From Epic to Elections: How a TV Series Transformed India’s Cultural and Political Landscape

February 10, 2025

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Read time:

<5 mins
People In The Auditorium Watching The Performance

What happens when a television show becomes more than just entertainment? When it first aired in the 1980s, the TV series Ramayan, based on the Hindu epic, reshaped India’s public sphere, influencing everything from cultural identities to political outcomes. A team of developmental economists, including Dean Yang from the University of Michigan’s Ford School of Public Policy, analyzed this unique natural experiment to explore the long-term social and political impacts of mass media exposure.

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