"We analyze India's experience with 'Hum Log', the first indigenous soap opera on Doordarshan, the government national television network in India. This television series was patterned after previous experiences with soap operas for development in Mexico. 'Hum Log' was immensely popular with both its audience and its advertisers during the 17 months of its broadcast in 1984-85. 'Hum Log's' very high ratings (up to 90 in North India) contributed to (1) a proliferation of domestically-produced television serials on Indian television, (2) increased commercialization of the Indian television industry, and (3) a shift of talent from the Bombay movie industry into television production. Prospects for pro-development television soap operas in other Third World countries, drawing on the Indian experience, seem promising." (Introduction)