A STUDY OF COMMUNITY RADIO IN ANDHRA PRADESH

By P Chandrasekhar
News Services Division, All India Radio, New Delhi
Email: pcsekhar2000@yahoo.com

Introduction

In the field of mass communication, radio is the cheapest and most sought

after media which definitely has space in terms of localization of content,

participation and involvement of the community. Therefore, Community radio is an

important tool for those who are traditionally un-represented in mainstream media,

providing them access to the means of communication. It is a tool that can be used to

strengthen cultural rights, especially the rights of marginalized communities.

Community Radio can play a vital role in this, especially in bringing together the

sender and the receiver of the message.

Genesis

The idea of Community Radio is not new to India. With the financial aid of

UNESCO, All India Radio has provided a total of 57,065 community radio sets in

1960, thus, pioneering the cause of Community Radio in India covering 82 per cent of

the population.

Taking the cue from Canadian Broadcasting Corporation, AIR launched Radio

Farm Forums in five districts of Poona, Ahmednagar, Nasik, North Satara and

Kolhapur of Maharashtra. The Evaluation Report showed that Radio Farm Forums in

villages can be excellent transmission agents of knowledge, increase in knowledge in

the Forum villages between pre and post broadcasts. Group discussion as a means of

transmitting knowledge was equally a success. But what is more encouraging was the

fact that the Forums quickly developed into important forces in village democracy.

Administrators and social workers found that Radio Farm Forums are a relatively
cheap and speedy method of husbanding the moral and material resources of the

countryside (Mathur 1961).

In September 1949, a very significant step was taken by the All India Radio by

setting up Radio Farm Forums in seven stations. In each village, a forum consisting

of 15 to 20 listeners was formed. A special programme was broadcast so that this

group could listen to it and later on discuss the programme among themselves.

Further, they could raise questions about the problems which could be sent to the

station to get clarification by experts. These replies to questions were broadcast in the

week following next. Though the programme was well conceived, it failed in many

villages for want of financial resources and man-power.

UNESCO helped AIR to establish an experimental project of Radio Adult

Education way back in 1956. The programme was a half-hour programme on every

Tuesday and Saturday at 6.30 p.m. A study carried out by The Tata Institute of Social

Sciences, Bombay (present Mumbai) showed the forum groups had made an

impressive gained in terms of spreading knowledge; it found that group discussion

was a very useful method to stimulate the group’s interest.

The Chanda Committee on Radio and Television reported that radio rural

forums had their genesis in a survey carried out at the Poona Station of All India

Radio in 1956, to ascertain whether farmers would derive any benefit if programmes

specially designed for them were broadcast. Thus, an experiment conducted to

establish small forums of 15 to 20 persons in some villages who would listen to the

programme, discuss it among themselves and formulate questions which needed

clarification to be provided by the All India Radio station. The purpose of these

forums was to establish a two-way channel between the forum and the radio station,

and to help bring the villagers into closer association with the planning of the
programmes. It was also the aim of the experiment to see whether members of these

forums would transmit their new knowledge and attitudes to the other members of the

village and thus be instrumental in bringing about a change in rural areas. Mathur and

Paul Neurath conducted this study. The results of the study were found to be

encouraging and the radio rural forums became an integral part of AIR, Poona.

Lucknow station of All India Radio was selected to broadcast special

programmes with respect to agricultural innovations in 1967 by installing community

radio sets in 25 villages and only 15 of them were actually functioning. For

comparison purposes eight villages were chosen where All India Radio had not set up

Farm and Home Cell Programme.

There are two experiments worth noting in wire broadcasting. Long back

some State Governments in India had introduced wire broadcasting in order to extend

community listening; these were set up in parks and public places. In 1976, ten

municipalities in Andhra Pradesh had wire broadcasting system operating in small

towns. The Chanda Committee reported that even in 1959 the Andhra Pradesh State

Government sent a scheme to the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting to extend

wire broadcasting to other municipalities in the State but this was not approved.

Community Radio network is growing due to its potential. Government of

India while recognizing the potential of community radio recently opened it in well-

established educational institutions recognized by Central and State Governments

(Kuppuswamy B. 1976).

Thus, India being the world’s largest democracy, has a strong mass media culture,

a system that has evolved over centuries, comprising of a complex framework.

Modernization has transformed this into a communications network that sustains the

pulse of a democracy of 1.1 billion people.

