Dr. Banarsi Lal
Every year 21st of November is celebrated as the World Television Day across the globe to recognize the beneficial effects of television for the social, political and economic developments of society. This day was declared by the United Nations general assembly in 1996. This day renews the governments, organisations and individuals commitments to support the development of television as a mass media in providing the information and entertainment to the society. The theme of World Television Day 2023 is accessibility. Although TV has replaced radio but still there are many people and places in the world where TV is not accessible. Television is both a visual and auditory medium. It is a very powerful and effective electronic medium of communication as well as globalization. It helps to educate and entertainment the people across the globe. Television is considered as one of the most influential mass media for communication and assists to increase the cultural diversity. On December17, 1996, the UN General Assembly proclaimed 21st of November as the World Television Day to commemorate the date on which the first World Television Forum was held earlier in that year. All the members’ states were invited by the UN to observe the day by encouraging the exchange of television programmes on issues such as peace, security, social, economic and cultural developments. Television is considered as the cornerstone of democracy. In the world of smart phones, social media, computers, laptops and many other electronic gadgets, television is still considered as the primary source of education and entertainment. The word television (the Greek prefix ‘Tele’ meaning far or far off-combined with the word ‘vision’) describes the latest and the greatest triumph in the field of mass communication. Television is the flourishing medium in the world. It is very effective as it appeals to both the ears and eyes. Television has shown the tremendous influence on the society. Television provides both education and entertainment. Communication is identified as the oldest continued activity of human being since birth and goes on and on till death. More precisely, communication is the basic need of human beings and web of society which makes the survival, growth, progress and development of man possible and holds the society intact and progressive. Communication plays a vital role in ones’ personal life in the society. It is equally important in business, education, civilization, administration and other situations where people encounter with each other to satisfy their needs and wishes. The present age has been rightly termed as an ‘information age’. Information plays an immense role in our society. Information has become an integral part of our daily life. Now people want adequate and authentic information as early as possible. The mass media namely newspaper, radio, television and internet are catering to this important need of people. For the rapid and overall development of a country it is must that the citizens of that country are well versed with the happenings around them. Present Indian extension system is under numerous pressure where the extension workers have to cater not only the vast population but also to perform administrative, election, input supply and other responsibilities. Under these circumstances, it is not practically possible to serve all the farmers, all the time for all the problems when ratio of extension worker and farmer, the sender and receiver is more than 1:1000. Therefore, the potential of print and electronic media can be exploited to serve the rural population in this direction. Electronisation and mechanization in communication systems have provided opportunity to access the information rapidly, accurately and repeatedly. As far as the farmers of hilly areas of J&K etc. are concerned they are traditionalist-hardliners and shy in nature with poor communication behaviour. They hesitate to ask recent information’s. The reason of poor communication behaviour is not only because of their personal weaknesses but there are number of constraints which come in the way and restrict them to make use of extension personnel and communication channels. Information and technologies generated are of no use for the farmers unless they reach to the ultimate users. It has been estimated that only about 30 per cent of the technologies are being received and used by the farmers. It is further added that the information / technologies generated today reach to the entire ultimate users in about 20 years. Use of television as a powerful communication medium has no doubt to captivate the agriculture educators to harness its potential for reaching far across the nation. While it provides words with pictures and sound effect like movie, television has the capacity to reach the largest number of people in the shortest possible time. People learn through the eyes and ears both thus, gain greater knowledge and understanding of the subject. The boom in television industries has not only affected urban masses but the rural masses are also fascinated with this media. Now this has become one of the most important media of mass communication for rural masses. It is paying a significant role in transferring the latest technological know-how to the rural people. In India where the rural masses are isolated in villages, the communication is difficult and challenging, in this situation television is one of the important sources of mass media which plays a pivotal role in reaching large number of people in a very short time. Television can bring the world to our door steps within a second. This mass medium has made dissemination of news, information and entertainment possible on a scale unprecedented in human society. It is undoubtedly one of the most versatile audio-visual aids ever developed. Admittedly, this is still a new field. There is a much to be done before television achieves its full usefulness in teaching. In 1907, television was first recognized as a word in English and in 1948, the acronym TV was coined. In 1924, a Scottish engineer John Logie Baird invented television. He was the first person to show a working television. The television in India began modestly on September 15, 1959 by a UNESCO grant to study the use of T.V. as a medium of education, rural uplift and community development. In 1959 an experimental television programme was started to train personnel and particularly to discover what television would achieve in community development and formal education. Philips (India) demonstrated its use at an exhibition in New Delhi. The range of the transmitter was 40 kilometers and the audience comprised members of 180 tele-clubs which were provided free sets by UNESCO. The year 1961 witnessed educational television programmes on science for teachers. In the year 1965 entertainment programmes were introduced under pressure from manufacturers and the public. In the year 1967, Indian T.V. went into rural programmes and ‘Krishi Darshan’ programmes for farmers in 80 villages’ tele-clubs in Delhi and Haryana were started. The year 1975-76 beamed educational programmes to villages through SITE. Commercial telecast for the first time was introduced in 1976. In 1977 terrestrial transmitters were put up at selected centres to extend television coverage. On August, 15, 1982, the national programme was inaugurated. In 1983 INSAT-IA India’s first communication satellite was placed in geostationary orbit but failed in its operation. In 1983 INSAT-IB was successfully launched in orbit by the American Shuttle Challenger. Recently government has launched a channel known as Kisan Channel especially for the farmers. T.V. is one of the most sophisticated means of mass communication media. It serves the people by disseminating the information in areas of agriculture, national integration, health and hygienic, entertainment programmes, advertisement etc. T.V. is an ideal medium to convey information to illiterate and literate in urban and rural areas on whom it would have profound impact. As an instrumental device it is being used in variety of ways such as for direct teaching for supplementing formal education, for developing psychomotor skills, for adult education and for diffusion of agricultural know-how from etc. It is expected that the rural oriented T.V. programmes can solve the problems of inaccessibility, illiteracy and shortage of skilled persons in India. In rural development nothing is more important than the transfer of useful ideas from one person to another. The researches in agricultural sciences are of no use, unless they are communicated to the farmers in an effective manner in the shortest possible time. T.V. has emerged as a powerful medium of communication. Television is providing information and entertainment even to the people of far flung areas. While it provides sound, vision and movement, it can reach the largest number of people in the shortest possible time. Television is really the great symbol of communication and globalization that educates, entertains, informs and influences our decisions and opinions. (The writer is Sr. Scientist & Head of KVK, Reasi, SKUAST-J).