National

We, The Staple

90 lakh free TVs. The DMK turns entertainer, Tamilians tune in.

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We, The Staple
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An Idiot Box
  • 30 lakh free CTVs to be distributed this fiscal; 60 lakh more in next two financial years.
  • Rs 750 crore allocated for the scheme in this year's budget
  • Each set costs Rs 2,965
  • First lot of 30,000 sets to be given away on birthdays of C.N Annadurai (Sept 15) and E.V. Periyar (Sept 17)
  • Tamil Nadu to be the first state whose entire population owns TV sets
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After the midday meal scheme pioneered by Kamaraj in 1957 (covering one-third of all schoolchildren) and cemented by M.G. Ramachandran in 1982 (extended to all primary schoolchildren), the proposed supply of 90 lakh CTVs by the DMK regime has created a sensation. But first, some figures. According to the latest National Readership Survey, TN already has the highest TV penetration in the country, at 76.2 per cent. And of every 100 TV sets, 60 have cable connection. By this reckoning, of TN's 6.2 crore population accounting for 142 lakh families, only 35 lakh are likely to be without a TV. Karunanidhi, of course, wants everyone to have a colour TV. With the oversupply of 90 lakh units benefiting several families which already have a TV set, TN is set to emerge as the first state with 100 per cent media literacy.

Among the first phase recipients will be Indira and C. Krishnan and their family. They live in one of the temporary asbestos-sheet houses abutting the TN Slum Clearance Board's tenements in Chennai's Kotturpuram. Indira is looking forward to watching her favourite Sun TV serials and news on her own CTV instead of doing the uninvited guest act at her neighbour's. Indira works as a domestic help and life in her 10x10 feet shack is quite miserable. A 14-inch CTV, she hopes, will add some colour even as it jostles for space with their other assets. After all, the CM has repeatedly stressed that the TV would be "a recreational means for women, enabling them to acquire general knowledge". Perhaps the CTV will make Indira forget her real troubles. It's highly unlikely. There are everyday issues that will crop up unfailingly. "We have no private toilet or bathroom. Every morning, we queue up at the ill-maintained public toilet and pay Rs 2 for the bath and Rs 1 for the toilet." It's been the same for 30 years now.

Indira's problems are not unique. The 2001 census figures says close to 92 lakh households in TN do not have access to a toilet. But toilets and sanitation hardly win polls. CTVs do. Sashi Kumar, chairman, Media Development Foundation, puts it in perspective: "If these funds weren't spent on CTVs, they wouldn't anyway go for toilets. The positive side is that uniform access to TVs will be enabling and empowering."

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Now a TV without cable is like a bulb without a filament. Most beneficiaries in TN are aware that Karunanidhi's nephews own the Sun Network, and that the Sun-owned Sumangali Cable Vision controls over 85 per cent of CAS connections in the state. They also know they'll have to pay a minimum of Rs 100 per month for even free-to-air channels. Sashi Kumar believes that "more than the intended message, the received message will have a subliminal effect". He argues that exposure to and awareness of "the good life" shown on TV may create a consciousness among the semi-literate poor and their "expectations will rise". R. Vaidyanathan, professor of finance at IIM Bangalore, disagrees, saying such a scheme "distorts the consumption basket and twists it in terms of 'sensual arousal' rather than basic facilities".

Not everyone concurs. Peter Alphonse, Kadayanallur MLA and Congress assembly whip, says: "Every scientific advancement must be extended to all the people. TV won't just be a source of relaxation, it may even lead to a revolution."

Suggesting an alternative to CTVs, the fledgling Dalit party, Viduthalai Chiruthai Katchi (VCK), led by Thol. Thirumavalavan, had promised free computers to Class XII students. He argues that if spreading knowledge were the motive, a computer would be a better incentive than a TV. D. Ravikumar, one of the two MLAs of VCK, in fact distributed 40 PCs among Dalits and girl students in his constituency, Kattumannarkoil.

Whatever the critics say, unlike computers that require skill and training, the easy-on-the-button TV has ignited public imagination. Whether it becomes a window to the world or an instrument of thought control remains to be seen. For now, the people can watch their favourite soaps and forget their more pressing concerns. Till day breaks at least.

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