Background

In the field of Community Radio, Radio Sagarmatha of Nepal is the first

independent community radio in entire South Asia. Thus, Nepal has moved far ahead

to open-up its air-waves than its other South Asian neighbours. Sri Lanka has the

longest history of promoting ‘community radio’ initiatives. According to Ian Pringle

an ‘international cooperant’ with the Canadian networks in humanitarian development,

“Bangladesh may soon see some interesting developments on this front. India could

be a most interesting place in many respects.

On December 9, 1995 the Supreme Court of India had given the historic

ruling on opening of air waves. The campaigners who battled long for this to happen

gave a sigh of relief when India finally opened up broadcasts to community radio in

mid November 2006 .

On 16 November 2006, the Government of India brought out a set of new

Community Radio guidelines that allowed NGOs and other civil society organizations

to possess and operate community radio stations. By November 2008 there had been

38 operational community radio stations set up in India. Of these, educational

institutions control the majority of them.

Activists and community workers across the country have come together

under the aegis of the Community Radio Forum in order to coordinate training and

support for community radio stations as well as to continue a petition for a more

proactive community radio policy. It is registered as a ‘Society’ and Trust’ on 26

February 2008.
 With a history of 82 years of broadcasting the Government of India is aiming

to have 4000 Community Radio Stations soon.

Anna FM is India’s first campus ‘community radio’ that was launched on

1 February 2004, controlled by Education and Multi-media Research Centre (EMRC)

and the students of media Sciences at Anna University, Chennai. Dr. R.Sreedher,

who founded the Anna Radio, is currently Director, Commonwealth Educational

Media Centre for Asia (CEMCA).

Radio Bundelkhand is the second NGO-led community radio station in India

which was started on 23 October 2008 at TARA gram in Orchha, Madhya Pradesh.

Mannvikas Samajik Sanstha, Satara, Maharashtra is the third NGO operated

Community Radio in the country.

India’s first Community Radio Mana Radio (Our Radio) was launched in

Orrvakal village, Kurnool district, Andhra Pradesh. Programming and broadcasting is

done by villagers for the entire village (The Hindu 2009). It was tragically shut down

by the Government of India without due process from October 2, 2002, after the

formal guidelines governing the operation of ‘Community Radio’ came into force in

January 2003.

The Sangham Radio in Pastapur village, Medak district, Andhra Pradesh State

owned by Deccan Development Society (DDS) was launched on October 15, 2008 .

Vishnu Engineering College in Bhimavaram town of West Godavari district

and Sri Venketshwara Oriental College of Tirupati are running campus Community

Radio Stations successfully in Andhra Pradesh.

Results
 India’s population as on 1 March 2001 was 1,028 millions. Out of which,

72.12 per cent lived in rural areas (Economic Survey 2008-09). Rural broadcasting is

of special significance. Further, since the vast majority of the rural people are

illiterate the only mass media is radio. It is a powerful means to educate as well as

entertain rural people.

In December 2002, the Ministry of I&B allowed universities to broadcast non-

commercial programmes through low power transmitters. Reach of this broadcast

would not be more than five kilometre not sufficient for many campuses. The

Ministry of I&B, UNDP and UNESCO jointly organised a workshop on Community

Radio to formulate a national policy on Community Radio. In 2003, Telecom

Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) came out with its recommendations in this

respect. On 16th November 2006 Government of India notified a new Community

Radio policy covering State Agricultural Universities, ICAR Institutions, Krishi

Vigyan Kendras with a view to allowing major participants of civil society on issues

of development and social change.

The following is the status of Community Radio in India as on 31 January

2009.

Applications received (under new scheme) : 303

Applications rejected : 38

Applications being processed : 158

Letters of Intent issued (Total) : 107

It is, thus, evident that Community Radio can broadly be divided as shown

below:

COMMUNITY RADIO
 Campus Radio Community Radio

(Exclusive owned and run by (Exclusive owned and run

Educational institutions) by NGOs)

Campus radio stations

In December 2002, the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting released

‘Community Radio Guidelines’. Though nominally ‘community’ radio, the policy

restricts the radio licenses under this scheme to ‘well-established educational

institutions’. The licensing process proved so cumbersome that India’s first campus-

based community radio station was launched only by 2004 (Anna University’s 90.4

Anna FM).

Against optimistic projections of 1000 campus stations coming up in a year,

only 75 odd educational institutions have applied for a campus radio licenses so far,

and of these, 41 stations have become operational.

