This study examines the long-term social and political impacts of mass media exposure
to religious content in India. We study the impact of “Ramayan,” the massively popular adaptation of the Hindu epic televised in 1987-88. To identify causal effects, we conduct difference-in-difference analyses and exploit variation in TV signal strength driven by
location of TV transmitters and topographical features inhibiting electromagnetic TV signal propagation. We find that areas with higher exposure to Ramayan (higher TV signal
strength when the show aired) experienced significant cultural and political changes. First,
we document a strengthening of religious identity among Hindus: parents in these areas
became more likely to give their newborn sons traditionally Hindu names, and households
showed increased adherence to orthodox Hindu dietary practices. In the short term, this
cultural shift led to an increase in Hindu-Muslim communal violence through 1992. Over
the longer term, through 2000, the Hindu nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) became
more likely to win state assembly elections. Analyses of changes in local TV signal strength
in India over decades indicate that these effects are not due to general access to TV but
are due to exposure to the Ramayan TV show in 1987-1988. Our findings reveal that media portrayal of religious narratives can have lasting effects on cultural identity, intergroup
violence, and electoral outcomes
14 Marzo 2025
MARCH 14 2:00-3:00pm (CET)
Dean Yang - University of Michigan
Ancient Epics in the Television Age: Mass Media, Identity, and the Rise of Hindu Nationalism in India
Aula 13 (ground floor), CU007 (Edificio Tumminelli), P.le Aldo Moro, 5 Roma