Seethamma, 35, is a member of Deepa Self Help Group and Management Committee of Namma Dhwani. I first met her, after she stormed into the studio during the cablecast asking the volunteers to stop playing 'their cinema songs'. A few days later I visited her house and watched in wonder as she showed off the logbook that she helps keep about every programme Namma Dhwani cablecasts. She said, "I am an illiterate and knew nothing before I attended the MYRADA trainings and have developed this much. Today I can write my name, calculate SHG accounts. It is this information, which was provided that has helped us women to become what we are.

Just like that, I think Namma Dhwani is a way that all the people in the village can use to develop themselves. Why watch all those serials and listen to those cinema songs when we can listen to our own songs and programmes that will help poor people like us…"

Her husband, Ramesh is a small time politician, a poet and a horticulturist. He regularly writes stories, plays and poems for Namma Dhwani. Many of his works in a satirical fashion looks at different traditions and ways of village life. For artists like Ramesh, Namma Dhwani is the only channel, which showcases their talent and offers a venue for creative and other types of expression.

These are some encouraging experiences. Yet, while trying to answer these questions it is also important to keep in mind the role and limitations that any media plays in its community. Community media to be specific can only aim and strive to provide people information and a medium that they can use to make informed choices. It cannot make the choice for them. Further still, there is also the debate about whether we can assume we know what is in the community's best interests overlooking their own perceptions regarding this.

While India may be on the brink of major developments in the community media sector, it is important to be realistic about our own expectations and not overload the already burdened rural communities. Prof John van Zyl, Managing Director, ABC Ulwazi, describes two dangers that community media should watch out for. He says that it is best to avoid "the belief that individuals have the capacity to change their own circumstances once it has been pointed out to them what is in their own best interests. In other words, that there is a clear, linear relationship between knowledge and action."

Budikote is now facing its fourth year of severe drought. In such a context, people despite having access to ICT's like Namma Dhwani have not always been able to materialize knowledge to opportunities and actions due to the absence of financial resources.

Take Meena, 55, for example. During one of the meetings I asked her if she had ever listened to Namma Dhwani. She said no. I told her about the kind of programmes that is made and how she could benefit from it. "I leave my house looking for coolie work, grazing others' cows and come back only late in the evening. Once I come back, I have to cook and clean. Where do I have the time? If you really want to help me, give me some money to repair my broken roof" she told me. So what does Namma Dhwani then mean to the people of Budikote? One of the words that are often used by young and old, male and female to describe Namma Dhwani is 'free'. "Our children can use the computers freely", "I can be free and talk and interact with other people without being scared about what people will say", "I can be free, listen and play music and make programmes." Namma Dhwani's 'access to all' mantra has helped break not only fear of technology but also norms of caste and gender encouraging community members to be innovative in their use of the technology as well as the physical space that is otherwise not available in their village.

This unrestricted access to information and communication technologies, be it radio or computers definitely makes users confident about themselves and restores a dignity of knowledge that they are deprived of.

While writing the project document in August 2002, phrases like 'poverty reduction through information and communication technologies' were used. By providing information about employment, better farming techniques and health we hoped for new sustainable jobs opportunities, improved farming knowledge and healthier life. Namma Dhwani's programming has done all this and more. The crucial question that we are asking ourselves now is "how have people used this information and medium?"

In many cases the 'poorest of the poor' worry less about the lack of important information and more about day-to-day needs. In interactions with the community we noticed that people would categorize lack of water, major illnesses, bad medical treatment or lack of education as prime reasons for poverty.

Very few viewed it as an issue, which through information like in this case, alternative jobs, and relevant health information could be the first step towards arriving at a sustainable solution. Hence to create that awareness and demand for local and relevant information it is important to put in place access to systems of information and communication technologies like community radio.

The other side of the coin is of course establishing systems of reception. In Namma Dhwani's case, the cable network in India has approximately 6 million cable operators reaching 35 million homes.


Most of the cable operators are individuals who network with cable networks in bigger towns. In the absence of local community radio in India, cable audio is worth exploring as a viable option to reach people in their homes. Cable also opens up interesting possibilities for video and multimedia.

In Budikote, regular monthly feedback surveys have revealed that about 60% of the listeners prefer to listen to Namma Dhwani on their television sets even though they can tune in through their radio sets. Radios in their perception are largely mobile media units that they can carry out to their verandah or the fields.

That apart, there exists stiff competition that local stations like Namma Dhwani face from regional television channels. For women like Mohana, member of Mookambika Self Help Group who also is a supporter of Namma Dhwani, the lure of television and regional versions of soap operas like "kyunki saas bhi…" is very strong. "Watching TV is the only time that I can lose myself and forget everything else around me". For community radio stations to not only reach but also be heard by communities, programming should be a mixture of the local and the global, of entertainment and information, of participation and ownership.

The assumption that the 'consumption of contextualized information turns it to knowledge that will lead to empowerment' is debatable. And any kind of dissemination and impact assessment has to take into account the socio-political and environmental contexts of the community. It is important to avoid the belief that a medium, because of communicational qualities unique to that medium, will be able to change the behavior of, or impart knowledge to, its audience, irrespective of contextual factors."