Most of the campus licenses have gone to universities, engineering colleges and

mass communications institutions, despite rapid developments in communication

technologies in the last few decades, radio broadcasting remains the cheapest mode of

mass communication in India that can benefit rural and deprived communities with

low literacy rate and little excess to education sprinkling of well-heeled schools.

Transmitting over a range of 5-10 kilometres, their FM radio stations are expected to

serve the community beyond the campus walls, and to produce programmes ‘on issues

relating to education, health, environment, agriculture, rural and community

development’, according to the government’s Community Radio Guidelines.

 Needless to say, the campus stations that try to live up to this confused

mandate – and many of them do – sound very much like the public service

broadcaster on which they seem to be closely modelled (Sajan Venniyoor 2006).

COMMUNITY RADIO SCENARIO IN ANDHRA PRADESH

Campus Stations Status Community Stations Status

1. Vishnu Engineering Operational 1. Mana Radio Closed
College for Women,
Bheemvarm,
W.Godavari district

2. Tirupati Oriental Operational 2. Sangham Radio of Operational

College Deccan Development
Society

MANA RADIO
"Mana Radio" (Our Radio), launched in the small village of Orvakal in

Kurnool district, Andhra Pradesh, in November 2002 was India’s first Community

Radio. It was managed by Ratnamma, President of Samkya.

The broadcasts of Mana Radio were on Monday for an hour, from 6-7 p.m. on

96.2 MHz FM with 40 milli-watts of power. The station planned to increase up its

broadcasts as soon as it has built up a larger bank of programming, hoping to

eventually start daily broadcasts. According to Neelima Reddy, a local development

worker, "The station was started by local women who are organised into twenty-six

self-help groups (SHGs). These women want to share their views, their situations and

success stories and to motivate other women, especially those women who are not

part of SHGs."

Realizing the role that Community Media can play in development,

empowerment and the right to information, SERP (Society for Elimination of Rural

Poverty) decided to set up community broadcast centres under the World Bank funded
Velugu programme. With the help of CALA (Cultural Action for Literacy and

Awareness) an NGO, SERP organised a three-day workshop on issue identification,

confidence building, voice modulation, and scripting for radio, at the end of which the

women wrote and recorded their first programme. Programmes included news, a play,

interviews, songs and a documentary. The SHG members now actively involved in

running the station were all from rural poor families, mostly Dalits and minorities.

Despite the fact that many of these women were minimally educated and have had no

media production exposure whatsoever, they were capable of producing varied radio

content.

Although the station had been operational offically from october 2, 2002

formal guidelines governing the operation of Community Radio were made public

only in January 2003. Shortly, thereafter according to Vinod Pavarala on 11

February, 2003 officials from the Central Government brought in police to seize the

equipment and declared the broadcasts illegal. Unsuccessful attempts have been also

made to start CR without obtaining any permission But it turned out that the SHG was

not in the wrong (Vinod Pavarala).

The Government policy to permit educational institutions to have their own

CRs at low frequency levels emerged in mid December 2002, as a result of years of

campaigning by activists and a strongly-worded Supreme Court indictment.

The Society for Elimination of Rural Poverty is an NGO created and headed

by officials deputed from the Andhra Pradesh State Government. It has access to state

and international funding for study of both programme implementation and poverty

alleviation projects. The focus is on sustainable initiatives.

 The NGO explained various possibilities, including production of local

programming on cassette tape and playback by village volunteers. Based on this

analysis, they recommended setting up a grassroots studio using state-of-the-art

consumer digital equipment, whose great advantage lies in the fact that it is relatively

inexpensive and thereby cost-effective easy to handle. The technology, the optical

minidisk developed by Sony Corporation of Japan, affords non-linear editing

capabilities for a fraction of the cost of traditional studio equipment. It is also portable

and therefore mobile.

The women that make up the membership of Orvakal’s Mandal Samakhya are

very dynamic. Many of them have courageously battled their poverty situation to rise

to a level of self-sustenance. They had all taken control of their lives in a less than

conducive environment. Many had set the agenda for development by taking strong

stands against the issues that were holding them back--gender and caste

discrimination, alcoholism, illiteracy, child-labour and debilitating poverty. It was

only natural for them to move one step further and produce their own media rather

than blindly consume everything that was pushed onto them. Tajunnisa, a Member of

Mana Radio, joined a self-help group in 1997 and participated in making two radio

programmes. Local songs, like those Tajunnisa, reflect local realities and form a

regular part of Mana Radio programme (Rane Anshuman 2002).

