Building on SMJ momentum

By all yardsticks, Bollywood icon Aamir Khan’s weekly 90-minute social reform television programme Satyamev Jayate (SMJ, ‘Let truth prevail’) aired on national and cable television for 13 weeks between May and July 2012, has been a phenomenal success. It generated an unprecedented volume of commentary in the print and social media. By the end of the first episode, the show’s website had crashed; even though the last episode of SMJ ended on July 29, it continues to provoke intense debate in the social media. Some cynics have panned the programme as the venal ego-trip of a Bollywood star looking to bask in the reflected glory of years of hard work of dedicated social reformers. Others have attacked the show’s televisual format. But such criticism is facile. Obviously television has its constraints — ad breaks, episode limits and so on — but the depth of penetration it achieves simply can’t be matched by other media. The plain truth is that Satyamev Jayate has stirred a national awakening and brought the country’s acute social problems into more homes than any other show in Indian media history. Critics who take objection to Aamir Khan’s elevation as the country’s social conscience, seem to overlook the fact that the show also champions many of India’s unsung heroes. This has been the basis for a rain of accusations in the Twitterverse, ranging from Khan’s alleged crocodile tears to the exorbitant fee (reportedly Rs.3 crore per episode) paid to him by Reliance Industries — India’s largest private company — which sponsored SMJ. Even if some allegations are true, it doesn’t really matter. And those who argue that the show has made no material impact, miss the point of television entirely. What SMJ has achieved, without question, is awareness of social injustices on an epic scale. The show has beamed the spotlight on a raft of “wicked problems” (water shortages, environmental degradation, rampant female foeticide, child malnutrition etc), and brought these gritty realities into 100 million homes countrywide. By doing so, it has afforded a profile to deserving individuals, groups and projects, and hopefully, has also catalysed a new wave of activity as viewers — either moved by the plight of people suffering injustices or inspired by those attempting to address them — transform into change-makers themselves. For these reasons, neither Khan nor the show’s producers/sponsors need to worry unduly about an unfinished project with an undefined legacy. The prime concern should be to sustain the momentum SMJ has generated. How should they do this? By capitalising on SMJ’s enormous web following, and using the internet to promote entrepreneurial solutions to social problem-solving. The producers of the show are clearly aware its strength lies in its capacity to group people into communities of common interest, and by doing so, generate a critical mass of change-makers. There are other opportunities to engage SMJ’s public in more creative ways, to enhance the scope and scale of change in India. This requires engaging the show’s self-generated communities to move beyond the cult of…