International Encyclopedia of Communication Online

Extract

The South Asian region comprises Pakistan, India, Nepal, Bangladesh, Bhutan, the Maldives, and Sri Lanka. Given the relatively undeveloped nature of communication as an academic discipline in most of South Asia with the exception of India, the major focus of this article will be on the scenario in India.Communication as an academic field in South Asia has until very recently been closely tied to → journalism education. This is not altogether surprising given that the first communication programs on the subcontinent were tied to promoting journalism education. The first was a short-lived course in journalism education in Aligarh in 1938, followed by the establishment of the Department of Journalism at Punjab University, Lahore, in 1940. The University of Dhaka, in what was then East Pakistan, started a journalism program in 1962, and a Department of Mass Communication was established at the University of Kelaniya, Sri Lanka, in 1973. These programs were promoted by newly independent governments who were keen on training journalists in the art of public communication and for careers in the news services, broadcasting, and publicity.A free press was promoted as an essential foundation for democracy, and US-based foundations and agencies were involved in establishing the first media programs on the subcontinent (→ Freedom of the Press, Concept of). The New Delhi-based Indian Institute ... log in or subscribe to read full text