I have told you before that I usually don’t watch TV and if I do, it is usually news. When we are here in India, I watch the news channels and only very rarely anything else. I prefer the real world. In between, in advertisement breaks, I sometimes wonder though if I am really on the news channel. Why? Because the advertisement spots are sometimes full of superstitious nonsense!
One example, a very big one, is the advertisement of ‘Lal Kitab’, which is played not only on one channel but in several, very big national channels. Lal Kitab translated means ‘Red Book’ and it is a book that I have heard of already in my childhood. I was amazed to see an advertisement of that book which I had heard many people, especially women, talk about when they discussed how their future will look like. In the advertisement a lady praises Lal Kitab for telling you how they can change future by simple rituals. Young women can get to know how their future husband will be like.
It is basically a book full of superstitious predictions and also remedies and rituals for all kinds of situations. If you would like to achieve something, if you have the wish for a certain quality in your husband for example, you get advice such as ‘Take a handful of lentils in a full moon night, dig a hole into the earth and let them drop in there one by one’. This is then supposed to have an influence on your future.
What I was wondering about was not only that they must be doing really big business if they can do advertisement on TV. I also wondered how the media could allow this nonsense to be advertised! They claim to have a solution for any kind of problem!
It is not the only kind of superstition and magic promoted on Indian TV Channels though. There are many strange programs in which they talk about ghosts and supernatural powers. There are talk shows in which experts and astrologers make people afraid that there could be certain planetary situations which could harm them. They also give remedies for how to avoid any loss or tragedy that could result from that. Whenever there is a sun eclipse or moon eclipse, they show which zodiac sign will experience which effects and what you can do about it.
Some shows give advice about different temples where you can go to if you want to change or influence your fate. People give testimonials of how they have gone to a certain temple and won their court cases. Other temples are known to help your business and other temples perform special rituals that cure your diseases. Each week they have a new episode showing the religious solution to another problem. You are told rituals for prolonging your husband’s life, for becoming wealthy and for saving your children from evil.
Nearly every channel has such a show and millions of people sit in front of their TVs every day, watching this with interest and believing it to be the truth. After all, it is coming on TV!
Former Supreme Court Judge and present Chairman of the Press Council of India Markandey Katju recently gave a statement that I very much approve of. He said that media should act with more responsibility. Real journalism should bring people out of un-education and lift them up to a higher level instead of going down to their level to entertain them with superstition.
I fully agree with him. In a country like India, where so many people have low education or maybe none at all, media is responsible for teaching people the right thing. Don’t only think of your TRP, your business and your money. Think for a good cause, think for educating the people of this country! TV is a powerful medium and it should save people from superstition instead of further encouraging it!
In many areas of India, there are not enough schools for all children and this is how many people had no chance to go to school. If there is only one TV however, twenty and more people can sit in front of it. Imagine that the TV now showed an interesting, educational program! No, instead they make the viewers afraid and encourage their belief in ghosts, useless rituals and negative influences from all around.
Media has to realize its true role in society and stop fooling people by promoting superstition. Only in this way we can in future turn on the TV and feel good about what we see.
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In Germany we have books which are similar to this lal kitab, but luckily it’s very unknown today. We also have channels run by the state which show education and knowledge program but they have a very low viewer rates. Instead the people watch the private channels where nonsense is shown. On one of this channels also has a show which is called a knowledge show. I saw it a few times in the past and i always found something they mentioned which was just not the truth, but people believe it because they sad so on TV. I still stand for a ban of all these private channels. But it shows that we have the same problem in Germany and i think it’s the same in the whole world. Most of this new media makes people more stupid, sad. Love Armin
money matters more than anything
Well said and that applies to any country, not just India. There are such shows everywhere. Promoting superstitious nonsense serves no one. (except those making money from it, of course).
My Beautiful Swami of Light this is everywhere some people buy a spray to spray there aura this is the new cleansing way …other will believe in whatever it is outside of them as they search and search for there light of being many go to Indian for it must be there….or in egypt or now at the sun pyramid here in Mexico… they do this and do that asking where is my light who can give it back to me i have seemed to of lost it somewhere…awww 11 11 11 as long as u search as long as u will wait…and people take advantage of this …AW here buy this ths will help you buy that spray this or that go here or there… when you become tired…you will end your search then you may see in your exhaustion of running … that your divine flamme is in your heart you are your light you are BEAUTIFUL and you always have been and will be…dive from your head into the ocean of divine love that is your heart feel drink taste the bliss of Love…gilles