Includes bibliographical references.

Part of the Themes in Politics series, this volume examines the emergence of the Indian public sphere and its interplay with politics, society, and culture. It surveys a wide range of communication media contributing to this development--oral, print, radio, television, cinema, and the Internet--through an analysis of the transition from the colonial to the postcolonial period. The essays in this volume show that mediation is a social process that extends beyond 'the media' and must be understood as a component of historical dynamics.