Bank mentions this, “Media and information technologies are not the backbone of development communication. As a matter of fact, the value-added of development communication occurs before media and information and communication technologies (ICTs) are even considered. Of course, media and information technologies are part of development communication, and they are important and useful means to support development. Their application, however, comes at a later stage, and their impact is greatly affected by the communication work done in the research phase. Project managers should be wary of “one-size-fits-all” solutions that appear to solve all problems by using media products. Past experience indicates that unless such instruments are used in connection with other approaches and based on proper research, they seldom deliver the intended results. [5]
Having looked at the introduction, we will now look at the different types of Media that have contributed to development over the years.
Traditional Community Media and its role
Traditional Media has been popular over a period of years. Varied scholars in different parts of the world have addressed it with different terms like Citizen Media, Alternate Media, Ora Media, etc.
The concept of “Alternative Media” emerged in Latin America in the 1970’s to signify the grassroots media-community radios, murals, video documentaries- in opposition to the mainstream media. These came to symbolise a resistance platform in the fight against the military dictatorships and provided a space for the voice and visibility of oppressed groups under these regimes. (Tufte and Mefalopulos, 2009) [6] In Africa, F. Ogboajah spoke in the mid 1980’s of the “Oramedia” [7] (Tufte and Mefalopulos, 2009) which is symbolic of the traditional media of the place. In India, the traditional and cultural media of the place is also called Folk media which includes story telling, narratives, .
“Pajnik and Downing (2008, 7) provide a list of descriptors for ‘alternative media—namely, ‘grassroots media,’ ‘in-dependent media,’ ‘community media,’ ‘participatory media,’ ‘self-managed media,’ ‘autonomous media,’ and ‘tactical media. Rodríguez et al. also identified and added more terms like ‘social movements media, citizens’ media, radical media, autonomous media, French term ‘médias libres’ and Spanish term ‘medios populares’.[8] (Jeppesen, 2016)
Community media is oriented towards the development of community, especially the rural communities as compared to commercial media. “Community media offer means for public participation and for defending cultural diversity”.[9] They are media in which the community participates, as planners, producers, performers. They are the means of expression of the community, rather than for the community.’ (Berrigan, 1979:8) [10]
Nico Carpentier, Rico Lie and Jan Servaes (2002) say that Alternative media can take a (or several) opposite position(s) on these matters:
- Small-scaled and oriented towards specific communities, possibly disadvantaged groups, respecting their diversity
- Independent from state and market
- Horizontally structured, allowing for the facilitation of audience access and participation within the frame of democratization and multiplicity
- Carriers of non-dominant (possibly counter-hegemonic) discourses and representations, stressing the importance of self-representation[11]
We take a look at some of the varied traditional folk media of India.
Folk Theatre
Traditional folk media is basically a term used to address performing arts that has evolved amongst the people, communities and are cultural symbols of a given place. Folk media are embedded among the local customs, practices and traditions or lore.
Folk -Theatre is an intrinsic part of Folk media. Folk theatre can be of two types- One is based on the religious practices and mythological depiction, the other basically caters to entertainment, coming together, folklore stories and dramas with social messages, etc. Sheelita Das (2013) says that the above “two forms were mutually influential and though they are considered as Folk theatre traditions, some of them have all the attributes of a classical theatre. Most often the folk and traditional forms are mainly narrative or vocal, i.e. singing and recitation-based like Ramlila, Rasleela, Nautanki and Swang, without any complicated gestures or movements and elements of dance”. [12]
With its rich cultural heritage different states have different traditional folk theatres. Some of these include:
Nautanki: Nautanki from Uttar Pradesh is a popular theatrical form from the days of old. Initially only men performed as it was not culturally acceptable to see a woman perform on stage. However, today, women are actively involved in the performances. The stories include religious and mythologically tales, stories of contemporary heroes, folklore or purely entertaining scripts. These stories often provided social and value-based morals. In many places in India, these performances would occur for the whole night. The Nautanki required singers with strong and loud voices in order to reach out large crowds. The musicians too played an important role.
After the 1930’s it is said that with women entering the field, there was a stronger demand by the audience for more song and dance and over the period of years, it had become a bit provocative. The women would collect the amount donated by audiences and would even repeat certain popular dances on public demand. The music too has adapted popular songs and film music into its scores. [13] And if the songs or performance was liked, people would even urge to repeat the same. However, today it is gradually turning into an art form that has lost popularity due to films.
Raasleela: Raasleela is basically the depiction of Lord Krishna’s pranks, his love for Radha, and his playing the flute while Radha and her friends, the Gopis danced. Raas Leela’s origins are traced to the writing found in Bhagavata Purana and Gita Govinda. While, Raasleela’s origins is popularly traced to Mathura and Vrindavana in Uttar Pradesh, other dance forms in India too have Raasleela as an important part of their dance recitals. For instance, the ‘Manipuri’ Raasleela is a classical dance which is very famous as it is uniquely embedded in the state’s culture with beautiful costumes and graceful dance movements. Other classical dances like Bharatanatyam, Odissi, Kathak, Kuchipudi, etc have all ingrained the Raasleela in their drain forms.
Krishnattam from Kerala: Krishnattam folk theatre is another extension of RaasLeela in the South of India and is based primarily on the Gita Govinda. In the 17th century, King Manavedan of Calicut wrote Krishnageethi based on Gita Govinda and with artistic elements of Ashtapadiyattam, another dance form in Kerala.
It came into existence in the middle of 17th century A.D. under the patronage of King Manavada of Calicut. Krishnattam is a combination of eight plays usually performed for eight consecutive days based on Krishna’s life aspects from his birth to his death and ascension and the victory of good over evil. The plays are Avataram, Kaliamandana, Rasa krida, kamasavadha, Swayamvaram, Bana Yudham, Vivida Vadham, and Swargarohana. The female characters are played by males.The two other popular theatre forms of Kerala which are lesser known are Chakyar Koothu and Ottam Thulal.
Chakyar Koothu from Kerala: Chakyar Koothu is a traditional dance form particularly propagated by the Chakyar families. This dance form consists of a chief jester who vests himself like a bird with a funny look called Vidushak and narrates stories from different epics. During this performance he also enacts the various problems that plague society. In the ancient days, this art form was used as a means to describe the plight of the suffering people to the king when exploited by landlords. This dance form is performed by males. The Nangiar Koothu is a dance performed by females.
