Step by step

Towards legislation and practice in India

More than a decade after the Indian Supreme Court judged that 'airwaves are public property', national laws still prohibit genuine community radio broadcasting. Residential universities and educational institutions, however, can apply for broadcasting licenses. Although the government refers to these as community radio stations and they transmit beyond their campuses, they are in fact campus radio. While this indicates change at policy levels, the crucial question for India now is: how soon will community radio follow?

VOICES is a non-governmental organisation (NGO) based in Bangalore committed to developing communication that strengthens social empowerment. Its advocacy initiatives have included the Bangalore Declaration (1996) and the Pastapur Initiative (2000), both aimed at creating a three-tiered radio structure in the country: public, private and community. They also helped create awareness about community radio among government, NGOs and the general public.

The 2000 New Delhi Declaration discussed the feasibility of Gyan Vani, an educational FM radio network funded by the Indira Gandhi National Open University. It demonstrated a shift in official thinking and as much as 40 percent of broadcast time could be used for community development purposes.

The launch of ANNA FM in early 2004, the first campus radio in the country, was a more distinctive milestone in terms of community radio however, as it enabled students and academic staff to play an active role in designing and managing radio stations. It was also the first time that a radio station (albeit educational) was not government controlled.

Independent of these declarations, Namma Dhwani - a partnership between the farmer community of Budikoti village, the NGO MYRADA, and VOICES, with support from UNESCO was launched in 2000. An assessment by MYRADA in 1999 confirmed that the community, on the border of Karnataka and Andhra Pradesh States, wanted local communication systems to address local needs. The language spoken by the community is very different from that spoken on the government radio and the closest radio station was some 100 kilometres away. Located in a very poor district with low literacy rates, radio, relying as it does the spoken word, was a logical choice for connecting the community with information. Today, it is the first community media centre in the country that has a cable radio station managed by the local community.

In May 2004 there was a national consultation on allowing community radio in India by the Information and Broadcasting Ministry, UNDP and UNESCO. A draft consensus document became the basis for future discussions at official level. It recommends a model where NGOs and communities are eligible to run their own community radio stations.

While campus radios have increased rapidly across the country, radio for and by the community is still trying to establish itself. India's experience highlights the following:

• Advocacy is more effective through grassroots efforts such as Namma Dhwani. Positive shifts in government policy are more likely if demand is demonstrated.
• Community radio needs to be a part of the curricula and syllabi in Communications and Media Institutes. Greater collaboration between academic staff and practitioners is required.
• Networking including websites, consultations, workshops and training programmes need to be developed to promote the idea and power of community radio. Otherwise, there will be only isolated projects.

Ashish Sen
VOICES
165, 1st Floor, 9th Cross, 1st stage
Indiranagar
Bangalore 560 038
India
T + 91 (0) 80 5213902/5213903
F +91 (0) 80 521390
voices@vsnl.com

Community Radio in India - Step by Step, Community Radio Handbook, by VOICES/UNDP, 2004
www.communityradionetwork.org

Views expressed on these pages are not necessarily those of DFID, IDS, id21 or other contributing institutions. Copyright remains with the original authors but (unless stated otherwise) any article may be copied or quoted without restriction, provided both source (id21, insights) and authors are properly acknowledged and informed. Copyright © 2004 id21. All rights reserved.