MEDIA AND SOCIAL CHANGE: CURRENT TRENDS IN INDIA

The mass media is an important social institution which caters social and economic needs of wider social groups and it has been playing vital role in developing countries like India. Especially in the post globalization era, media has to educate people for changing their traditional attitude to suite the modern progressive needs. In the age of globalization social movements are somewhat declining, because everything is being examined in the materialist view point. It has been rightly pointed that “Movements also importantly build upon existing human and material resources.”(1) In developing countries such resources are limited and problems are more complex. About social movement in the age of globalization it has been pointed that “The term globalization has become to dominate discourses of social, economic and cultural developments in contemporary society.”(2) In the country like India the process of globalization has not only affected urban societies, but also it is influencing rural communities. In this paper an attempt has been made to understand media’s role in contemporary society, while changing the perspective of people. If media is used properly it can accelerate growth rate at one hand and it can also awaken people for sustainable development. Discussions in Durban Summit have also promoted views regarding promotion of sustainable development.