Ottamthullal from Kerala: The Ottam Thullal dance performance has the performers attire quite similar to that of a Kathakali dancer, but it is way simpler. This dance wass addressed by Pandit Jawahar Lal Nehru as ‘the poor man’s Kathakali’. The promoter of this art was Kunjan Nambiar who wrote the lyrics of this dance form in Malayalam, so that it is understood by common people. It is said that when Nambiar was humiliated by a Chakyar as he dozed off while performing the Chakyar Koothu, he decided to draw his vengeance by bringing up another art form. This was Ottam Thullal. The lyrics used satire to highlight socio-political equations and prejudices of the region. Today, women folk also participate in it. And at times, there are also group performances.
Bhand Pather from Kashmir: Bhand Pather is a theatrical folk media from Kashmir and is popular amidst the farming community. It is a unique combination of satire and wit expressed through dance, music and acting. The musical instruments used often include the surnai, nagaara and dhol.
Swang from Rohtak and Haathras: Swang is a music-based theatre that evolved amongst the people of Rohtak and Haathras in India. It is said that gradually dialogues were ingrained in the performance too over the period of years. The languages used in Swang are Haryanvi (Bangru) in Rohtak area and Brajbhasha in Haathras.
Bhavai from Gujrat: Bhavai is a traditional dance form of Gujarat that traces its origin to a Brahmin temple priest, Asait Thakar who was approached by the headman to save his daughter who was kidnapped. In his attempt in saving the Headman’s daughter belonging to another cast, he was compelled to dine with her on the demand made by the kidnapper to prove that he was actually her father. Having being outcasted by his fraternity, for dining with a lower caste, Asaita Thakar began the Bhavai performance in honour of Goddess Amba to make a living. It is also called Vesha or Swang. This theatre today uses a blend of Marwari, Hindi and Urdu languages and portrays people of all castes and religions, and does not pertain only to religious performance. It has become a means to come together and socialise. However it is always begun with a dedication to the Goddess. It also has humour embedded in it. The musical instruments include tabla, flute, sarangi, manjeera, pakhaawaj, Bhungal and many others. Today this is a dying art form and the government is trying to revive it.
Jatra from Bengal: Jatra in Hindi ‘Yatra’ basically means a journey or a procession. In India, Jatra originated in Bengal in and around the 16th century and is popular even today. It has its origins in the Krishna Bhakti movement which was promulgated by the mystic Chaitanya Mahaprabhu inspired by Raasleela and Gita Govinda. It was a musical drama which over the years developed and began being transformed with the use of dialogues, free verse speech, prose and dances. Initially it had mythological stories of Krishna but over the years, secular themes, ordinary stories, love tales, and political satire found their way into Jatra. During the freedom struggle, Jatra became a tool of political satire and a means to enlighten the people and protest against the unjust colonialization and oppression by authorities. Jatra also began portraying the nonviolent and anti-untouchability ideals of Gandhiji in its plays. Jatra was used by intellectuals to promote Communist thoughts and ideologies, including those of Lenin.
Kokborok drama from Tripura: The Kokborok drama is popular among the Kokborak speaking people of Tripura. This drama is an extension of Jatra and has its origins in Jatra performers who travelled to the Tripura region of the Kokborok speaking people. It was enjoyed in open-air theatres. In the later years, kokborok drama began using modern music, themes and lights. It is said that despite the lack of Government interest, Kokborok drama has been kept alive by the people of the place through state level and other contests.
Maach from Madhya Pradesh: ‘Maach’ a derivation from the word ‘Manch’ in hindi means a stage or a dais. It is a folk theatre of Madhya Pradesh that seems to have originated from Rajasthan’s theatre form called Khyal Theatre. Maach is said to be introduced by Gopalji Guru who had also authored many plays. Manorama Sharma, in the book ‘Musical Heritage of India’ writes that Madhya Pradesh and Chattisgarh were culturally rich with a variety of folk dramas, folk plays, folk-tales and folklores which were sources of entertainment to get rid of the fatigue of hard-work in the fields or while carrying out agricultural operations. These were also performed at various festivals in order to preserve the customs and traditions. [14]
It is a sung folk theatre that has a semi sacred character, blending religious and secular themes within it. Many of the themes are historical, borrowing from local legends and tales of warriors and rulers but they also borrow from the Puranas and the Hindu epics of Mahabharata and Ramayana. The tales of Raja Gopichand, Prahlad, Nala and Damayanti and the Malwan heroes Tejaji and Kedar Singh often feature in these plays. While they act as storehouses of local history and heritage, in recent years Maach performances have also focused on contemporary issues such as dacoity, literacy and landless labour.[15] Today, there are varied themes used in the plays.
Tamaasha from Maharashtra: Lavani is a popular dance format embedded in a Tamaasha. The women dance Lavanis which are extremely popular and sometime also considered semi-erotic. There are two types of Tamaasha formats—one that includes a Song Dance troupe and other that includes a folk-dance drama. Theatre has always been popular in Maharashtra. Tamaasha is a traditional folk theatre form which was very popular in Maharashtra. It is said to have evolved from other folk forms such as Gondhal, Jagran and Kirtan.
The word “Tamaasha’ means fun, play and entertainment was itself handed down by the Mughals. The lead in Tamaasha is the female actress known as the ‘Murki’ who through her dance, footwork and gestures portrays all emotions. In the initial days, it was a means of entertaining the Royal hierarchy. Tamaasha is associated with the Mangs and Mahar communities from Maharashtra. These were considered as the socially outcast- lower caste groups. But these groups had a prominence during the rule of Shivaji Maharaj as he also is said to have a platoon of Mahars amongst his soldiers. However, when it came to the dance form, it was during the rule of Peshawas like Bajirao II forward that the Tamaasha came into prominence as, he promoted them. However, the upper castes and Brahmins spurned the dance due to its semi-erotic elements. Surprisingly though the dance form did attract Brahmins and three Brahmins contributed a lot to the growth of Tamaasha with their lyrics, namely Ram Joshi, Anant Fandi and Prabhakar. Ram Joshi was ostracised by his community but became rich with the newly adopted profession and his troupe.
