Media reform in India: Legitimising community media.

While the direction of media reform in India has often been viewed in the context of demand and supply, its exclusionary and piece meal characteristics would appear to have been relegated to the background. These have significant fall-outs in terms of media democratization in the country. Even a cursory look at the pace of decentralization would take cognizance of its selective and reactive characteristics. If the first is predictable under a `market is the mantra' regime, the latter is worrying as it raises a larger question: Does the course of the reforms conform to a larger and cogent media policy, or are they symptomatic of a crisis - management and reactive culture? While there are no easy answers, community would appear to have paid the heaviest price in an ambivalent and unlevelled media playing field. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]