Defintion
The core concept of development communication is using media for development of
people in a country. This type of communication aspires to serve the people without
any manipulation and encourage active participation. It attempts to facilitate social
development. Development communication has its origin in the 1940‟s, where the
concept of using media for development of a society was first put to practice. It
became very popular after the Second World War. Communication experts like
Wilbur Schramm and Rogers emphasised that this discipline includes all means of
communication ranging from two way communication to mass communication.
Development communication aims to create positive change in the society through
sustainable development. This development is possible only through the constant
involvement of stake holders and policy makers. It includes various techniques
through which information is disseminated and community participation is involved.
Thus development communication constantly strives to transform an under developed
society in to a developed society by uplifting the standard of living of its people.
Development communication has also been called as the „Fifth theory of the
Press‟ as it hopes to fulfil the basic needs by social transformation and development.
It is enrooted in three main ideas like, the purpose of the communication, the value of
the communication and the pragmatics of the communication. It is the art and science
of human communication applied to the society to achieve equality and gain human
potential. It aims to combat injustice and oppression.
The term „communication‟ with reference to development involves different
types of communication like interpersonal communication, group communication and
mass communication. Unlike communication it is not easy to define development
since it varies depending on the context. Development talks about change towards
betterment. The change can be about a progress in the field of economics, education
or livelihood which is good for the society. Hence when we talk about development
communication it always refers to Communication that is used efficiently to bring
about progress in the society.
There are many different communication strategies used under development
communication to change or improve something. These communication messages and
strategies used are designed for developing their present socio economic condition
and change it for better. Simultaneously it also changes the behaviour of the people
towards betterment. The people involved in bringing up this communication process
for development are called as development communicators.
In the context of development, the fundamental purpose of human
communication is to understand the reality in order to achieve goals and select other
subsequent goals. Thus understanding and mutual understanding is fundamental to
the process of communication itself. A circular communication is necessary at all
levels with several loops of feedback to get mutual understanding.
Origin
The origin of development communication can be seen during the broadcast
of radio programmes in rural regions. During the 1940‟s these programmes were
broadcast in different languages and they had the local dialect which was understood
by that particular community or group of villagers. The agenda of the radio
programmes usually carries information that is necessary for rural development and
they also gave useful tips for the villagers so that they are benefitted out of these
programmes. They were designed in such a way as to enhance their life skills and
way of living. It was entertaining as well as it had many folk songs and interesting
stories. Mostly the programmes were focused on providing information to the local
community about farming and other related subjects. The programs comprise of
interviews with experts, officials and farmers and also contained information about
weather, market rates, availability of better quality seeds and implements.
In the 1950‟s development communication was further extended and the
government took more initiatives in developing media oriented development
communication. The best example is Doordarshan, which was inaugurated on 15th
September 1959. It carried many programmes on development especially agriculture.
While The „Krishi Darshan‟ programmes in Doordarshan had inputs on agriculture, it
began giving other programmes since 1975 with the launch of SITE (Satellite
Instructional Television Experiment). These programmes had a wider reach and
covered nearly 2500 villages from different parts of the country.
Development communication in the print media began after the independence
more precisely after the launch of the five year plans. The newspapers gave
significant importance to the development themes and elaborated on how people
could make use of them. Both the print and the electronic media have contributed a
lot to development communication in their messages. It is interesting to note that
development communication has not just stopped with the print and electronic media
but also has its roots in the traditional media. Traditional media are the best way to
reach people as they are closest to people who need information on necessary areas.
Such participatory communications are even more effective.
We might have noticed the migrants from other states or even the own
inhibitors of a land often cook in open fire and set up temporary hut on roadside.
They have no idea about balanced diet or nutrition and they do not care about their
own personal hygiene too. Development can take place only when all the sectors of a
society are developed. For this proper orientation on enhancing the quality of life with
improved education, clean sanitation and the need for a hygienic environment has to
be taught to the people. In such cases the development communicators take an active
part in communicating this message to the particular community in a language and
form which involves humorous plays and plays that is easy for them to understand.
These traditional art forms derive their theme and content from the day today
activities of the people. Similarly education for women and children are also
considered as a great leap towards development and efforts are made to teach them
read and write. The only hindrance towards this development was communicating the
message in an effective way that can be understood by the native audience. That is the
biggest task of a development communicator. He has to think and come up with ideas
for development which would involve low investment and better skill enhancement
for the people. A development communicator has to come up with creative ideas to
handle sensitive issues.
This search for reaching the audience in a better way gave rise to many forms
of art, one of which is comics. Comics are short stories with visuals which convey a
particular idea or theme that is usually understood by the native audience. It is usually
told in a comedy, which readers find it close to heart and easy to relate to them. So
there were training programmes conducted at the remote places of various states to
educate the rural communicators and equip themselves for using comics in
development communication. After the training many sensitive topics like AIDS/
HIV and other health related issues have been communicated to the people.
Whenever we quote development it has to be understood that it is a team work and it
cannot be achieved through individual alone. It involves the contribution of voluntary
organizations, concerned citizens, development agencies and civil societies who act
as catalyst for the development process. They help in carrying out the development
programmes of the government.
Development communication is bringing positive change in the society in the
society with the help of media such as print, radio, video and the internet. Positive
changes are sought in the field of education, economics, culture, politics and
philosophy as they make a significant change in the society towards development.
The role of mass media in bringing out this development is very crucial as it can help
in economic improvement in under developed regions of the world. The traditional
methods which are more time consuming and involves lot of hard work in the field of
agriculture are replaced by many modern methods of which has to be brought to the
members of the society. Mass media does this role very well in effectively
communicating the needs of the people and enhance their livelihood by educating
them in their local dialect, thus bringing positive change in the society
The role of mass media is crucial in the process of development, as it can
bring about significant changes in the economy of the country. The role of media in
development communication as the principal disseminator was recognised by many
countries. They are seen as a major tool that brings about change in the society. It was
found through various studies that information passed through mass media such as
radio and newspapers bring out very positive changes in the society. Development
communication takes place when there is an emission of information towards
development. It has to be understood that development does not mean focus only on
one particular area like agriculture.
Development means improvement in standard in nutrition, health, education,
housing, employment and many other related fields. An efficient development
communication is required for improving the standards of all these functional areas
and hence often described as the catalyst which accelerates the growth of a nation
from low level to greater economic equality. This is more or less similar to the ICE
theory which denotes Information, communication and education for practicing
development plans. But development can happen in a country only if they are
motivated. Without the motivation of the people, there is no use in spending lot of
money towards the process of development.
The development communicators see this as an important point as they know
that providing information alone to the mass is not sufficient to achieve the desired
goal in development plans. Along with information, communication and education,
motivation is also a strong factor which can change the mental makeup of the society
and encourage them to take steps towards development. In the present era of
globalization, the role of communication assumes various functions. It helps the
members of the society to change their present circumstances to better, to plan in a
better way, to explore the options of change and to resolve conflict.
This eventually helps in sustainable development. Through media, the society
gets inputs on the knowledge and skill needed for developing their present livelihood.
In a country like India, which is heterogeneous holds a large segment of population
who are still illiterate. They might be aware of the consequences of an unclean
environment, but does not know in what way they will be affected. Hence do not
know a solution for it. When awareness is created through education there are
chances of better livelihood for the native dwellers. In order to give orientation on
this development, media acts as a tool which gives variety of platforms for the people
to understand the present condition and how to improve them. The audience chooses
their own convenient platform of communication through which they can easily
understand the message. When the message of development is repeated again and
Harsh Vardhan Maya 