“Radio, the great marvel of science, has brought the entire mankind on a pedestal of cosmopolitan Brotherhood. It has enabled the nations of the world, scattered all over the world, separated by seas and mountains, to exchange their views and evolve by doing so, a union of the best ideals and a fusion of the finest cultures of the world. But the most praiseworthy of its services especially to the peoples of under-developed countries, has been its imparting of
education thereby making them broad-out looked and international minded.—Stevenson A. Pollak
The modern science is an endless treasure of miraculous inventions which have made human-life worth-living. The system of broadcasting is one of the most miraculous inventions. For this invention the humanity is uadebted to three scientists—Hertz, Marconi and Fleming, They were the pioneers of wireless telephone. Their names are immortal in the annals of scientific inventions because they mitigated ignorance and gave knowledge to mankind. Really, they rendered such a service to mankind which was no rival. Broadcasting is a system of transmitting the message without wires. This is done through electrical waves or other waves. The apparatus which receives such message is called ‘receiving set’ or Radio.
During the first decade of twentieth century, broadcasting became a possibility in Europe. But India had to wait for some years to make use of this great invention of science. It was in 1924 that a Radio Club was set up at Madras as a first step in this direction. In July 1927, the Indian Broadcasting Company inaugurated the regular service by opening the first station in Bombay. In the month of August in the same year, a similar station was installed at Calcutta. But the Indian Broadcasting Company went into liquidation in the absence of financial aid from the Government of India. Owing to the demand of the public, the government agreed to take over broadcasting as an experimental measure. In April, 1930 it was included in the Department of Industries and Labour under the designation of/Indian Broadcasting Service’.
Despite this, the position of broadcasting remained unsafe and uncertain on account of the dearth of funds. In May 1932, it was finally and certainly decided to continue the Indian State Broadcasting Service, Since then, broadcasting have been making a quick progress is our country. In 1932, the number of licensed receiving radio sets was only 1,000. In 1937, it was 2,30,025. In 1939, the designation of the Indian Broadcasting Service was changed to ‘All India Radio’ which has been translated into Hindi as ‘Akashwani’. Meanwhile powerful broadcasting stations were setup most outstanding being at Delhi. After 1947, a new chapter began in the history of the Ail India Radio Service. Under the supervision and guidance of Late Sardar Patel, the department was completely reorganized, expanded and improved. A large number of radio stations had been set-up at Jaiandhar, Srinagar, Amrhsar, Patna, Allahabad, Cuttack, Nagpur, Bezwada, Gauhati and Shillong. Now the radio stations have been established in almost all the important cities of the country.
ADVERTISEMENTS:
Radio is regarded as the most popular and most amusing entertainment. Apart from entertaining is with songs and lyrics, radio presents to its fans many other items of entertainment such as dramatic features, interesting dialogues, speeches and tit-bits. Thus with the mass-popularity of radio as an entertainer, to a large measure the cheap sources of amusement such as enjoying songs and dances in prostitute quarters and gambling have declined. People have also made considerable progress socially and intellectually with development of radio as entertainer in the countries of East.
Mass-education can be given by means of radio in various ways. Special instruction for employing latest scientific methods of agriculture, useful for our peasants and farmers can be broadcast if proper care is taken in preparing such programmes. Again, another kind of special education for developing the social life of the people can be imparted through broadcasting. There should be special programmes prepared by social reforms, eminent sociologists in the branch, which must be broadcast at least as frequently as possible.
Educating the villagers means village reconstruction. Our villagers are terribly backward in education and other social accomplishments. They are full of prejudices and whims. Besides, economically they are so much dwindled and dwarfed that they can not conveniently make their both ends meet, not to speak of sending their children to towns for receiving higher education. Though there are primary schools for their children in the villages, yet they cannot afford to send their boys and girls to the schools, as they badly require the assistance of their wives and children in the work of cultivation. Thus, it is suggested that while they and their children work in the fields, they should be imparted special instructions about this education by means of Radio.
By the term education, especially in this context, we should not mean only the academic education as our student community receives in the schools and colleges, situated in cities. Education also means character-building, moral edification—which are unfortunately not imparted to our young men and women in the teaching academies. The young men and women of our country need, above everything else, a spiritual and moral education, which unfortunately they do not receive at present. This kind of spiritual and moral education is to be imparted through our radio.
ADVERTISEMENTS:
India, after centuries of slavery, is entering upon a new phase, of her social, economic and political set-up. Majority of her people are village dwellers and as such the prosperity of the country is directly, or indirectly linked with the well-being of these villagers. They are illiterate and full of prejudices. We need, above all other things, mass-education which cannot be given by starting schools and colleges alone. For such a vast country like ours, the problem of giving mass-education can be possibly tackled only through the help of radio.
The future of broadcasting seems to be glorious in India and the world. But it should cater to popular taste. The greatest caution and restraint have to be exercised by the Government in its news-bulletins. Unfortunately, such balance and sanctity are generally found wanting. Programmes should be so devised that they may elevate the morals of the people. Though, India is still too poor to afford the fullest possible expansion in this direction, yet the day is not far off when she will boast of a transmitting station in every principal town and receiving set in every home with the extra-equipment of television.