In the long run, the female dance moves were also done by boys who were called ‘nachya porya’. Gradually, even Prostitutes began learning this dance for to attract courtiers. While it gained prominence during the rule of Peshawas, during the British rule it lost its prominence. Many Landlords became sponsors as a result, only the erotic element gained prominence. Later on it was again revived through another faous Brahmin named Patthe Bapu Rao and his consort Pawala, a woman from the Mahar community. During the later stage, there was again a change and Tamaasha was also made into a prpoganda weapon with satirist who began transforming the sexy humour in Tamaasha into political stings and social reformers, who strived to remove vulgarity from the performance. However, in most cases, it is still primarily used among the ordinary folk for entertainment despite many curbs and rules during the Lavani or Tamaasha performances.[16]
Bhaona from Assam: Bhaona folk theatre is a presentation or the staging of the ‘Ankiya Naat’ of Assam wherein Ankiya means ‘one act and the word ‘naat’ means Play. There are singers called ‘Gaayan’ and instrumentalists called “Bayaana’ along with the actors. There is a chief Narrator who is called the Sutradhar who explains the story with the orchestra.
Bhaona was the creative idea of Srimanta Sankardeva (1449-1568). The stories are mostly based on Mythology and fiction and always deals with the fight between evil and good, concluding with the victory of good over evil. In Bhaona, cultural glimpses of Assam, Bengal Orissa, Mathura and Brindavan can be seen. Today, much of Bhana is performed in the Assamese language.
Therukoothu from Tamil Nadu: Therukoothu art form from the State of Tamil Nadu in India is a portmanteau of two words, ‘Theru which means Street’ and ‘Koothu’ which means ‘play’. In this art form, initially , the actor were all males and males themselves acted as females for the female roles. However, today, a few women also are involved. There are no mikes used as this is a street play and the actors have powerful voices. “The dress of the artists is a complex lot of wide colourful skirts, sparkling shoulder plates and elaborate wide head-dress, and of course thick bright heavy makeup”[17] writes T.N Antony Raj. This art form is also gradually dying.
The stories enacted are mostly Mythological with themes drawn from the Mahabharata. “Some popular items on the Therukoothu repertoires include Harichandiran (Story of King Harischandra who never told an untruth), Draupadi Vastraparanam (Disrobing of Draupathy, the wife of the Pandavas), Karna Motcham (Defeat of Karna, the half-brother of Pandavas), Prahalada Charithram (Story of Prahalda), Bagiratha Prayathanam (Bagiratha’s efforts to bring River Ganges to Earth), etc”. [18]
Dashavatar from Goa and Konkan regions of South Maharashtra: Dashavatar is a portmanteau of two words Dash which means ten and avatar means form. Therefore, Dashavatar depicts the ten incarnations of Lord Vishnu in the form of Matsya (fish), Kurma (tortoise), Varaha (boar), Narsimha (lion-man), Vaman (dwarf), Parashuram, Rama, Krishna (or Balram), Buddha and Kalki. It is over 800 years old and is popular in the Konkan region of South Maharashtra and Goa. It is especially popular in places like Sawantwadi, Kudal, Malvan, Vengurla, Kankavli and Goa. The Dashavatar performers use heavy make-up, costumes and masks of wood and paper mache. The performance is often done by farmers and labourers. The female roles are enacted by men. It was an occasion where people came together to watch the same. There are many touring companies who perform Dashavatar during the popular festivals and are hired by Temple authorities for the same.
Yakshagaana from Karnataka: Yakshgana is a portmanteau of two words, ‘yaksh meaning Demi-God, and ‘gana meaning song’. Yakshagaana is a 16th century, traditional theatre form of Karnataka, based on narratives drawn from mythological stories of Ramayana, Mahabharata and Bhagavata Purana. It is said to have originated somewhere between the 11th to 16th century, during the Vaishnav Bhakti movement and was later popularised by a Sage named Narahari Thirtha who started Dashavathara performances in the Karnataka region of Udupi.It is very popular in Karnataka and is performed in both the languages of Kannada and Tulu.
Yakshagana performers use heavy make-up and the audience easily recognises the roles not just through the roles, but also the make-up. The musicians are called ‘Himmela’. It is considered to have similar features to that of Kathakali dance form of Kerala, Dashavatar from Goa and Southern Maharashtra and TheruKoothu street play of Tamil Nadu. It sees to have originated in places like Mysore in Karnataka and Tanjavur and Madurai in Tamil Nadu. The males portray all roles , including those of women. It is usually performed in Temple courtyards.
Unlike the yester years, today Yakshagana is commercialised and varied themes have been introduced along with the modern day music in many places. It is also performed now on many platforms as an important art form of India.
Puppet art forms in India
The root of the word puppetry is said to have been derived from the word ‘Pupa’ which meant a doll. In India, the puppets are addresses as Putlis or for that matter in the south with terms such as Bomma or Gombe which means dolls. While the origins of Puppetry ae traced to ancient Egypt, Puppetry in India was popular from the 2nd Century where “the Tamil poet Tiruvalluvar mentioned about `marionettes moved by strings` in his compositions. The mention of the `pavai koothu` in the Tamil epic Silappadhikareita by Ilango Adigal is also very significant regarding the history of puppetry.”
Puppetry in India can be clubbed under four types. Namely,
• String Puppets
• Shadow Puppets
• Rod Puppets
• Glove Puppets
String Puppets
String Puppets basically mean Puppet shows organised with the help of puppet with Strings that are wound around the puppeteers’ hand. The string is attached both to the puppeteers hands and different parts of a puppets body. The puppeteer deftly moves the strings to show the movement and the action of Puppets hands, body or feet. The word popularly used in the northern belt of India for the string puppets is ‘Katputli’.
v Kathputli puppetry from Rajasthan: String Puppets are addressed differently in different parts of India. In Rajasthan, the puppets are called ‘Kathputlis and are carved from a singe piece of wood and dressed in colourful attires of Rajasthan, complete with head gears for men and a Ghoongat ( a cloth that covers a woman’s head.
v Kundhei puppetry from Orissa: The puppets from Orissa are elaborately decked with long costumes which are similar to the Jatra art form performers and are carved on wood. These are attached to a wooden triangular shaped structure in the hands of a puppeteer with strings and are deftly manipulated by the puppeteer to show the movement of the Puppets to the music of Orissa.
v Gombeyatta puppetry from Karnataka: Gombeyatta are the string puppets of Karnataka and are styled and dressed exactly like the Yakshagana dresses. The puppet figurines are large and the puppets are handled by two or three puppeteers.
v Bommalattam puppetry from Tamil Nadu: It is said that the Mandikar community of Mahrashtra arrived in Thanjavur in the 18th century and remained there performing the Bommalattam. Today the art form also uses shadow play. Bommalattam puppets were initially made of leather and are held to the white screen using bamboo rods. The dresses defined the character. The stories are mostly mythological based on Ramayana, story of Nallathangal, and the wedding of god Murugan and the goddess Valli. A lady sits besides the puppet show and plays the harmonium and repeats the dialogues of the character telling the story. Today, some citizens are reviving this dying art form by using Bommalattam to teach lessons and poetry.
v Nool Pavakoothu from Kerala: String puppetry from kerala is known as Nool Pavakoothu. The carefully crafted articulated joints of the nool pavakoothu puppets permitted quite natural movements of the marionettes’ heads, shoulders, elbows, wrists and knees. The protectors and owners of these dolls belonged to the royal families, while the puppeteers and the musicians belonged to the Nair community. Songs alternated with dialogues in the local language, Malayalam.
