Television and the National Culture One important field of investigation is the division of labour that has emerged between the satellite channels and state television. The latter, with its vast territorial network, still has the widest reach and can be expected to retain its position for some time in a country where the majority of people still cannot afford cable subscriptions. However, as a broadcasting 128 corporation, Doordarshan currently appears to be more preoccupied with keeping up with the competition in urban markets. The moves towards autonomization that are now going on may end up pushing it further in this direction, rather than establishing an independent broadcasting authority free from the compulsions of both state and private commercial interests. In a recent programme on this question aired by Doordarshan, the director averred that autonomisatio'n is meant to improve the network's credibility, to get rid of the stigma of being a propaganda arm of the state. In these comments we see the purely negative approach to autonomy, as a gesture of appeasement rather than a proactive commitment to independent functioning. The Indian scene is thus truly in flux and it will be a while before any stable "network of networks" emerges. Paying attention to this^changing scene will enable us to identify the distinguishing features of the national televisual culture. It is a unique opportunity to study the emergence of a nationally specific institution within a global cultural space. NOTES 1 Some of the discussion of the contemporary Indian televisual scene has been rendered irrelevant by developments in the year or so since the article was written. The more general, theoretical explorations have, hopefully, escaped the long arm of obsolescence. 2. See Dienst (1994) for an interesting discussion of television in the context of contemporary cultural theory. 3. This cannot be attributed simply to the company's links with the ruling party, although such links may translate into many benefits. Even during the previous Jayalalitha regime. Sun had the same status among viewers in Tamil Nadu. Doordarshan's Tamil channel, pathetically incompetent by comparison, is not even a competitor. Similarly, Asianet has acquired respectability as the voice of the Malayali nation. Eenadu and Gemini (owned by Sun) vie for a similar position in Andhra Pradesh. The term '"regional channel" can be misleading when used with reference to these two companies. Asianet, for instance, includes a significant amount of programmes in English. Sun, for its part is an ambitious venture which also owns a Kannada and a Telugu channel and has plans for further expansion. These developments may also result in Zee, ATN and other channels losing their "national"' status and evolving into channels for the Hindi-speaking nationality. REFERENCES Chan, Joseph Man. 1994. "National Responses and Accessibility to Star TV in Asia/ Journal a/Communication 44:3 (Summer), pp. 112-131. Dienst, Richard. 1994. Still Life in Real Time: Theory after Television. Durham, Duke. Feuer, Jane. 1983. "The Concept of Live Television: Ontology vs. Ideology/ in E. Ann Kaplan ed. Regarding Television, Los Angeles: American Film Institute/University Publications of America, pp. 12-22. Journal of Arts & Ideas