The NGO also recommended the use of cable relay for distribution of

recorded programmes. This involves using an existing distribution network created

[privately, usually] for relay of popular satellite television broadcasting. Audio

programmes can be duplexed onto this network using a standard frequency modulator,

on whichever spare cable channel is available. Leakiness of typical old cable ensures
that low-power signals can still be picked up 3-4 meters away from the cable, which

runs overhead past most houses in the village. They suggested releasing the

modulated signals to air, without modification of the basic equipment, by merely

attaching an antenna made of television cable. When tested the system, they found

that they could get fairly good audio quality on ordinary FM receivers. The problem

was in the location of the project field office, which was shielded from most of the

village by the hillock. Building a high enough antenna mast above this little house

was a fairly major engineering challenge. There were also problems with the landlord,

who was worried about possible damage to the building. The village sarpanch was

approached with the problem, who turned out to be a civil engineer himself and was

very interested in what we were trying to achieve. Possibly one reason for this is the

fact that the project leader has become a very visible force in the village, with the

dynamics of development beginning to play a role for change.

Regardless of these undercurrents, the Sarpanch was willing to help. He took

them to the very highest point in the village, at the top of the hillock, and negotiated

for the group to get a room at the top of a house which had an independent entrance.

They placed the mast at the top of the house, with some difficulty, because of

the peculiar construction material used in this area. Houses are made of slate like

stones mortared together very loosely with a mixture of mud and cement. What seem

to be very thick solid walls are actually very porous and poorly made, from the

engineering point of view.

The first program had a message by the Minister in charge of Velugu and the

SERP CEO which was followed by the various sections -- News, Play, Interviews,

Songs and a Documentary. The program even had a song from a group of
Meghalayans, who were in Orvakal learning to form and sustain self help groups and

village organisations.

Another highlight of the program was an interview with the students from the

Bhavita School -- the child-labour bridge school. The interviewer dwelt on their

experiences as labourers, their transition to student life and their plans for the future.

After the interview the girls sang a motivational song that they had learnt from a

group from Nellore. Proving that songs educate and inspire collective action, many of

the listeners started singing along with their radios the moment they heard the first

few bars.

The topics the women plan to cover are diverse--education, gender and caste

sensitization, agriculture, health, history and culture. And they plan to use various

methods to convey their messages--documentaries, plays, songs, jokes, humour and

interviews (Rane Anshuman 2002).

Tajunisa of the Mana Radio said, radio will give the groups a greater reach.

Instead of walking from door to door, they can reach their audience through a single

broadcast. A lot of people who heard the first show discussed the child labor situation.

A few even considered sending their children to the bridge school when they heard

about the facilities and activities the girls talked about in their interview--boarding,

three meals a day, teachers, karate, sport. Information about the bridge school had

obviously not spread throughout the community uniformly.

Hearing their name mentioned on the programme makes them feel proud, they

feel that what they did was useful and newsworthy, they feel that they might have

actually helped, made some change. Even the landlord who rented his room for the

station was very pleased with the attention the station was getting, and through it his
house, and his family. After being told that the city is the only place where all the

action is, they feel there is `life` in the village too.

Narashimlu sang the elegy at the end of the radio play in the first programme.

The song moved some of the audience into tears. Also the village troupe/band plays at

weddings and festivals. They are all very talented.

Local happenings and news; localized news on health; local agricultural news

and weather updates; local commodity prices; folk songs, myths, stories---this content

would never be aired by commercial broadcasters. But all these topics found a place

on Mana Radio. The information, being region-specific, was therefore more reliable

and accurate. Mana Radio catered only to the village and was based in the village. The

information has to travel merely 500 metres to the station to be broadcast, not 250 km

to Hyderabad or 2000 km to Delhi before it is picked up, researched, verified and

broadcast.

The women of Orvakal seem to have taken to radio like ducks to water and

churned out ideas, program formats and schedules. In subsequent workshops,

organized by SERP, the women learnt to use recorders, microphones, set audio levels,

edit and put together radio shows.

Initially, the women found the technical aspects most difficult to grasp. Some

transmission frustrations were also been encountered. The station being so low-

powered it only covered the village. They want it to cover a larger area so that more

people can hear the programs. This was the biggest frustration. Also the signals do not

penetrate walls and get disrupted in the rains.