Today the nool pavakoothu performances have all but disappeared but there are still forty-five puppets kept safely in the temple of Tripunithura.
Shadow Puppets
Shadow puppets are often flat in structure and are held against a white cloth with a strong source of light at the back to help create a shadow.
v Tholu Bommalata puppetry from Andhra Pradesh: ‘Tholu Bommalata’ basically means puppets made of Leather. The word ‘tholu’ is leather in Telugu. These puppets are large in size, sometimes the size of a human, and colourful to look at. Each puppet has to be held by an individual puppeteer as these are large in size with the help of sticks. The puppeteers also use puppets of birds and animals to make the puppet show creative. The puppeteers, have a team of musicians that play along as they sing and make the puppets move to depict a story from the Ramayana, Mahabharata and Puranas.
v Ravanachhaya puppetry from Orissa: The word Ravanachhaya is a portmanteau of two words ‘Ravan’ (Ravana the king who abducted Rama’s wife, Sita) and ‘Chhaya’ (shadow). It literally means Ravan’s Shadow. This shadow play has puppets carved flat on leather, about 25 cms in height and in one piece. These are not transparent or translucent. Multiple puppets held by a rod are placed around the puppeteers who hold them up as the story proceeds ahead. The puppets are self- coloured and throw a shadow, but its their unique carving that defines the individual it represents. The stories are from Ramayana, from the version of Vichitra Ramayan written in Odia by Vishwanath Khuntia.
v Tholpavakoothu puppetry from Kerala: Tholpavakoothu is a portmanteau of three words that include Thol, Pava and Koothu; wherein Thol means leather, Pava means a doll and Koothu mean a play. Tholpavakoothu is a shadow puppetry of Kerala where the puppets are made from leather that was made from deer skins and painted with vegetable oils. They are held by sticking them to rods. However, today, Goat skin is used for the same. It was a popular art in Palakkad, Thrissur and Malappuram districts of Kerala, however, today it is going extinct with newer means of entertainment media. Tholpavakoothu is dedicated to Goddess Bhadrakali who according to legend was unable to witness the killing of Ravana, the ten-headed King as she was fighting another demon named ‘Darika’, and asked for Tholpavakoothu performance. It is usually performed in temple premises in specially built theatres called koothumadams with her idol placed on a pedestal close to the performance.
At times, these performances go on for numerous days as they stage the entire Kamba Ramayana with around 40 puppeteers and almost 180 to 200 puppets. The head puppeteer is well versed with Kamba Ramayana and has an expertise in this field as well as in singing.
Rod Puppets
Rod puppets are an extension of glove-puppets, but often much larger and supported and manipulated by rods from below. This form of puppetry now is found mostly in West Bengal and Orissa.
v Putul Nautch puppetry from West Bengal: The word Putul means ‘doll’ and Nautch means ‘dance’. Putul Nautch in West Bengal symbolises Puppet dance. Danger Putul Nautch indicates Rod Puppets; Bene or Beni Putul Nautch indicates Glove Puppets and Taar or Shuto Putul Nautch indicates string puppets. Usually farmers, landless labourers, etc form this troupe travelling during winter.
The puppets differ in size and are mostly carved from wood and clay. They are beautiful to see, creative and very colourful. While initially the stories were mythological, today the puppets are used to communicate different stories. The Danger Rod Puppets are usually big in size.
v Kathi Kandhe puppetry from Orissa: Rod puppetry in Orissa is known as Kathi Kandhe. The puppets are smaller in size as compared to Bengal and are used to depict mythological stories or stories with social themes with the help of songs and music. The puppets used today are very colourful and bright. Even animal puppets are made. Sometimes impromptu dialogues may be used in rare occurences. However, it is mostly sung. The Singing is a blend of Folk and Classical Oriya tunes.
v Yampuri puppetry from Bihar: The traditional Rod puppet of Bihar is made of wood and is known as ‘Yampuri’. In Hindu Mythology, Yamraj is the God who brings death. ‘Yampuri’ literally means the ‘God of death’. While it seems to have originated in Uttar Pradesh, today it is mostly found in Bihar. Unlike Bengal and Orissa, Yampuri puppets are in one piece. Curtains are used to give better looks. The puppets are colourful and are used to narrate stories of Yamraj, Chitragupta – the accountant of human deeds and a dead soul. The ultimate message is to create a fear of one’s wrong doings or evil deeds, so ac to encourage people to choose the right path in one’s life.
Glove Puppets
Glove puppets are basically puppets that are manipulated by using the palm of the hand and fingers. The puppets are beautifully dressed and the garments are generally long so, as to cover the hand while the performance is on. The puppeteer deftly uses his fingers to balance the head and the hands of the puppet to show movement. Glove puppets have always been a popular medium. Even today, the younger kids are often taught using glove puppet techniques by teachers, as unlike before, today, glove puppets representing different animals and birds are easily available.
v Sakhi Kandhei Nata puppetry from Orissa: Also popular as the Kundhei nach, the Glove puppets of Orissa are made of three wooden pieces with a long flowing costume. The story is depicted with the assistance of music played on a dholak. The dialogue delivery is creative, and the puppeteer makes the puppet move to the rhythm and the beat of the musical instrument, (often a dholak) to create a dramatic ambience.
v Pavakoothu glove puppetry from Kerala: Kerala’s traditional glove puppetry is called Pavakoothu which came into existence around the 18th century.The height of this puppet could from one to two feet. These puppets are often dressed in the Kathakali attire and in such cases it is popularly known as ‘Pavakathakali’ which flourished in Ernakulum around the 20th century around the temple of Tripunithura as it showcases mythological stories of deities and if often shown during religious festivals.
