Community radios emerge as strong medium of social awareness

Community radio is becoming popular, especially for disseminating information at the local level and for preserving cultural diversities. These radio channels create awareness among the public at the community level on issues such as drunk driving, girl child education and encourages rainwater harvesting and plantation.

At present, Delhi has six community radio stations (CRS), which are run by educational institutions. These are ‘Apna Radio’ run by the Indian Institute of Mass Communication (IIMC), ‘Jamia Radio’ run by the AJ Kidwai Mass Communication Research Centre, Jagannath International Management School’s ‘JIMS Raga’ and ‘JIMS CR’, Spasth Education Society’s ‘KRIMS CR’ andThe University of Delhi’s ‘UCR’. 

Indian CRS are usually run either by educational institutions or NGOs. The CRS do not have over a 10-km range and have antenna heights not more than 30 metres. According to the government’s mandate, the programmes should be relevant to the educational, developmental, social and cultural demands of a community. 

“The programmes relayed on Apna Radio focus on issues around the IIMC campus. For instance, rash driving is a serious problem in the area. So, we aired several shows to tackle this issue. Besides, we focus on student-related issues,” said KG Suresh, Director General, IIMC. 

“Various shows and formats are used to serve discrete listeners. The audiences are from a multi-cultural background, and come form from different states. We also spread awareness about welfare schemes being run by the government, including job opportunities, health, sanitation, use of toilets and health hazards due to open defecation. Interactive discussions, interviews and vox-pop (public interviews) are used to make ‘Apna Radio’ popular in the community,” he added.

To boost the growth of CRS, the IIMC executive council has decided to provide consultancy and training regarding the running of community radios across the country. Jamia Radio also aims to serve the students and local community. “Radio Jamia strives to create an informed and educated community. It also hopes to inculcate values among youngsters and serves as a champion in the preservation of local cultures. We have members of the community, who take part in shows,” said Shakleel Akhtar, producer of Radio Jamia. 

“The community radio often air mushairas (poetic symposium) and ghazals, as well as shows on health. We also hold interactive sessions with professors and local leaders regarding social issues like education and gender equality, the concerns of students are also relayed from our station,” he added. 

As community radio advances, there is hope that it could fill in the information gap left by the mainstream media at the micro-level. At present, 184 CRS are operational in India, and the government hopes to increase the number to 5,000.