Otherwise, there are no real difficulties. The local technician was more than

capable of repairing the transmitter in case of a problem. He had actually built him
self a small AM transmitter quite a while back. Electricity is another problem--they

can only practice their technical skills when they have power, trainings on equipment

can only be done when there is power. For broadcast, however, they always keep a set

of charged AA batteries for the MD players and there is a 12V battery for the

transmitter.

This community broadcast centre gave the villagers the means to sift the

information that they receive, a tool that has traditionally been in the hands of the rich.

Using the radio the women hope to be able to spread information about the issues

faced by the rural poor in programs made by those who are aware of the problems

(See Plate 1).

 MANA RADIO

Plate : 1 Transmitter and measuring the frequency

The station promoted a feeling of pride within the community, providing a

platform for local artists, activists and talent, as well as a source for local news.

SANGHAM RADIO

Sangham Radio is located in Village Machnoor, Jharasangam Mandal, Medak

District, Andhra Pradesh. It’s frequency being 90.4 FM. It went on air since October

15, 2008 (World Rural Women's Day), but narrowcasting since 1998. Its broadcast

timing was between 8 pm to 9.30 pm (total 90 minutes) daily. The broadcast

language was Telengana Telugu. The station has two 100 watts transmitters of
Nomad make covering a radius of 30 kms. This Community Radio Station is working

on audio cassette technology reaching out to 100 villages (See Plate 2).

Plate 2 : Sangham Radio

General Narasamma on console Transmission Tower (

On Edit suite Women’s powe

DDS Sangham Radio is a community radio station owned, managed, and

operated exclusively by women from rural marginalised communities (the "Dalit"

caste). The station is part of the Women Speak to Women programme of UNESCO,

which has supported in this venture.

 Sangham Radio was inaugurated by Justice P B Sawant, the Supreme Court

judge who delivered the historic 1995 judgment affirming that “the airwaves are

public property”.

The studio building was made with locally available low cost material. It has

two 16 and 4 channel mixers and stereo recorders.

Deccan Development Society (DDS) of Hyderabad is a grassroots

organization working with Sangams (village level groups) of poor women, most of

them are Dalits. The UNESCO has recognized the services for long rendered by the

DDS in the region with regard to empowerment and education of the poorest of the

poor among women and facilitated funding for establishing a radio station in

Machnoor village. The DDS aiming to establish a community radio is perfectly in

accordance with the global recognition of the need to democratize the communication

media.

The station is managed by Algole Narsamma and ‘General’ Narsamma, two

dalit women who are alumni of The Green School of the Deccan Development

Society (DDS), of which the Community Media Trust is a part. DDS has 5,000

women members, mostly dalits, organised into Sanghams or voluntary village-level

associations. Ten girls from The Green School have been commissioned to gather

information for the radio from member villages in neighbouring mandals (village

blocks).

All effort of Deccan Development Society (DDS) is focused on ensuring

women's say over their own lives and issues. It is a radio that is intended to give a

voice to the “excluded” in general and to women in particular. It is a radio that would

help marginalized women to articulate their issues and create horizontal

communication among themselves as well as take these issues to the outside world.

To make every member of the community to participate in the programme at least

twice a year.

Sangham Radio focuses on issues such as health, and media. It also focuses on

culture, language and local traditions in food, farming, health and ecology.

Female reporters go daily to various villages within Medak district for stories

that are neither breaking news nor juicy snippets that sell. The goal, rather, is to glean

information for reports that strike a chord with the listeners: Every night at 8:00, the

channel airs a one-and-a-half-hour package of local news and views, titbits on herbal

medicines for animals, reports on farming tools, folk songs and stories. To illustrate

the strategy: while domestic abuse may no longer be newsworthy, if the station airs a

case of the wife resisting her husband's violence - women might be inspired to talk,

think, act in empowering ways.

“The women want to use this new media space to save their dying language

and cultures, spread their message of sisterhood, ecological agriculture, women's

control over seeds and a host of other issues." Acting as reporters, jockeys, editors,

and so on. Women affiliated with the radio station note that their association with the

project is only possible because Dalit women in the area are used to working outside

their homes.

We may fall in the ‘suicide belt’ but we have never seen a farmer kill

himself,” says Narsamma. It’s difficult to miss the pride and the sense of achievement

in the voice of this 25-year-old Dalit woman who researches, scripts, produces and

anchors a weekly radio magazine with Algole Narsamma.

 “Our area is full of small marginal farmers, who have one to three-acre plots

of dry red soil. But for 20 years, we have practised self-sufficient agriculture which

does not require the kind of credit that many farmers take and pay with their lives for.