Many of these Indian arts and dances are today facing an extinction due to Mass media and modern day dances ruling the rooster. The Government and other Cultural Institutions are trying to preserve the culture of these traditions. Many teachers, in modern day schools are also using puppets to teach children, especially the small ones. However, the art is gradually dying. While, certain interior villages the art still lives, but that too is going through a gradual extinction. Many educated citizens are also deliberately contributing their mite by using or wearing traditional attire. However, these numbers are few.
Current day Street Theatre
It is said that the current day street Theatre rose in Kolkata amidst the need to focus and showcase the struggle of the people to society. It had a leftist inclination and is often considered Marxist inspired. Bijon Bhattacharya, the founder of the Indian People’s Theatre Association staged the first street play ‘Nibanna’ to highlight the exploitation of farmers by the Bengali Landlord’s. It is said that the murder of IPTA activist Safdar Hashmi, during a strret Play in Delhi in 1989, gave the Street theatre a wider recognition. [19]
“Archit Seth, in his article, ‘History of Street Plays in India- an ongoing Social Movement’ writes that “the reason of origin of street theatre in India would be its utility as a political responsiveness for the poor mass. Street plays based on issues and stories directly concerned with the people such as hunger, famine, poetry, communal violence, feudal and colonial exploitation created impact on the society deeply divided by class, caste and religion through these common grave concerning issues.”[20]
Street Plays today are very common and are also popular amongst college students. The topics that are depicted are often meant to create social awareness and conscientize people. Often activists, NGO’s and college students drennn in simple Kurta pajamas and showcase the skits on streets, markets or villages creating awareness on issues like Dowry, Girl child education, Swacch Bharat Abhiyaan, Employment, Sex discrimination, Discriminatory inheritance laws, Health and Hygiene, Sanitisation, Aids Awareness, etc,.
Street Plays continue to be popular, especially amongst the youth. They are the easiest and the cheapest means to spread a message amongst the people of a community.
Mass Communication and its role in Development Communication in India
Community communicators use media technologies to ‘trigger’ different types of communication processes—they intervene to repopulate the public sphere, to activate interaction between local government officials and their constituencies, or to trigger performative communication happenings. (Rodríguez et al. 2014, 159)[21]
Mass Media has always been used as a tool in Development Communication to propogate innovations, hygienic practices, socially relevant issues, medical services like Polio vaccination, importance of girl-child education, etc,.
Kaul (2011) states that the use of media in development can be treated at two levels: mass media, often using television, radio, and print media in campaigns aimed at inducing the adoption of innovations or other changes in behaviours; and community media, mainly using radio and other folk expressions such as theatre, concerned with giving voice and representation to the various segments of local communities. [22] We have already looked at Community Media, we now look at the role of Electronic media and New Media.
We now take a look at the different types of Mass Media that contributed to the cause of Development.
Print Media
In India, the Print Media and the Newspapers have played a major role right from the freedom struggle to the cause of Development. Post- Independence, especially during the five year plans prepared by the Government, it was the newspapers that gave importance to several issues and themes. The newspapers catered to a variety of topics highlighting the plight of the people in certain areas and also providing success stories. The Print media that consisted of National, Regional and Vernacular papers, covered a variety of topics like farming, agricultural practices and innovations, lack of infrastructure in the villages, weather, market prices etc,.
v Example 1: Udayavani is a popular newspaper in Karnataka. A popular experiment initiated by it in the 80’s was really remarkable and worth a mention in the history of the contribution of Print media to Development Communication. From 1981 to 1984, Udayavani sought out ten villages in Dakshina Kannada District of Karnataka who qualified as really backward and gave them massive coverage by highlighting their plight through articles, stories, cover page stories, photo features, complaint columns, etc. In the second year, the same newspaper encouraged the people to participate in their own development process through publishing of success stories and creating an awareness of community participation and independent problem solving approach ( Daitola and Sanjay, 1990).
v Example 2: P Sainath another stalwart journalist who worked with the newspaper ‘the Hindu’ contributed massively to Rural journalism, travelling vastly and bringing news from remote corners of India, highlighting their plight, sad stories and also how certain foreign adapted ventures of development had actually caused damage. His book, ‘Everybody loves a good drought’ is a witness to these stories.
Radio
Radio is a media that is cheap and easily understandable to both the literates and illiterates. Hence, it also turned out to be in the long run. A radio in the initial days was a cheaper option, it was portable, especially with the coming of the battery-operated radios. It was also easily available to people from the lower strata. Radio was thus used to promote various agricultural practices, health practices, conscientizing people about family planning, etc,.
Radio Farm Forums
'Radio Farm Forums' was the first major experiment launched on February 19, 1956 by the Pune All India Radio station with aid from UNESCO in the use of radio for rural development that covered 156 villages. It was a 30-minute programme done twice a week with focus on agriculture and rural development issues.
However, the forum could only reach out with information dissemination and action in places where there was a possibility of a Radio station. However, the villages that did not have a Radio Forum and were neither exposed to radio broadcasts, lagged behind considerably in awareness and action (Neurath, 1962).
There was another initiative of the Development Broadcast Unit of the All India Radio station at Kota, founded by the Asia-Pacific Institute for Broadcast Development (AlBD) and the Ryerson International Development Centre, Canada. These were programmes of a 20-minute duration focusing on health issues, hygiene, sanitation, children’s education and problems of rural people which were made by involving the people of the place and in their respective language. The programmes were successful as they enthralled the rural communities with films, talks and community dramas. The radio station also received letters requesting help or advice.
Community Radio
The Government of India having recognised the potential of Radio Programmes for specific communities granted permission to well establish educational institutions to set up Community Radio Stations in December 2002. Furthermore, “The Government subsequently, liberalised the policy guidelines on Community Radio in December 2006 by bringing in “Non-Profit” organisations like civil society and voluntary organisations etc. under its ambit in addition to the educational institutions.”[23]
v The first community radio in India was launched in Chitradurga, Karnataka in 1998 with programmes being broadcasted in the local language involving local people and with an emphasis on health and family welfare, women's empowerment, micro-credit, watershed management, rural development and non-formal education.
v In the village of Daltangunj in Bihar, the villagers who were mostly farmers, would travel in the winters to work in the brick kilns in the neighbouring villages. An organisation with a community radio took up this issue and in 2006, broadcasted a number of programmes on labour exploitation and self -employment schemes by the government in the months of November and December. Hearing this programme a few villagers contacted the Radio station to find out details. There was a transformation and people merited from the scheme leading to a drop in migration the village.
