Radio for and by the people is a radical democratic idea that is slowly getting its place in India through the government’s policy in support of community radio. We would like to draw your attention to a path-breaking project that has recently been launched by the NGO The Restoring Force (TRF) in Gurgaon: a community radio station that addresses the needs of the hundreds of villages, semi-urban clusters, and urban slums that fall within a 10-km radius around Udyog Vihar.
In a community, one of the key factors that can ignite change is access to information and the opportunity to air grievances and opinions. This has not been made possible either by the state-owned All India Radio or the private commercial FM channels. The former follows the top-down method of broadcasting, giving negligible access to the local community to create its own content, discuss their own local issues, and document their own cultural traditions. The latter focuses solely on the bottomline, hence community participation is entirely absent.
TRF has been working primarily in the area of school infrastructure enhancement and career counseling in government schools in Gurgaon district. We have been granted a license by the Department of Telecommunications and Ministry of Information & Broadcasting to start a community radio station here in Gurgaon, which would reach our target population of people living in and around Gurgaon, especially in semi-urban villages that continue to struggle with inadequate power, gaps in education infrastructure, and lack of knowledge about opportunities in education, livelihood and income generation. This, despite the fact, that a large number of these villagers either have substantial land holdings, or have substantial cash reserves from selling off this land. Incidentally, TRF is the only NGO in NCR which has been granted such a license. All other licenses in Delhi-Noida-Gurgaon have been given only to educational institutes such as IGNOU, IIMC and JIMS.
The result of over 18 months of hard work is Gurgaon Ki Awaaz Samudayik Radio Station broadcasting on 107.8 MHz FM. The on-air radio station in Gurgaon allows our community to go on air with their programming (the bulk of it created on-site in our target government schools in villages such as Garhi Harsaru, Sikanderpur, Sarai Alawardi and Dhankot) and is also a wonderful medium to reach this community -- because by its very sound and music, it is very evidently "their" station. The station records and airs Haryanvi folk music and folk ballads performed by local music groups and performers, children's music (much of it recorded by the children in our government schools), and debates and discussions very much like Chaupals, that bring together diverse, but local, voices.
Career Counseling and Livelihood
Since TRF has already worked for many years in the area of career counseling, one of the programs that we are broadcasting is a daily on-air career program called “Hum Honge Kamyaab”. In addition, we have a weekly interview-based entrepreneurship program in which a member of the community outlines how he or she started his or her own small business. This program is called “Mera Nazariya, Mera Kaam”. Both these programmes work in tandem with job announcements drawn from the industrial and corporate belt in and around Gurgaon. In future, we are also planning a regular Speak English program to improve English speaking skills within the community, for both children and adults.
Health
Our health program is two pronged. In addition to a weekly health program called “Swasth Gurgaon”, our add-on program is being built in partnership with St. Stephens Hospital Outreach Program, which already works with schoolchildren through Bal Panchayats in village Dhankot and surrounding areas. In future, we also plan to have a weekend Talk to the Doctor program, wherein people can phone into the studio and talk to the doctor about their medical problems.
Women’s empowerment through awareness and microfinance
TRF has an exciting partnership with St. Stephen’s Hospital Outreach program in Dhankot which works in the area of microfinance and Self Help Groups (SHGs). This finds shape in a weekly programme called “Nari Shakti” that outlines the concept of Self Help Groups, brings successful case studies to the radio, and encourages women’s empowerment through livelihood, awareness and good health.
Migration and Inclusiveness
Gurgaon has been shaped by the lakhs of migrant workers who work in the city’s factories, farms and offices. Our weekly program “Sara Aasmaan Hamara” brings the personal stories of Gurgaon’s migrant workers to the radio.
Entertainment
Music is the key to building an engaging radio station. However, since this initiative has to ultimately be supported through community efforts, we are looking at creative ways to build our music bank without having to pay royalty for songs. We do not play any film music. Instead, we have opened up our studio to anyone and everyone who wants to record a demo CD of music. In return, we only ask for Complete Broadcasting Rights to air that music on our radio station, at no charge. This is a win-win situation where artistes from all walks of life and all ages can get a CD of their songs recorded in a studio at no charge, while our community gets to hear a variety of music, ranging from Haryanvi folk, devotional, patriotic, festive, light and instrumental music. From songs to ballads to instrumental tracks, we are extremely hopeful that our station will soon have it all.
All this content creation is definitely resource-intensive. Community radio stations are allowed to advertise to the extent of 5 minutes of advertising per one hour of programming. This would meet part of the cost of running the radio station. However, we would need a wider support base to run all our programs.
