Balika Buddhu

I’d like to believe we live in a progressive Indian society. A society where women have equal rights, homosexuality is tolerated and live-in relationships are not uncommon. However, while on one hand, Indian women are launching space shuttles and conducting cutting-edge research, on the other hand, Indian T.V. channels are airing programmes with a social agenda that set us back several decades. Of all the preposterous shows on air, the one that unnerves me the most is Balika Vadhu. The show, as the name suggests, deals with the issue of child marriage. At first, I convinced myself that the reason the government was letting the show air was because they expected it to portray child marriage in bad light. But, as it turned out, the show not only glorified child marriage but also condemned the one person who makes his displeasure evident about the custom, the husband of the ‘balika vadhu’. Despite this, the show has been running to packed houses, or in this case, living rooms, for over 3 years now. TAM ratings have put the show on the top spot for several months in a row, and the show has even won awards. I wonder, at what point is the audience going to realise that the show is an insult to their intelligence? How is it that the government has allowed a TV show that promotes a social evil as monstrous as child marriage to be broadcast for 3 years running? And lastly, whatever happened to the social responsibility of mass media?