Sandra Jeppesen states that “whereas the international development model of communication was a top-down colonial model, often led by NGOs in the Global North, the community and citizen radio model of communication is a bottom-up anti-colonial model led by members of the community who challenge dominant global media forms and political messages by developing local community-led media power”. [24]
Television
Satellite Instructional Television Experiment (SITE)
The Government after having being initially sceptical about Television usage, in a bid to introduce development programmes, introduced Television for the purpose of Education in Delhi on 15th September 1959 with aid from UNESCO. In its initial stages, it was only accessible to seven places and the television footage was in Black and white. “The programmes were broadcasted twice a week, for an hour a day, on topics such as community health, citizens’ duties and rights, and traffic and road sense. ‘The beginning was simple with a make shift studio, a low power transmitter and only 21 community television sets’[25]. This was the humble beginning of Doordarshan. All India Radio provided the engineering and programme professionals. In 1961 the broadcasts were expanded to include a school educational television project.” [26]
School television (STV) was launched in October 1961 as an organised, systematic and sequential support to formal school instruction. Teachers appreciated STV as a tool for teaching and presentation of content (Kumar, 2000). The study area in this field did show children who watched these lessons with better results. Here are a few examples of the study project.
v Secondary School television project (1961)
This project started in October 1961 on an experimental basis and was designed for secondary school students of Delhi in order to improve the standard of teaching in view of shortage of laboratories, space, equipment and dearth of qualified teachers in Delhi. The lectures for Physics, Chemistry, English and Hindi were syllabus-based and were telecasted in school hours as a part and parcel of school activities. According to Paul (1968) ‘by and large, the television schools did somewhat better in the test then did the non-television schools’.[27]
v Krishi Darshan Project (1966) by Delhi Agriculture Television (DATV)
Krishi Darshan was a project initiated on January 26, 1966 to aid the farmers. The programme was meant to communicate agricultural information to the farmers on experimental basis for the 80 selected villages of Union territory of Delhi through Community viewing of television and further discussions among themselves. The Experiment I said to have been successful with farmers benefitting from the information regarding agricultural practices. (IGNOU, 2000) [28]
It took many years to extend Television services to Mumbai in 1972 (Then called Bombay) from whence stations were also opened in Srinagar and Amritsar (1973), and Calcutta, Madras and Lucknow in 1975.
The Government of India under the leadership of Jawaharlal Nehru permitted the noble initiative of Space Research under the Department of Aromic Energy. in tandem with Vikram Sarabhai in the year 1962. Vikram Sarabhai, became the main face of the ISRO with the vision that Science had to benefit the common man.
In his words, “There are some who question the relevance of space activities in a developing nation. To us, there is no ambiguity of purpose. We do not have the fantasy of competing with the economically advanced nations in the exploration of the Moon or the planets or manned space-flight. But we are convinced that if we are to play a meaningful role nationally, and in the community of nations, we must be second to none in the application of advanced technologies to the real problems of man and society, which we find in our country. And we should note that the application of sophisticated technologies and methods of analysis to our problems is not to be confused with embarking on grandiose schemes, whose primary impact is for show rather than for progress measured in hard economic and social terms.”- Vikram Sarabhai
The Indian National Committee for Space Research (INCOSPAR) was thus established in the long run by the year 1963. By the year 1975, The Satellite Instructional Television Experiment was done, which brought television programmes to the people in 2400 villages. The satellite used in this venture was the ATS-6 with the assistance of USA and institutes like NASA, UNDP, ITU and UNESCO. The First Indian Satellite launched was Aryabhata on April 19, 1975 by the Soviet Union. There was no turning back from here on.
However, due to work overload, television services were separated from All India Radio in 1976 and each of them had separate entities with Television becoming the National Broadcaster. The programmes consisted of topics such as agricultural modernization through HYV seeds, improved farming techniques and management, animal husbandry, health, hygiene and sanitation, family planning, nutrition, social and educational improvement of women and children, better teaching and learning techniques were telecast via satellite to community television sets.[29] There were projects like the Kheda Communication project that was initiated in Kheda, Gujarat and another called the Jhabua Development Project at a much later time.
v Kheda Communication Project:
The Kheda project began in 1975 and continued till 1987 with programmes in Charotari, a dialect of Gujarat and were enacted with the help of villagers themselves. Popular serials included Chatur Mota on dowry and widow remarriage and the weekend series for women, like Dadi ma Ni baton (wise women’s talks), Hun Ne Mara Ae (I and my husband) and Jagi Ni Jus To (When I wake up and see). The focus of Kheda Communication Project was:
· Exposing the oppression and bondages in the present social and economic system in such a way as to heighten understanding.
· Mobilizing the community and the individual himself to break away from these bondages.
· Promoting self-reliance among the individuals and the community.[30]
Many of these programmes had a very short life span. But they did serve the purpose of development at least for some time.
Other main television projects were:
v UGC-Higher Education Television Project (HETV) (1984)
University Grants Commission (UGC) in collaboration with INSAT started the TV project called the ‘Country wide Classroom’ on August 15, 1984 in order to reach out to University students with Educational programmes. Under this programme, a one-hour programme in English on a variety of subjects was presented. It was beneficial to students and teachers.
v IGNOU (Indira Gandhi National Open University)-Doordarshan Telecast (1991)
“In the mid-1980s, Rajiv Gandhi the then prime minister who had envisaged an open university, requisitioned the services of educationist G Rama Reddy who had immense experience with correspondence courses in Andhra Pradesh in the 1960s. The professor became the founder vice-chancellor of IGNOU when the university was set up through an Act of Parliament in 1985.”[31]
The IGNOU- Doordarshan project initiated in May 1991, was mainly for ‘distance learners’. It was started with an aim to provide tele-counselling to students of open universities in remote areas. These programmes became popular and hence the broadcast timing was increased. [32]
v Gyan-Darshan Educational Channel (2000)
“The evaluation revealed that though success came in terms of hardware and technical operations and women took keen interest in health, hygiene and nutritional broadcast; science teaching was difficult and complex for the village children. The learning was also made complicated as there was no post-telecast discussion in majority of schools. It was also revealed that several social and cultural barriers act as impediment in the path of social change mediated through satellite television broadcast.” (Bhaskaran, 1986).