What Namma Dhwani has given the people is access to a medium and space that allows them to be empowered just by being producers of their own content. The catchword here being 'local'. Be it a series of programmes about dengue when it interrupted in Budikote, or cablecasting proceedings of panchayat meeting that made a few people go red in their face, or even discovering your next-door neighbor's hidden talent. It is all relevant to the people of Budikote because it is about and for them.

An assessment, in March 2004, of the 281 letters Namma Dhwani has received from its listeners in 10 months showed that 38% of the letters had suggestions, requests for repeat programmes and criticism of programming from community members. This kind of constant assessment of programming by the community that consumes the information is the most valuable part of establishing sustainable information systems within poor communities.

To reinforce Namma Dhwani's identity as 'the local community media' the programming team has over the past year experimented with various different formats of radio. In December 2003, the visit of about 20 Singapore exchange students prompted a children's quiz competition. Announcements were made calling for application and the student team with the volunteers and staff got down to planning and executing preliminary rounds involving 64 students from Budikote and surrounding villages. The buzz got so loud, that students were seen visiting local libraries, buying general knowledge books preparing for the competition. For the finals, as an added bonus, the quiz was video taped and telecasted into all houses that had access to cable TV. On the walls of the studio were posters of the local bakery and transport provider, as sponsors of the show. That evening there were about 80 parents outside the Namma Dhwani studios watching television and cheering for their children.

Another innovative format of programming emerged with our struggles with maintaining volunteers. After months on end of training volunteers their involvement with the station was still inconsistent and wavering. During their Sunday meetings volunteers then began to play live Antakshari (a game based on local film music) on the radio. This inspired more involvement from them and more importantly gave boys and girls an opportunity to interact 'freely' breaking the tradition of strictly compartmentalized gender spaces.

Volunteers, initially shy, became not only confident about their technical skills but also about discussing 'issues', raising questions and benefit from being exposed to authorities and visitors.

Nagaraj, 26, an active volunteer of Namma Dhwani says: "I wanted to make a programme on the role of police in keeping a community safe, and the basic laws that people should be aware of. I went to Kamasamudram to interview the Sub Inspector of Police and the respect and attention I got from him was very nice… he even cancelled his appointment to speak to me and dropped me back home. I would have never been able to do this if I were a common citizen." As much as television has stolen the thunder from radio, the medium still has an intimacy that discards barriers of good looks and etiquette that television would demand. One good example is how Namma Dhwani has made programming related to family planning, reproductive child health, HIV/AIDS using local talents and overcoming the taboo of 'talking about health and sex related problems openly'.

During my visits to SAG (self affinity group) meetings, I had noticed the tradition of having women sit isolated from others during menstruation. The female studio manager made a programme on how such a tradition came about and its logic and ill effect. Women, schoolgirls, and elders were interviewed. Schoolgirls expressed their isolation as disturbing and shameful. Later women, who were initially shy about speaking about their bodies on radio, admitted to the studio managers that they felt good, about having to discuss something so personal and share their opinion…

The feedback letter assessment shows that 13% of the listeners wrote to ask appreciate or request a repeat of programmes related to health. In particular programmes about sex related diseases, diabetes, stress induced and skin problems were appreciated. Community participation has been the essence of Namma Dhwani cable radio. However not restricting community's role only to participation and listnership, the Namma Dhwani management committee was formed in September 2001.

This committee comprises of 10 women and 2 men (latest entrants) who represent their SAG's. Also included are representatives from VOICES and MYRADA (a non governmental organization managing rural development programmes in several states of south India and particularly promotes the Self Help Affinity strategy and a partner in this project). The role of the committee is to manage administration, programming and feedback matters of the station. The growth of this committee most of who are semi literate farm workers, in their understanding and comprehension of the medium has been encouraging. However, there are society instilled and personal limitations to this group in terms of decision-making.

Given the economic restriction of most of these women, they are unable to spend ideal amounts of time in the station, to understand dynamics of personnel and operations. While most of their decisions like selling the radios at subsidized rates have held Namma Dhwani in good stead in matters of larger magnitude their decisions are constrained. For example, after a camera loss at the station, one of the management committee members in the meeting admitted that her husband would not have permitted her to come for a meeting, if the police or other 'men leaders' were present.

What the management committee of Namma Dhwani however has done is that it has provided an inroad into social networks creating a shared culture between their groups and their radio station. With the aim of expanding Namma Dhwani's reach, loudspeaker broadcasts using Namma Dhwani's programming began in three other villages in January this year in collaboration with local resource centres. Namma Dhwani now on recommendations from these resource centres makes relevant programmes. This expansion has become a regular income generating activity for the centre. Namma Dhwani has also produced programmes supporting development communication of projects like watershed development, polio awareness which in turn has generated some income for the station. However, if legislation had allowed for wider expansion sustainability for Namma Dhwani would have been an achievable target because of wider reach and possible local advertising and fundraising by the communities themselves.

Unfortunately there is still no policy framework for community radio in India. Although there have been changes to the radio scene in the past five years, specifically the auctioning of commercial FM licenses in 2001 and a call for applications for campus-based educational radio in 2003, grassroots set ups like Namma Dhwani are still not eligible for license. There are indications that this may change in the near future.

Recently, the former Home Minister of India, Sri L K Advani admitted in a public launch of a campus radio in Chennai, "India has lagged far behind in tapping the communication potential of radio… Radio has been in Government monopoly for longer than necessary. We ought to have begun reforms in this sector long ago. But better late than never…" Amen to that!