Its Doordarshan’s birthday today. Doodarshan began its journey on September 15, 1959. It is now 64 years old. Today, there is an ocean of TV shows and news channels, yet Doordarshan’s reach remains unparalleled.
Even in the present, in this age of loud news networks, Doordarshan has successfully maintained its credibility and authenticity and is one of the world’s largest television networks.
A major example is Krishi Darshan, a show aimed at imparting agricultural knowledge to the country’s rural people that debuted on Doordarshan in 1967. It is the world’s longest-running television series.
Doordarshan inaugurated colour television in India in the year 1982, with the live broadcast of then Prime Minister Indira Gandhi’s Independence Day speech. Notably, Doordarshan rented NASA’s ATS-6 satellite for a year in order to experiment with harnessing space technology for social teaching. This was the world’s first attempt of its kind.
Generations grew up watching Doordarshan. From Ramayan, Mahabharata to Shakitman and Chitrahaar, DD was once the one stop destination for entertainment. Television was synonymous with Doordarshan. As time passed many new channels entered the market however DD did not fallback.
During the COVID lockdown, new records were made while the rest of the world was isolated and trapped in their houses. This television network decided to rerun a number of serials, breaking numerous records.