|
Sunno
!!
Irfan Khan
ekhan@tarahaat.com
Community
Radio goes a long way in communicating with people of an immediate
locality
Speaking
of innovative technologies in recent times, one of the biggest
developments that comes to mind is the growth of the world of voices,
the world of the common man’s voice, or in other words - the world of
Community Radio.
Community
radio is a type of service that caters to the interests of a certain
area, broadcasting material that is popular or has great appeal to a
local audience. Unfortunately this service has been ignored by the more
powerful broadcast groups. Community radio is mostly non-profit and
non-commercial, often resorting to licensed class D FM band transmitters
though, it must be said, pirate radio outlets are known to flourish in
many places.
In 1995, the
Supreme Court issued a statement that the ground for community radio in
India is all set to be explored, it was after a gap of seven years of
this ruling the I&B Ministry took a decision that all educational
institutions willing to embark on community radio will get licenses.
1, Feb 2004
turned out to be the milestone in the field of community radio as the
Anna
University in Chennai started the first service under the name Campus
Community Radio. Later, Jamia Millia Islamia and IIMC jointly started
their own community radio.
But the early
development and innovation in the world started when small communities
started their own radio stations and broadcast programmes catering to
local needs. These programmes used their reach to educate, make aware
and entertain the local populace. A splendid example comes from
Brazil where a group
of sex workers started their own radio station and broadcast programmes
on sex education, health, AIDS and other related diseases. They rightly
felt that such a broadcast to a known and identified community will go a
long way in disseminating vital information and creating awareness.
The second
example is from within our own country, in the Vaishali district of
Bihar. Here, a radio station is run on just the establishment cost of Rs.
50, it deploys an antenna, mike and music system. If you were to go to
Vaishali and tune your radio you will come across a channel called FM
Mansoorpur.
With the help
of just one antenna FM Mansoorpur is broadcasting its programmes round
the clock in and around Chappra and Vaishali district. This radio
station has just one employee who also doubles up as technician,
scripter, anchor and RJ!
The station
has gained a lot of popularity in recent times and people eagerly await
their well known voice on FM Mansoorpur. The locals feel this radio has
more impact on them than any other method of communication.
The role
played by Anna Campus Radio during the devastating tsunami or the
contributions of the Bangalore based Voice Radio and Jharkhand based
Charkha Radio have given an entirely new meaning to the world of audio
broadcast and with it, the importance of community communication has
also been underscored.
The best
gauge for the success of community radio can be seen from the kind of
response it is getting from the local community. It is strongly felt
that this is the best medium for fast development.
It is easy to
understand why such a radio service succeeds better than other modes of
communication – people identify with the broadcaster, it is service by
the people for the people. The language is the local dialect, the names
of people are familiar, the subjects can be related to – all this
contributes to the community developing an attachment and loyalty to the
radio service. Apart from being an effective tool in creating awareness
and knowledge, the service also helps in eradicating wrong notions,
bringing the community together and bridging caste, religious and other
unfortunate divides.
The impact
and success of community radio can be traced from its progress in
countries like
America,
Australia and Canada. In India community radio is currently at a nascent
stage, the seed has been sown and the time has now come to nurture it
into a full blown tree.
TARAhaat, a
development enterprise, has initiated a venture into community radio
under their Open Knowledge Network programme. The initial plans are to
tie up with local broadcasters in its operational areas of Bundelkhand
and broadcast programmes prepared by TARAhaat. If the venture succeeds,
it can be expanded to other operational areas.
In
India, the campaign
to legitimize community radio has been going on for almost a past
decade. The Supreme Court of India ruled in 1995 that “airwaves are
public property” this came as an inspiration to groups across the
country, but so far only educational (campus) radio stations have been
allowed, under somewhat stringent conditions.
India’s first
campus community radio is Anna FM run by Education and MultiMedia
Research Centre (EM˛RC) all the programmes are produced by the students
of Media Sciences,
Anna
University
It is
now time for all of us to come together and take forward this service,
the community radio, and make an all out attempt to effect change, first
in the local area, then the larger plain and finally get the entire
country into our fold. q
Back to Contents
|