In this column we will be featuring the writings by award winning women journalists in India found in the collection of the book ‘Making News Breaking News Her Way. It is a publication by Tranquebar Press in association with Media Foundation, New Delhi which instituted the annual Chameli Devi Jain Award for an Outstanding Women Mediaperson in 1980.
Priti Soni
Giving voice to the voiceless
[dropcap]T[/dropcap]he Kutch Mahila Vikas Sangathan (KMVS) launched its quest to develop a community radio station in 1998 and, with its very first broadcast series, Kunjal Panje Kutch Ji won recognition through the Chameli Devi Jain Award. Ever since, it has been a most fulfilling journey.
Over the next thirteen years, KMVS established its own development communication cell. Using the platform of AIR’s Bhuj Station, the Sangathan’s Ujjas Radio has produced and aired seven more radio series -Tu Jiyaro Aiye, Kutch Lok ji Vani, Bandhni Ji Gal, Kutch ji Musafari, Dariya Gher, Sajiv no Sad and Pani Thiye Panjo, Tipe Jo Sad -with more than five hundred episodes in all. The themes covered in the series were on women’s participation in political processes, girls’ right to education, dowry deaths, violence against women, women and property rights, foeticide, collective management of.natural resources, liquor and corruption.
As the Award citation noted, the KMVS had, by 2001, brought together 150 village units through its weekly docu- drama serial, Kunjal Panje Kutch Ji. It also produced a simple newsletter in the local Kutchi dialect transliterated in the Gujarati script, to promote community-based action for self- improvement among a largely illiterate population living in an extremely harsh environment. Using the well-loved folk symbol of the Sarus Crane as sutradhar to anchor the programme, it harnessed a sense of Kutchi identity and cultural pride. Through a rich oral tradition and musical forms such as the vanishing art of Vai singing, it generated a positive gender and development discourse aimed at mobilising the community.The first series of Kunjal provided glimpses of rehabilitation and relief efforts after the devastating earthquake of 2001. Tales of courage and inspirational messages poured in. The next series was centred on showcasing the art and cultural heritage of Kutch in the present context. All of these programmes voiced community issues such as drip irrigation, rights-based issues concerning fishermen in the wake of rapid industrialisation, derogatory idioms and phrases used against women and how they could be reworded, and traditional livelihood and natural-resource management from the perspective of gender and local governance. All these series were mainly aimed at a holistic empowerment of women. The journey, now spanning more than a decade, has been extremely interesting and full of incidents that showcase true Kutchi khamir (dignity).
The field experience of Ujjas Radio was taken to the national level when we co-founded the Community Radio Forum (CRF) and joined AMARC (World Association of Community Radio Broadcasters) and other national and international for a to strengthen community radio as a movement. The movement gained remarkable success with the official announcement of a community radio policy in November 2006. This was a landmark achievement for all groups associated with this movement.
KMVS had since worked on setting up an independent community radio station with strong community participation, which will soon be functional. The Sangathan currently operates at two levels in its radio programming. It does a half-hour sponsored programme over AIR Rajkot, for which it pays Rs 3,600 for half an hour of air-time. However, under the Information and Broadcasting Ministry’s community radio policy, we are in the process of establishing our own radio station with a fifty-watt transmitter from which it will broadcast to Kachchh for two hours a day. The license is in hand, but it will take three months to commence broadcasting.
Our foremost learning experience has been that radio is a powerful tool and should not be viewed only as means of entertainment, but as a contributor to the development of a specific area or community. The transistor -cheap and popular among the people -can be hand-carried and is therefore easily accessible for rural communities. It can be both educating and empowering and, with programmes in the local dialect, can greatly assist the learning process.
Globalisation has turned every village into a global village, resulting in the disappearance of traditions and customs, particularly local folk culture. But, radio as a medium acts as a bridge between society and media and helps preserve tradition. KMVS, therefore, has encouraged the use of radio to build community and advance local folk culture.
The medium has also brought about participation and I empowerment of both men and women. Another important; insight we have gained is that the issues raised in radio programmes can lead to mass movements. These, in turn, can take the community’s voice on issues that concern them, to an entirely different level.
A major impact of radio was seen during the broadcast of Dariya Gher, a programme about the fishing community. Even as the serial was being aired, the fishing community around Mundra launched a mass movement to oppose the grant of land for a port within the Mundra SEZ (special economic zone). The grant had resulted in Shekhadia village (Mundra Block) losing its access to the sea. Following the broadcast of all the events that occurred around that time, other fishing communities in Gujarat also extended their support and, ultimately, Shekhadia got an alternative strip of land from the company. The outcome was very gratifying.
A variety of other social issues such as the rise in alcoholism, too, were highlighted through radio programmes. The, problem of alcoholism led to listeners, mainly women, to take proactive measures through letters to KMVS and to identify people engaged in the illegal sale of liquor. This was an extremely bold step to take since the sale and consumption of liquor is a punishable offence in Gujarat. The incident made a deep impact on the community. What this demonstrates is that when a community develops a deep emotional bond with a radio series, that series assumes a special place in the hearts of listeners. People still remember Kunjal, which was aired more than thirteen years ago.
In equal measure, Ujjas Radio and other development communication media have helped create an information bank for the region. The radio series produced on Kachchh is rich in information garnered through more than five hundred episodes and six hundred musical pieces.
Moreover, radio helps in opening the community to other media. Collectives of Kachchh musicians have been formed through Ujjas Radio and its journey. The Sangathan now has over five hundred musicians as members. The musical collective has been named Soorvani and will be registered shortly.
Priti Soni has been associated with KMVS since 1993. She was motivated by one of the founding members of the Sangathan to join its education programme. The joy of learning and being involved in the field of women’s education especially, inspired her to work for the empowerment of people and to explore community media. She has now developed professional expertise in the print media and in community radio programmes which have generated insights into music, art and history of the region.
The Chameli Devi Jain Award was given to a women’s collective, the Kutch Mahila Vikas Sangathan, for its innovative and pioneering community radio initiative for rural development over All India Radio, Bhuj in 2000.
