Breakthrough in India for Community Radio
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>
AMARC welcomes the government of India's decision legitimizing
community radio in the country. According to the policy which was
> released on the 16th of November 2006, civil society organizations,
> NGOs, and other non profits will be able to apply for community radio
> licenses.
>
> It will also allow them to become self supporting through limited
> advertising revenue. India is the first country in South Asia to have
> a separate policy for community radio.
> The legislation comes 11 and a half years after the Supreme Court of
> India's landmark judgment which declared that airwaves a public
> property. Since then initiatives especially from rural India
> demonstrated the need for voices of the excluded to move to the
> centre.  November 16th 2006, is not only a historic day for these
> communities but for all of the country who are committed to media
> democratization and the realization of a three tiered media structure-
> public, private and community; based on principles of equity and
> inclusiveness.
>
> During the 11 and half years of struggle the community radio movement
> witnessed several ups and downs before the November 16th endorsement
> by the government. In 2004, the ministry of Information and
> Broadcasting initiated a consultative process to determine an enabling
> environment for community radio in the country. Through this process,
> a consensus document was ratified and taken up by the I & B ministry.
> But many more hurdles remained to be crossed before the reality of
> community radio was to find tangible expression. A consultative
> parliamentary committee was set up to take the issue. Subsequently a
> group of ministers was set up to take the issue forward. More than a
> year passed since their appointment leading many to believe that
> community radio would always be a case of so near and yet so far. But
> ultimately there was light at the end of the tunnel.
>
> The light was amplified by community groups of the poor like Kutch
> Mahila Vikas Sanghatan, Namma Dhwani, VOICES, Deccan Development
> Society, and others who used narrow casting, cable radio and buying
> time from All India Radio to ensure that voices of the poor were not
> overwhelmed by the sound of silence. It is their voices that are the
> true inheritors of community radio in the country today.
>
> Underlying their efforts were networking, lobbying and advocacy
> initiatives that emerged- albeit late in the day. Collaborations with
> academia and other social movements strengthened and reinforced the
> relevance of community radio. Voice was acknowledged as critical
> ingredient in poverty eradication. The question is "Who's voice?"
> Ultimately Gandhiji's wisdom that radio is 'shakthi' seems to have
> prevailed. India needs to now strengthen the Mahatma's vision that the
> excluded take their due place in the country's guidance through the
> power and force of community radio wave.
>
> For further information please contact:
>
> Ashish Sen
> Director
> VOICES, Bangalore, India
> email: [log in to unmask]