Small Screen in the Indian Subcontinent: A Study on Five Decades of Doordarshan

The obligation of a public service broadcasting media is very much crucial and tricky in a fast developing country like India, where it has to cater diverse audiences, cultures and languages. Historically, public service broadcasting has been vested with certain roles—an educator, entertainer and informer. But this concept is losing ground as 24 hour satellite channels are altering entertainment and educational needs and perceptions of the public to a greater extent which result in the tapering demarcation between commercial and public service broadcasting in India. The article tries to analyze or review the progress of Doordarshan (Indian Television) in its 54 years of its journey.