Participatory Videos (PV)
Today, with the arrival of new media and social networking forums that permit an instant coverage or uploading of the video with the help of high-end smartphones, the scenario has drastically changed. Participatory video concept began initially to highlight the plight of the people by making a video of theirs and then garnering the attention of the authorities and the civil society as well as the people around by showcasing the video. Unlike Documentary videos that sometimes capture stories to showcase them to the world, a participatory Video is made to garner attention to a community and the issues faced by them.
R. Arun Kumar and P.Govindaraju say that “as a catalyst PV works as a catalyst for groups to develop the power to interact and influence those bodies and institutions with power over. Video breaks the illiteracy barrier and facilitates the access to the institutional and political framework. The objectives of participatory video are to facilitate empowerment, community self-sufficiency, and communication.”.[34]
R. Arun Kumar and P.Govindaraju in their study mention two examples- Don Snowden and the VKP project. In the case of Don Snowden, he teamed up with filmmaker Colin Low to showcase the problems of a small fishing community in Fogo Island, Newfoundland. The video made by them helped the authorities initiate measures to help the community.
v In another case, a group of Community professionals from different parts of Tamil Nadu filmed success stories of differently abled people from a village who managed to find better livelihoods due to the Tamil Nadu Empowerment and Poverty Reduction Projects called Vaazhnthu Kaattuvom Project. This is a World Bank funded Project. This filming was a result of a five- day Participatory workshop and the video became a source of inspiration.
New Media and its varied benefits today
Social Networking forums
Today, Participatory videos have become a fad as one can document or showcase the plight of communities by capturing the footage, editing it easily on their smartphones or other digital gadgets. Social Movements have been co-ordinated on Facebook and Twitter.
YouTube has turned into a huge boon, with people putting up videos on a variety of subjects including culture, farming, clothing, Do-It-Yourself videos, gardening, farming etc,. This also have turned into a boon for Participatory activities.
For instance, Sandra writes that “The content of DIY media focuses predominantly on the self-representation of individuals and sometimes loose-knit groups, such as Riot Grrrls, emphasizing subcultural identities based on race, class, gender and/or sexuality as articulated with music and politics or other cultural forms. On the other hand, community and citizen media will produce content that reflects events or issues in the community, often from an anti-colonial third-world perspective.” [35]
E Choupals
The concept of E-choupal has benefitted Farmers in India. It is told that when S. Sivakumar, chief executive of its agri-business, approached Yogesh Chander Deveshwar, chairman of ITC, with a unique idea that would include leveraging Information Technology to cluster value chain participants, especially farmers, he agreed. Instead of Funding Rs 50 Lakhs as requested by Sivakumar to carry out this experiment among Soya Farmers in Madhya Pradesh, he was provided with Rs 10 Crore. There was no turning back.[36]
The internet Kiosks are manned by farmers themselves and the information about crops, risks, prices, scientific practices are all made available online in the local language. Farmers are prevented from being cheated in the market by middle men and other bullies through this virtual process that benefits them.
ITC's e-choupal network covers over 35000 villages, reaching out to 4 million farmers with over 6100 kiosks in Andhra Pradesh Haryana, Karnataka, Kerala, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Rajasthan, Tamil Nadu, Uttar Pradesh, and Uttarakhand for crops like soyabean, coffee, wheat, rice, pulses and even shrimp. “Partnering ITC in the network are 37 companies, NGOs and state governments, together creating a new ecosystem for villages and establishing a direct link between what consumers eat and what farmers grow”.[37]
There were infrastructural hassles, including connectivity and bandwidth these are being worked upon and some have already been rectified.
Conclusion
We had tried to cover a large amount of community media initiatives in India. However, it is almost next to impossible, t cover -up initiatives of all states as India has an extremely large and rich cultural heritage. But, we have grown, developed and blossomed! As a country, we do face many loop-holes in Development pojects, But we need to launch our journey one -step-at-a-time to reach our goal. It is an insanely, humongous task for any government given the size of our nation and its cultural heritage. But where there is a will, one finds a way.
[1] Ashish Sharma & Deepak Uniyal, 2016, Development Communication: Role of Mass Media and its Approach, Imperial Jounral of Interdisciplinary Research (IJIR) Vol 2, Issue- 11, ISSN: 2454-1362, http:www.onlinejounral.in
[2] Paolo Mefalopulos, Development Communication Sourcebook-Broadening the Boundaries of Communication, 2008, The International Bank for Reconstruction and Development/The World Bank, DOI: 10.1596/978-0-8213-7522-8, https://openknowledge.worldbank.org/handle/10986/6439
[3] Development Communication: Reframing the Role of the Media, 2009, pg 33, Edited by Thomas L. McPhail, Blackwell Publishing Ltd. ISBN: 978-1-405-18795-4, https://comunepersoal.files.wordpress.com/2011/02/development-communication_-reframing-the-role-of-the-media-thomas-l-mcphail.pdf
[4] Dr Rajesh Kumar, 2011, Development communication: A purposive communication with social conscience- An Indian perspective, Global Media Journal –Indian Edition, December 2011, Vol. 2/Winter Issue, ISSN No.2ISSN 2249-5835, https://www.caluniv.ac.in/academic/department/JMC/Study/DC-Purposive.pdf
[5]https://openknowledge.worldbank.org/bitstream/handle/10986/6439/446360Dev0Comm1ns0handbook01PUBLIC1.pdf?sequence=1
[6] Tufte Thomas and Mefalopulos, Paolo, 2009, Participatory communication : a practical guide (English), pg 10 World Bank working paper ; no. 170 Washington, D.C. : World Bank Group. http://documents.worldbank.org/curated/en/682081468166154717/Participatory-communication-a-practical-guide
[7] Tufte Thomas and Mefalopulos, Paolo, 2009, Participatory communication : a practical guide (English), pg 10 World Bank working paper ; no. 170 Washington, D.C. : World Bank Group. http://documents.worldbank.org/curated/en/682081468166154717/Participatory-communication-a-practical-guide
[8] Jeppesen, Sandra (2016). Understanding Alternative Media Power: Mapping Content & Practice to Theory, Ideology, and Political Action, Democratic Communiqué, vol. 27. 2015/2016 pp. 54–77
[9] Sanjay Kumar Verma, Role of Community Media in Building and Strengthening Communities—A Case in Indian Cooperatives, Jr. Editor, National Cooperative Union of India www.ncui.net.in
[10] Nico Carpentier , Rico Lie & Jan Servaes, 2002, Making Community Media Work, In: Servaes, J. (ed.), Approaches to Development Communication, Paris: UNESCO.
