Radio days in Indian villages

Das begins by stating, "In villages across nine Indian states listeners are getting hooked on to radio shows featuring women sarpanches and journalists fighting social and economic inequities through panchayati raj institutions [PRIs]. In the process, listeners are spurred on to participate in local institutions of self-governance themselves."

Drawing on radio's reach (almost 90% of India's population), the Delhi-based Participatory Research In Asia (PRIA) has launched pilot programmes to inform local communities about the need to strengthen PRIs and strategies for strengthening them. Selected programmes include:

• 'Panchayat Vani' (People's Voice) - broadcast on All India Radio (AIR) Darbhanga
• 'Swayambharanam' (Self-governance), which featured talk shows, interviews, panel discussions, responses from the field, and the experiences of villagers, was broadcast on AIR Trivandrum
• 'Ganda No Dhabkar' (Heartbeat of the Village) - developed by Unnati in collaboration with PRIA, this show revolves around characters including a newly-elected sarpanch, an ex-sarpanch, and a ward member. Broadcast in Gujarati on AIR Ahmedabad, Vadodara, and Rajkot
• 'Ama Hate Ama Shasana Dori' (We Hold the Power to Rule), which is about the life and work of a journalist, was developed by the Bhubaneswar-based Centre for Youth and Social Development. 13 weekly episodes were broadcast on AIR Cuttack
• 'Apna Gaon Mein Apna Raj' (Village Self-rule) focusses on the roles and responsibilities of the gram sabha, gram sabha committees, and participation of dalits in gram sabhas.
• 'Roshini', a programme by the Rohtak-based Nav Yuvak Kala Sangam, discusses issues relating to women's participation in panchayats, the role of gram sabhas, and various developmental schemes. Features talk shows and plays.

The Delhi-based Centre for Media Studies contacted more than 3,000 people in 7 states where the programme has already been broadcast. While 16% of the 705 respondents had heard at least one episode of the PRI programme, 16.7% had heard the programme more than once. In the words of one member of Prasar Bharati Board: "Radio has a community-building capacity if you can create interest in the context of what is being broadcast. People identify with the programme and the situation. They feel that they are sharing (their problems) with others." According to the study, the drama format should be given priority, as its impact was the greatest.

Click here for the full article on the Infochange India site.