TV subtitles can do wonders for literacy, bureaucracy must take note

SLS simply recommends subtitling audio-visual content on TV, in the 'same' language as the audio. Word for word, what you hear is what you read.

“No army can resist an idea whose time has come.” When Victor Hugo wrote these words in 1852, he had not encountered India’s bureaucracy.

Twenty two years ago, an idea was born at IIM Ahmedabad which guaranteed that a billion people would engage in reading for at least 30 minutes every day, throughout their lives, without them having to put in any additional time and effort. Literally, reading engagement would be in the air, or on the airwaves – inescapable and automatic, just like breathing.

That idea is Same Language Subtitling (SLS). SLS simply recommends subtitling audio-visual content on TV, in the