Community radio can help fulfill the communication needs of the marginalized rural people by letting them design and air programs that are relevant to them. It will help foster participatory communication at the grass roots level. Community radio is a counterpoise to the egotistical profit driven media accountable only to their own selves thus bringing about a ‘bottom-up’ approach model of media where the target audience decides what they want to watch or listen to from media broadcasts.

Radio has always been a medium with very high potential of mass communication. Radio sets are inexpensive, can be listened to while at work or during travel and don’t require electricity to operate. They are also thought of to be a personal medium and make the listener feel related to. For decades this has been the sole source of news and entertainment of people in far flung villages with no access to electricity or modern means of connectivity. There are instances where people switch-on the radio the moment they wake-up and only turn it off when stations end their broadcasts at midnight. Their day-long activities are so centered around it that they don’t need a watch to know what time of the day it is. The mother knows it is the time to cook food when a particular program ends and the father knows that he is late for work when a particular program has already started.

In November 2006 the Cabinet approved a policy for the grant of licenses for setting up of Community Radio Stations. Under this policy the following can apply for setting up community radio stations:

a. ‘Non-profit’ organizations like civil societies and voluntary organizations registered under the societies act and having a proven record of at least three years of service to the local community at the time of application.

b. State Agricultural Universities (SAUs), ICAR institutions and Krishi Vigyan Kendras.

c. Well established educational institutions.

Community radio stations have shown wide success in developed, developing and under developed countries like USA, UK, Australia, Philippines, Nepal, Thailand, Sri Lanka, China, East Timor to mention a few. In India, till 2002, only established educational institutions could get a license to set-up community radio stations. Although it took the government a long time to allow community radio institutions at the community level, even before the Cabinet approval in November 2006, individuals, groups, CSOs, NGOs, have been involved in running community radio institutions within the legal ambit.

Nagapattinam, a coastal district in Tamil Nadu, was one of the worst affected by the Tsunami in 2004. The killer waves, when they broke into the region, took more than 6000 lives not to mention the enormous damage to property and basic civic amenities. As the region tried to limp back to normalcy there was a need for a common platform that could allow the community members to interact better and participate in the reconstruction process. It was then that the DHAN (Development of Humane Action) Foundation, an NGO, launched a community radio station called Kalanjiam Samuja Vanoli. It was launched with financial assistance from United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) and technical assistance from VOICES, another NGO. Today, Radio Kalanjiam airs programs on various topics, ranging from disaster preparedness to marine education, which is produced with the help of the local people. The programs are delivered in the local dialect and are very popular and effective because their content reflects the educational, developmental and socio-cultural needs of the community. This has surely put the development process of the region on a fast track which would not have been possible with other media because they are either commercial or government run and provide very little space for voicing the concerns of the community.

Although the government has an ambitious plan of giving away licenses to around 4000 community radio stations within a couple of years, there is almost no publicity about the concept and procedures ever since the new policy was approved in November 2006. Meghalaya, a state where 80% of the population (2001 census) lives in rural areas and has a geography that requires specialized methods of cultivation, transportation and income generation, community radio stations will benefit in numerous ways by providing a platform to share knowledge about innovative and scientific methods in agriculture, healthcare, promotion of local language, arts, craft, culture and tradition and help them find markets for their products.

Between the Indian Council of Agricultural Research, Provincial Departments of Agriculture and other spatial information providers there is a wealth of information. However, this information is not readily accessible to the rural population engaged in farming activities, particularly the poor.

Meghalaya continues to have a poor record when it comes to implementation of Central schemes. A recent news report in an English daily newspaper revealed that besides several other projects including Pradhan Mantri Gram Sadak Yojana (PMGSY), one of the most progressive social welfare schemes called the National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme (NREGS) has yet to take off in the state as desired by the Government of India. Whereas other states like Rajasthan, Andhra Pradesh and even hill states, including Himachal Pradesh have made tremendous progress through NREGS, many people living in rural parts of Meghalaya are not even aware that such a scheme exists. Community radio can help spread awareness about such schemes so that the rural poor can work towards a better future for themselves and the country. The medium can be used to provide information about loans, funding agencies, facilities, education and training facilities provided by different agencies.

A primary research carried out by the writer in Nongmynsong village about the scope and applicability of community radio stations in the rural set-up of Meghalaya found that 86% of the respondents believed that radio can help address and find solutions to some of the problems. A little more than 75% of them said that if basic training is provided they would like to participate in a radio programme and would like to represent their community.

When it came to choice of programs, almost 90% of them said they would like to hear programs on vocational training, health, education, tips about farming agriculture and starting a business at home etc.

The need of the hour is to popularize and encourage the setting up of community radio stations and various NGOs and Self-Help Groups should come forward for this. Although the cost of setting up a basic community radio station comes to 6.5 lakhs which includes audio production facility (studio), transmission tower and Bank guarantee for License and Annual subscription fee; various international organizations like UNDP, UNESCO etc provide financial support and guidance related to setting up of community radio stations.

After the station is set up there may be issues of sustaining the radio station. The new community radio policy allows limited advertising related to local events, local businesses and services, and employment opportunities for duration of 5 minutes per hour. While the government is clear in its policy that a community radio cannot be used for ruthless commercialization, it does give leverage for a small advertising slot. This slot should be used by the local businesses to air their marketing pitches. After all, no social development can be sustained without a thriving economic activity. This could be a good platform for village entrepreneurs and artisans to reach out to their customers in the vicinity.

A network of community radios can be formed to further strengthen their economic activity.

For example, if there are 10 community radio stations in an area spanning more than 200 km they can form a group, with their understanding, and then the group can sell the advertisement space of whole 10 CRS and this will be benefit the community radio stations in negotiating for a better deal and also the advertiser in reaching a larger audience/listener base. Networking among neighbouring CRSs will also be useful in sharing content if the needs are similar in nature, like forest or water management in two neighboring districts catered by two different CRSs.

Other economic activities could also prevail. For example, at the village level, a community radio can be used to announce the prices at which companies would want to buy produce from the farmers directly. In this way villages can ignore the middlemen and sell their goods at lucrative prices.

The other way round, companies dying to tap the rural market could find a friend in the community radio to reach out to remote areas. With competition heating up in the urban market, consumer goods companies are leaving no stone unturned in expanding their customer base in rural areas.

Involvement of the local people is the key word for the development of this medium. Making them feel that the radio station is theirs and incorporating a sense of belongingness is an important consideration for sustaining the community radio station in the long run. Programs that specifically address the problems and concerns of the community and help find solutions to some of these problems should be a priority. A lot of volunteers will be required to operate and manage the station successfully. And when it comes to training there is no dearth of places in Meghalaya itself which can help achieve this. St. Anthony’s College for instance, has a well equipped Audio Production Studio and qualified faculty to teach all the basics- technical, program design and tips on radio announcing and compeering. The institution can be approached to conduct tailor made programs to train those involved with community radio stations in the region.

An informed society is a progressive society. A proper combination of capacity building and access to information and communication can help our rural masses scale never before heights of development. The need of the hour is to create awareness, motivate communities and facilitate Community Radio Stations. A country’s development has no meaning unless its rural communities are assured of decent living conditions and a secure future. Community radio can be instrumental in achieving this goal.