Untitled - socium.ge

410 Anshu Chatterjeepenetration rate of 35 percent is the highest in the northern parts of the country,and a rate of 82 percent of homes with television is the highest in thenation. 10 In comparison, Andhra Pradesh, with its larger population of 67million, is a mid-level economy, and Kerala, with 29 million inhabitants, isconsidered a low-ranking economy. Economic explanations also do notadequately address audience choices. Instead, a process of identifying some ofthe institutional players and enterprises at the community level generallyprovides a more realistic picture of a necessary collaboration that causesglobal processes to mold to the domestic environment.Unlike Zee TV, which had the advantage of a pre-existing Hindi audiencebase, the southern enterprises had to create a television audience base. Thepresence of community institutions that encourage production along communitylines and advocate the consumption of cultural goods among its communitymembers provided a critical supportive role. In return, these institutionsgained a communication channel, which augmented the community sense ofunity and autonomy. Such alignment of interest was not replicated in Punjab,leading to the faltering pace of television development.The mutually beneficial nexus between community institutions, the media,and the elite found among the South Indian communities was establishedhistorically in the early part of the twentieth century. It emerged as a consequenceof widespread social movements that appeared in reaction to theBritish claim to superiority. These movements, in different forms, some ascaste movements and others as religious movements, adopted distinctlanguages as differentiating symbols and transformed them into icons forcollective mobilization against the prevailing sociopolitical order. Their associationwith different regional political movements produced variations inobjectives that had an effect upon the development of media institutions.The Telugu language movement, for example, became associated with thelower-caste movement that sought to establish a politically autonomous regionof Andhra Pradesh in order to differentiate from other politically importantlower-caste communities. The spread of press and cinema technology in Indiaat the time assisted in diffusing the ideals of the movement, establishing apriority in the media for promoting the community and its language. Telugucinema, for instance, reflected both the autonomy movements as well as thenationalist movement simultaneously. The current association between thepolitical and media elites in Andhra Pradesh is embedded in this history.Similarly, in Kerala, the language movement became a vehicle for thedevelopment of an autonomous region for Malayalam speakers. Interestingly,it provided the unifying element in a notably diverse community, whichconfronted not only the British but also the domination of “foreign” uppercastes in running the princely administration. Currently, Kerala’s diversityconsists of 57.28 percent Hindus, 23.33 percent Muslims, and 19.32 percent