Communication : A Revolution

Satellite Instructional Television Experiment was a big start of development communication for disseminating the information to remote areas.
Clarity about the concept of national building, development and social transformation are, therefore essential for clarity in the approach to communication. And clarity about the mobilization strategies of development and social change. In recent years, the broader question of the perspective and path of India’s nation development & change have been largely evaded by the India intellectual & political elite.
The earlier tradition of innovative thinking in communication matters needs, however to be reviewed, thus replacing the value natural, technocratic planning by social goal oriented, value oriented planning. There is an urgent need to bridge the widening gap between physical and social engineering, between software and hardware, between means and ends. This can only be done after a national debate and dialogue i.e. interpersonal interactions involving engineers and social scientists, hardware and software producers, message makers and recipients of the messages, communicators and development and change agents. India has a large intellectual community comprising of both natural and social sciences. It has also high quality expertise in classical, folk and traditional arts and culture. We have development specialists and change agents combing competence with dedication both with the state structure and outside. Despite the great wealth of human resources which India possess there has been no significant attempt in recent times to involve the large community of gifted professional and enlightened citizens in creative thinking on vital issues thrown up by the communication revolution.
An Indian communicator has to drive the value premises and perspective for communication from the vision of a new India inherited from the Indian renaissance and from an understanding and insight into nation building and development challenges of the present age.


The communication revolution is acting as a powerful promoter of international demonstration effect, the logical consequences of this process is the ‘elite of consumerism’ in the borrower country. The transfer of communication technology in its present form is thus sharply accentuating ‘structural dualism’ within the country.