Indian television content; a menace on the cultural fabric of Pakistan

Indian television content; a menace on the cultural fabric of Pakistan

Eid-ul-Azha was just round the corner as I visited my aunt at her apartment. All of a sudden, I saw a bunch of loudest possible children running and shouting “Gaye agai…Gaye agai (The cow has arrived)”.

A little girl along with her maid was also enthusiastic to see the cow and told her maid “Jaldi Chalo Mujhe Gaye Mata Se Aashirwad Lena Hai (She wanted to seek blessings from the cow)” I realized the great influence of Indian media on our society, on our belief and our thoughts. Signs of change are subtle, but everywhere.

Not just that, I was at my friend place when his little child was going on the roof at 9 O’ clock. I asked the boy where are you going he replied I am going to worship the crescent moon. I was shocked and I asked why? You belong to a Muslim family he replied I saw this in my favorite Indian drama. Indeed he felt very proud in telling me that he had done this act a couple of times earlier.

I remember once Sonia Gandhi said in her interview that India has won the war against Pakistan as the Pakistani youth may not know the names of their great personalities but they would surely know the name of our actors.

Indian media is the main source in transforming our ideology. Indian movies on celluloid convey a message that partition of subcontinent was unnecessary and Pakistan and India should be one state.

The impact of Indian TV shows seems to be slowly nipping at the heels of the Pakistan cultural epicenter. I was thinking how our daily life dialect has faced a drastic change.

I was petrified to see a child copying and mimicking “Chota bheem” an Indian cartoon. I opened my mouth and shut it again. I was clueless… what to say?

Not only children our women have also a great influence of Indian melodrama and supernatural ‘Saas-bahu tamasha’ on the prime time slots. The change is evident in our attires. Women like to wear Saris, sleeveless and short shirts and typical heavy and colorful jewellery on festive occasion. They have promoted the conspiracies of in laws and the disputes of mother in law and daughter in law. The theme which seems to be constant living in a joint family is bad for your health, wealth and sanity.

It really astonishes me and others as to how the director and producer take the viewers for ride with off the track story line with unbelievable twists which does not happen in real life.

Detective shows like Crime Petrol and CID are providing new techniques for criminals to learn from. As a result, the crime rate has been increased in Pakistan.

Makers of such serials seem to be sending a message that to live happily, one should live in a secular, nuclear unit. This is very damaging to Pakistani society and is contrary to our ethos.

Is it the Indian invasion, the onslaught of multimedia or the ubiquity of television that made our dramas lose the veneration that our parents speak of?

My father recalls “He really misses the zeal of 80s and 90s aura which addressed social issues prevalent in the society. Roads would clear up and there would be absolute silence in homes from 8 to 9 pm.

T.V. programs are TRP oriented. But I still believe attitude of a person also matters. Even we don’t prefer watching Cultural and religious channels; we love fashion, entertainment, gossips, bitching and cat fights. TRP proves that.

Pakistan is a Muslim country but people have gained western and Indian culture due to modernization and westernization.  Another important fact is that no matter how far we progress, the impact of Indian content is so strong that it will take a good amount of time to take it off. It is not a matter of weeks or months but years.

It is never too late to shred off the façade of Indian traditions and values and adopt our own. The impact of Indian dramas is definitely very strong but our culture and traditions possess enough strength to overturn any other invading culture.

It is a known fact that Pakistani Drama Industry has given them a tough competition and successfully crossed the line of success that Indian Drama serials had set. Channels like, Ary, Geo, Hum TV have done a great job in order to promote Pakistani talent across the globe.

The recent ban by Pakistan on Indian content is a welcome move.

For any nation in the world, culture holds a paramount importance as it distinguishes it from rest of the world. 

The Supreme Court of Pakistan (SC) while hearing petition of United Producers Association (UPA) on the airing of Indian content on Pakistani Channels is a silver lining in the otherwise dark horizon.

The verdict seemed to be a retribution to a similar action by India against Pakistani content and artistes.

This is the time to do something. Now there is a need to change the thoughts of our people. For that purpose our people, industry and media can bring a positive change.