Acharya Tulsi
While on the one hand, the end of the twentieth century for India is mired with blood, on the other hand, it is also credited with a great many achievements like the television, the computer. the satellites, etc. So, on the one hand, man is defined by an excruciating sense of insecurity, on the other hand there is a tremendous increase in the number of amenities available to him. Caught between these two developments, and forgetting his true nature, man has become a slave of scientific appliances. In 1944, the inventor of television, Mr J.L. Bayard might have conceived it as a means of knowledge and entertainment, but the way the producers of television have developed it, without critically going into its merits and demerits, has put a question mark on its utility.
In its journal called Gandhi Marg of June, 1986, issued by the Gandhi Peace Foundation, there appears the gist of an article by \/.C. Gidwani, where the writer has ably dissected the television culture. This article is capable of changing one‘s whole outlook. Basing his argument on certain experiments made by different people, Mr. Gidwani has warned his readers against some dangers of television. The salient facts are reproduced below.
According to Dr. N. Wigmore, many scientiests hold that television transmission is conducted by means of X—rays. There is a possibility of these.rays producing cancer in the human body of course doctors all over the world make use of X-ray machines in diagnosing various diseases, but the inbuilt prophylactics of these machines is not available in the case of a television set.
Dr. Emile Grubbe was a specialist in radiology. Just before his death, he is reported to have said, "The fatal beams radiating from the television set in every home could claim any viewer as their victim."
Dr. H.P. Shoyan let the rays emanating from the television set fall upon a pregnant bitch for months together. In time, the bitch gave birth to four puppies; all of them were afflicted with paralysis and three of them were blind.
John Macdonald, a teacher, placed a he—parrot in a room where the television was kept on for hours together. After some days, the parrot produced three eggs. The X-rays from the television set had turned the he-parrot into a she—parrot.
Another man reared two parrots. The cage in which the parrots were kept was placed on the television set, with the result that their feet were spoiled and had to be cut off.
Dr. Wignore says that the rays from the television set are the chief cause of the spread of blood cancer among children. Generally the viewers are advised to keep at.a distance of eight feet from the television set, but it has been observed that the children, for the most part, sit much nearer. According to Wigmore, there are to be found in one hospital of Boston City in the U.S.A. 600 children suffering from incurable blood cancer. ln the Texan City of Arizona and in the adjoining areas, there are to be found 2500 children suffering from blood-cancer.
On the basis of such facts and experiments, it can be concluded that radiations from all kinds of electrical equipment age liable to damage the cells of the human body. Particularly in the case of the television set, fast moving electrons collide against the screen and as a result of this collision they get disused far and wide, so that even non-viewers sitting far away may be affected. Among the dangers resulting from such radiation, are included, cancer, blindness, paralysis, the upsetting of the digestive system, the deformation of any pan of the body and even death. Their ill effects are not confined to the present only, but may extend to the succeeding generations.
Dr. E. Barnes and Davies Taylor, while discussing the dangers of radiation, write that the reproductive cells in man and woman contain 6 chromosomes, and each chromosome contains thousands of genes. Children born of genes that have been exposed to X—rays, would be short-lived or they might lose their reproductive power altogether.
Apart from this scientific discussion, if we look at the matter from the practical point-of-view, we shall find that the television, as it functions today, is likely to do more harm than good. One of the points in case is its advertisement policy. The viewer’s feel that advertising is a means of making money, not of imparting education. On the one hand, we talk about the dangers of smoking; on the other hand we have lush cigarette advertisements. It has been claimed that the serial entitled "Chunoti" (‘The Challenge") underlines the ill effects of taking drugs. And yet how many addicts have stopped taking drugs, and how many adolescents have taken to drugs after viewing this serial? Only a proper survey will reveal the truth. It has been reported that many adolescents who had never heard of these drugs before-come to know their names after viewing the serial and started taking them.
Due to human weakness the evil aspect of a thing sways man more than the good. The children specially are stupid enough to demand everything that an advertisement offers. It may be some delicacy or a dress, the moment they see it advertised, they become impatient to get it and thus create a problem for their parents.