We devised our own way to become self-sufficient,” says Narsamma, who is called

“General”.

She believes that her local ‘radio’ station may have helped and levels of

awareness in this dark corner. Her radio magazine reaches out to about 5,000 fellow

Maadiga (Dalit) village women each week. With the help of UNESCO, Deccan

Development Society has given the Narsammas school education and helped them

“narrowcast” (or talk) to their fellow sisters about local problems, health issues, social

problems, and most importantly, tips on agriculture.

“We communicate in Telengana Telugu. All AIR stations in Andhra Pradesh

speak stiff Telugu which is not similar to our dialect. Also, they don’t understand our

local problems or concerns. We try and tackle local problems and we also have songs,

by the way. We are heard through radio recorders over a public address system in

large groups. They record their radio magazines on tape. But that doesn’t seem to

discourage the feisty duo.

Discussion

Ispo facto, Article 19 of the Constitution of India which enshrines freedom of

speech and expression gives the fundamental right to communities to express

themselves; and further recognises community radio a legitimate tool of expression.

In contemporary development communication debates, Nobel Laureate Amartya Sen

said that giving a voice to the voiceless is a form of development. In this sense, the

Indian policy on Community Radio is an admirable one and has already inspired a

similar policy in Bangladesh.

 People are not only listeners but they are also participating in terms of

content. Both technology and content of community radio is participatory in nature,

which make it powerful. Community radio is expected to focus on issues related to

education, health, environment, agriculture, rural and community development.

Format and presentation reflect local flavours.

In a real sense, it is vibrant community broadcasting system to strengthen the

country’s pluralism and diversity. It makes active citizens not only listeners but also

as and creative producers of media content. Power of Community Radio lies in its

participatory nature as both its content and technology is people-oriented. It is an

interactive platform. The policy explicitly states that the Community Radio’s

management structure should be reflective of the community it seeks to serve.

Philosophically, we can see two distinct models of Community Radio. One is

service or community model – focused on what the station can do for the community.

In this model, localism is often prized, as Community Radio, as a third tier, can

provide content focused on a more local or particular community than larger

operations. The other model is of involvement and participation. With the

participatory model, the participation of community members in producing content is

seen as good in itself. (Monika 2007)

Campus Radio Stations are more in number than Community Radio for

obvious reasons But it is noticed that there is a drawback with these stations : they

are lacking in skills of managing equipment. Campus radio stations are expected to

serve the community beyond the campus walls, and to produce programmes ‘on issues

relating to education, health, environment, agriculture, rural and community

development’ according to the Government’s Community Radio Guidelines.

Needless to say, the campus stations that try to live to this confused mandate – and
many of them do – sound very much like the public service broadcaster on which they

seem to be closely modelled.

The first experimental setup by Mana Radio in Orvakal in Kurnool district of

Andhra Pradesh, was not acceptable to the Government of India, due to the policy

guidelines. Though the station became popular due to involvement of women’s Self

Help Group; this is a clear indication of “digital divide” implying uneven distribution

of the technologies within the societies and across the world, upsetting the balance of

gender equality. Ready access and use of information and communication

technologies is expected to bridge this “gap” or “divide” to a large extent. Though

this station had run successfully on shoe-string budgets was forcefully closed. Many

independent individuals incessantly lobbied for a policy change to get permission for

Community Radio broadcast. Though they were rewarded in late 2006, the policy

still remains mired with many complications.

The world is undergoing an Information Communication Technology (ICT)

revolution, a revolution that has enormous socio-economic implications for the

developed and developing societies. The term ‘digital divide’ emerged in the mid-

1990s to describe the gap between those who have ‘ever’ and those who have ‘never’

access to ICT devices. A distinction is commonly made between a digital divide

within a country and one between countries. An example of the former is the divide

that usually exists between young and old, male and female, the more and the less

educated, the more and the less wealthy, and urban and rural locations. Widespread

poverty across the developing world has complex and multiple reasons. The lack of

access to information that is essential to the lives of the poor is one such reason. Poor

access to education and knowledge is another. The term “digital divide” refers to
multi-dimensional inequalities in internet access and use, ranging from the global

level, to nations, to communities, and even to individuals.