[11] Nico Carpentier , Rico Lie & Jan Servaes, 2002, Making Community Media Work, In: Servaes, J. (ed.), Approaches to Development Communication, Paris: UNESCO.
[12] Sheelita Das, Folk Theatre-Its Relevance In Development Communication In India, December 2013, Commentary-8, Global Media Journal-Indian Edition, Winter Issue, V ol.4.No.2, ISSN 2249-5835, www.caluniv.ac.in
[13] edited by James R. Brandon, Martin Banham, The Cambridge Guide to Asian Theatre, 1997, pg 99, Cambridge University Press,
[14] Manorama Sharma, Musical Heritage of India, 2007, pg 117, APH publishing.
[15] ‘Raja Risalu’ play to be staged on Jan 14, 10 January 2019, The pioneer, https://www.dailypioneer.com/2019/state-editions/---raja-risalu----play-to-be-staged-on-jan-14.html , Retrieved: 17 September 2020
[16] Balwant Gargi, Yakshagana Cultural Magazine, Tamasha folk theatre of India by Balwant Gargi, https://yakshagana.com/tamasha-folk-theater-of-india-by-balwant-gargi/
[17] T.N Antony Raj, Theru Koothu – The dying folk art of Tamilnadu, India, 3 July, 2012, https://tvaraj.com/2012/07/03/theru-koothu-the-dying-folk-art-of-tamilnadu-india/
[18] T.N Antony Raj, Theru Koothu – The dying folk art of Tamilnadu, India, 3 July, 2012, https://tvaraj.com/2012/07/03/theru-koothu-the-dying-folk-art-of-tamilnadu-india/
[19] Thomas Shajan, Evolution of Street Theatre, https://www.academia.edu/5275829/Evolution_of_Street_Theatre, retrieved: 05.10.2020
[20] Archit Seth, August 5, 2019, ‘History of Street Plays in India- an ongoing Social Movement, Countercurrents.org, https://countercurrents.org/2019/08/history-of-street-plays-in-india-an-ongoing-social-movement/, retrieved- October 5, 2020.
[21] Jeppesen, Sandra (2016). Understanding Alternative Media Power: Mapping Content & Practice to Theory, Ideology, and Political Action, Democratic Communiqué, vol. 27. 2015/2016 pp. 54–77
[22] Vineet Kaul, 2011, Development Communication In India: Prospect, Issues And Trends, Global Media Journal – Indian Edition/ Winter Issue / December 2011, Vol. 2/No.2, ISSN 2249-5835,
[23] Zohra Chatterji, Radio broadcasting in India, http://www.skoch.in/images/stories/knowledge_repository/Digital/15-ch-15.pdf
[24] Jeppesen, Sandra (2016). Understanding Alternative Media Power: Mapping Content & Practice to Theory, Ideology, and Political Action, Democratic Communiqué, vol. 27. 2015/2016 pp. 54–77
[25] https://shodhganga.inflibnet.ac.in/bitstream/10603/94199/7/07_chapter%202.pdf
[26] Dr. Mrinal Chatterjee, September 2012, 53 years of Indian Television, Media- A bi-lingual journal of the Kerala Media Academy, http://mediamagazine.in/content/53-years-indian-television
[27] R V Vyas, R C Sharma and Ashwini Kumar, Educational Television in India, Turkish Online Journal of Distance Education-TOJDE October 2002 Volume:3 Number:4, ISSN 1302-6488, https://dergipark.org.tr/tr/download/article-file/156642
[28] R V Vyas, R C Sharma and Ashwini Kumar, Educational Television in India, Turkish Online Journal of Distance Education-TOJDE October 2002 Volume:3 Number:4, ISSN 1302-6488, https://dergipark.org.tr/tr/download/article-file/156642
[29] https://shodhganga.inflibnet.ac.in/bitstream/10603/94199/7/07_chapter%202.pdf
[30] Ratheesh kaliyadan, Saturday, January 2, 2010, Teacher tips: TV in India /, https://mediamarx.blogspot.com/2010/01/teacher-tips-ratheesh-kaliyadan_02.html, Retrieved- 07-10-2020
[31] Rahul Noronha, August 11, 2017, Indira Gandhi National Open University: World's largest university open to all, India Today, https://www.indiatoday.in/magazine/cover-story/story/20170821-ignou-education-courses-enrolment-number-world-largest-university-1029050-2017-08-11, Retrieved- 07-10-2020
[32] Rahul Noronha, August 11, 2017, Indira Gandhi National Open University: World's largest university open to all, India Today, https://www.indiatoday.in/magazine/cover-story/story/20170821-ignou-education-courses-enrolment-number-world-largest-university-1029050-2017-08-11, Retrieved- 07-10-2020
[33] Rahul Noronha, August 11, 2017, Indira Gandhi National Open University: World's largest university open to all, India Today, https://www.indiatoday.in/magazine/cover-story/story/20170821-ignou-education-courses-enrolment-number-world-largest-university-1029050-2017-08-11, Retrieved- 07-10-2020
[34] R. Arun Kumar and P.Govindaraju, The role of Participatory Video in empowering different communities in Participatory Development, PPT presentation on authorSTREAM, http://www.authorstream.com/Presentation/vsundarraman-1390998-the-role-of-participatory-video-in-empowering/
[35] Jeppesen, Sandra (2016). Understanding Alternative Media Power: Mapping Content & Practice to Theory, Ideology, and Political Action, Democratic Communiqué, vol. 27. 2015/2016 pp. 54–77
[36] Rohit Saran, December 13, 2004, ITC e-choupal initiative changes lives of farmers on a scale no other venture has ever done, India Today, https://www.indiatoday.in/magazine/cover-story/story/20041213-itc-e-choupal-initiative-changes-lives-of-farmers-788945-2004-12-13
[37] Rohit Saran, December 13, 2004, ITC e-choupal initiative changes lives of farmers on a scale no other venture has ever done, India Today, https://www.indiatoday.in/magazine/cover-story/story/20041213-itc-e-choupal-initiative-changes-lives-of-farmers-788945-2004-12-13
Very informative and comprehensive study on various types of Mass communication. Sis Michelle, you've done a fabulous research.
ReplyDeleteThank you Renold!
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