What Do Newspapers Mean To A Village?

What Do Newspapers Mean To A Village?

"If they start publishing potato, onion and garlic rates in newspapers every farmer will be interested in reading them"

"If they start publishing potato, onion and garlic rates in newspapers every farmer will be interested in reading them."

India`s newspaper revolution has ensured that these now reach villages in many parts of the country. Newspapers in many states have localised so much that people get a few pages of news related to their district, even their neighbourhood in the newspapers published from the state capital. What does this development mean for village communities? What does the fact that a daily newspaper is now physically within their reach, mean to them?

We took one village in Jharkhand, and asked around. And discovered that while newspapers are now within a village population`s reach, they cost too much, and have very little relevance to their lives. Sindho is in Dalha Panchayat, in Madhupur Division of Devghar district, Santha Parghanas. (The interviews were done in March 2002.)

Agriculture, health, and the state of rural schools: these are issues of primary concern in villages like Sindho. But what is more likely to be reported from their village, they say, is a murder. Even so, several individuals in this village particularly mentioned the annual budget exercise as being news of interest to them. But said it was cheaper and quicker to get this and other news on the radio.

Says Sultan Ahmed, a social worker in Dastak Manch, "Long time ago news from my village was published in the newspaper. One or two stories of Madhupur do come out in the paper, though very few incidents occur in the village. Village fights do not get space in newspapers, Murder news does. Since there is long distance between the village and the city its not even possible to send the news immediately. One woman had died by consuming poison that became a headline in the papers."

But there is no news he says, relating to the basic needs of a village. There is no drinking or domestic use water in the village. Hand pumps are not working, no development work has been done in the village, all these things should be written about in the newspaper."

This area is covered by two daily newspapers, Prabhat Khabar and Hindustan, both based in Ranchi. They cost Rs 3.50 each, for a daily edition, it is cheaper and more practical to get daily news on the radio, people here say.

Mohammad Manjoor Alam is an Urdu teacher in the village. He says newspapers are not for common people, "they are for capitalists." They teach you how to talk, he says pithily, "it`s a store for words." They provide recent news, national and international, but are not effective in villages, he says. "Village people are more concerned about earning their livelihoods than reading news. Rural situation is very bad now. One can`t cultivate round the year. There is no irrigation facility available. No arrangement for good fertilizers or seeds. The village`s daily life has deteriorated. People from villages flee towards the city in search of two square meals."

He adds, "sometimes there is news about our village we read it. It feels nice. But a huge part is left out in the news. News about adivasi traditions and culture does not appear in newspaper. Water, forest and land are traditional system here. Our culture is linked with it. Newspaper should give attention to festivals also. The tradition and culture of this place is unique. This must be properly understood and then written about. Then only people can relate to newspapers."