The international community recognizes the rural digital divide as a complex

challenge. It is not only concerned with technology infrastructure and connectivity,

but rather its multifaceted problem of ineffective knowledge exchange and

management of information of information content as well as the lack of human

resources, institutional incapacity and gender sensitivity. Bridging the digital divide

requires an understanding of how persons in different cultures learn to use and apply

ICTs, access to which is central to breaking down the divide. The real challenge is

how to make technology serve the needs of those persons.

There are several factors that prevent citizens from receiving ICT services.

The major factor is cost. The cost to bring access to the under-served is often hard to

justify. Typically, the under-served, are poor, rural, remote villages/communities, that

are hundreds of miles away from urban areas. Even in urban areas, ICT services are

usually restricted to use by the well-off.

The idea that some information and communication technologies are vital to

quality civic life is not new. It is considered that Internet and other ICTs are

somehow transforming society, improving mutual understanding, eliminating power

differentials, realizing a truly free and democratic society, and other benefits. There

are a variety of arguments regarding why closing the digital divide is important The

major arguments are economic equality, social mobility, democracy and economic

growth.

People need to realize that they are no longer simply citizens of the country of

origin, but they are global citizens. Community-based technology programmes are
expanding quickly and the research community is starting to gain some insight into

how ICTs are supporting the needs of disadvantaged communities. However,

important questions remain : how community organizations can make best use of

existing research and how additional data can be collected to enable programmes to

continue to grow, innovate, and refine their technology initiatives. There is a need for

community leaders, government agencies, policy makers, industry people,

community-based programme staff, and researchers to look beyond simple access to

hardware and software. It is more valuable to address issues of teaching and learning

with technology in informal settings located in disadvantaged community across.

(Kainth & Kamalpreet Kaur, 2008).

Only non-profits organizations more than three years old can apply for a

Community Radio license. Although this clause is a welcome step, it puts restriction

on new entrants that want to launch a Community Radio to serve the community. A

quick perusal of the Ministry’s website will reveal that all the NGOs who have

obtained the Wireless Operating License (WOL) are big NGOs. These NGOs are

usually working in several countries or at least several states in India, have head

offices in multiple metropolitan cities, and have huge funds for programmes which

work with lakhs of people. This is perhaps even worse than not having a policy.

Today, what is happening is NGOs are setting up community radio stations investing

lakhs of rupees and then using it as a tool to enhance their existing NGO programmes.

The radio then becomes a one way propaganda tool. The most “marginalized”

communities which development often speak of like adivasis, dalits, people with

disabilities, people with AIDS, senior citizens etc, still do not have access to

community radio.
 Another aspect is to widely publicize. The Government of India is also not

giving wide publicity to establish Community Radios. It is true that the need for

establishing a Community Radio Station should come from among the community,

but how will it come unless and until they are made known of this potential media

outlet of their own.

The application procedure is no doubt cumbersome taking nearly a year as five

different ministries are involved in the process. Although, surveys are definitely

valuable to assess the information needs of the communities, the specific survey

mandated by the Government is available only in English, and contains a whole host

of amusing questions that are completely irrelevant to establish community radio.

Another aspect which the policy insists is that the transmission equipment for

the Community radio be purchased only from “Government approved dealers” for

FM transmitters. Some are of the opinion that these dealers are none other than semi

governmental agencies Bharath Electronics Limited (BEL) and West Bengal

Electronics Limited(WEBEL). Their transmitters are expensive and not to mention

hidden costs like installation charges, and consultancy charges. Recently a third

vendor Nomad has been added, which designs and manufacturers indigenous

transmitters.

But Dr. Sreedher, Director, Commonwealth Educational Media Centre for

Asia is of the opinion that, BEL and WEBEL transmitters are cheaper and doing well.

BEL is the largest undertaking catering to the needs of the Ministry of Defence

successfully. But Nomad transmitter is certainly not cheaper than BEL or WEBEL.

A major drawback is technical know-how to maintain the studios and the

transmission equipment. The NGOs should impart training to the community

broadcasters. The degree of alienation from the programme is at its most glaring with

respect to the post production work. Many of the reporters themselves have not been

involved in post-production processes. This number should be gradually increased, as

being cut off from the end phase also has an effect on their performance and quality of

output at the field recording stage. Advocacy Workshops need to be organized so

that more and more communities come forward. This is one of the major works at

this moment, which will give birth to a number of effective Community Radio

Stations in the country. Ultimately, if this experiment succeeds, the community will

be able to meet the demand of information from its own Community Radio Station to

a great extent.

A welcome step taken by the Government in creating the guidelines is to

prohibit news and current affairs on Community Radio. This automatically means

that the politicians of Panchayat /District/State level cannot use the Community

Radio politically. If news is allowed, the incidents like Lalgarh in West Bengal will

be the primary item on a community radio and raise hatred/communal tension among

the members of the community. The basic purpose of community radio will be

defeated if news and current affairs are allowed in the broadcast. Community Radio

is not a political activity subject to changing power equations. It is the means by

which a scarce societal resource, i.e., the means of communication, is passed on to

people themselves so that their voices can be heard. Here a medium that is based as

a distribution communication system can change its character, from a mechanical

system to an organic communication system, a means by which two-way dialogue

and communication can emerge (Manjula 2009). It can be used as an instrument of

social change.
 Central funding is not available for Community Radio and there are stringent

restrictions on Fundraising from other sources. Advertising of five minutes on

Community Radio is a boon if used systematically. It can be a good source of

revenue to help the station to ease it in meeting the day to day running costs of the

stations.

The revenue from advertisement of five minutes per hour per day can be

sufficient for meeting the running costs including salaries of the Station Manger,

Technician and Announcer. For example, if a second of a minute is charged as a

rupee the income will be : 1x60x5= 300 x 10 hours = 3000 Rupees per day x 30 days

= 90000 Rs per month.

The community radio programmes which offer an opportunity for the

audience to get ever closer to the programmes and participate in them. There can be

no better way to win an audience than to feel they are participants.

But according to Dr. R. Sreedher, Community Radio is only five years old in

India, and the problems will be overcoming gradually there are no good radio

professionals in India.

The Government has liberalized the application procedure and all the

applications (both of educational institutions and NGOs) are now being screened by a

Screening Committee.

Dr. Sreedher opined, in the case of frequency allocation the problem of

overlapping will be overcome when the entire digital gap is tackled i.e. by 2020.

The studio equipment can be given on hire at a nominal price to young

upcoming talent in the area for recording their own CDs etc.
SUMMARY

Broadcasting success comes from good teamwork in which each manager

recognises that everybody is different and that the interaction with each and every

other individual in the team is also different. Broadcasting is a team effort in which

the manager’s foremost responsibility is creating the team.

Broadcasters have a rather peculiar relationship with their audience. When a

broadcast reaches a listener or viewer, no physical transaction takes place. No money

changes hands. No physical object is either collected or handed over. A transmitted

programme can be heard or viewed by one person or one million. Nothing happens

that actually tells you for sure how many “customers’ there were.

The hope for the future of community broadcasting in the developing world,

however, lies first and last with the improvement of the broadcasting environment

through a redirection of Government policies in favour of an independent media,

followed by broadcasting regulators taking greater responsibility for issuing licences

with a stronger community broadcasting remit.

Even in the developed countries like the United Kingdom there are 200

Community Radio stations till 2005 which has a history of community-based services

as early as 1960s (Wikipedia 2009).

The history of Community Radio in India is only of six years old. Licence

conditions implicitly favour well funded stations as against inexpensive low power

operations such as Raghav FM in Bihar and Mana Radio in Andhra Pradesh which

ran successfully on shoe string budgets before the new guidelines for Community

Radio Policy came into force.

 India is a country with many diversities, with no real radio professionals in

Community Radio it is difficult to control the information that they receive. Though

38 educational institutions are running Community Radio stations only a few of

them are able to cater to the needs of the community in which they are established or

to which they are connected.

There are major barriers in bridging the digital divide, the most important

being infrastructure a pre-requisite for the real access of ICT. 2020 is set as target for

bridging the ‘digital divide’ world over by which time India can attain its target of

4,000 Community Radio Stations.

To conclude in the words of Wijayananda Jayaweera Director, Division for

Communication Development UNESCO “Community radio is not just about

broadcast content; it is mostly about the process of community engagement. One

should note, however, that a “community” is no longer determined by the primary

occupation of its members, such as farming or fishing, as was the case in traditional

communities. Even in rural societies, the home is losing its role as a cradle of

education. Many people now work outside of their homes and immediate

surroundings, and thus their mobility has increased. Communities are more and more

exposed to media proliferation, which influences the way in which people think of

lifestyles and media functions. The tension between social transformation influenced

by the larger society and the mass media, on the one hand, and attempts to retain

traditional hierarchical relationships and individual strategies in immediate

communities, on the other, increases the uncertainty of a particular form of coherent

“community.” Therefore, in the present context, one could say that “community” is a

fluid concept.

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