Have you watched the broadly acclaimed Bollywood film “Peepli Live”? Or “Page 3”? Or maybe, Amitabh Bachchan starring “Rann”? If your answer to any of them is yes, then you’re kind of aware how Mass Media really work! Never-ending search of “stories”, relentless competition among media houses in terms of generating “interesting” stories never seem to end.
You know what the problem is? Even if most of the filmy stuff isn’t real, this “how do media houses function” thing shown in films are pretty true! Because stories have become almost similar to hot cakes, nobody really cares about stories which might not be sold well.
Ok, let’s travel a bit; a bit inside rural Bengal. Laulara village, Purulia district, block Man Bazar, around 140 kilometers away from Bankura town (which is a 200 km journey from Calcutta). In this village majority of the villagers belong to various different tribes and yes, they meet all usual definitions of those we refer to as “backward classes”. They aren’t rich. Most of the earlier generations have never attended schools. They don’t have electricity, cemented homes to stay at, gas stoves to cook. Most importantly, there’s no access to newspapers, FM radios, and of course, television channels and internet.
Man Bazar, for days, has been remaining one of the largest Maoist-influenced areas in West Bengal. The usual flow of life is long lost amidst a suffocating atmosphere of fear, insecurity and uncertainty. Living lives full of so many “no”s and “don’t have”s, can you imagine those “backward class” people running an entire radio station? They’ve dared to. However, no media house has ever found their stories interesting. No camera has ever flashed on those faces.
Manbhoom Ananda Ashram Nityananda Trust (MANT). That’s what they call it; the only organization in West Bengal working with the aim to empower tribes. The journey started in 2010 when the founder of MANT, Mr. Chandidas Mukherjee thoroughly realized that no development was possible until they found out a suitable channel of information which would involve active participation from the villagers and at the same time would encourage practice and growth of local language and culture. The challenge was to make them feel associated with the flow of development.
UNESCO (United Nations Educational ,Scientific and Cultural Organization), the major development branch of United Nations, funds 7 community radio stations in India presently, the community radio station run by MANT being one of them. The aim to is to foster all round development and growth in the fields of education, social awareness, health and sanitation and more, by reaching people of grass root level with necessary information and messages.
So, where is Community Radio different from FM(Frequency Modulation) or AM(Amplitude Modulation); that is the usual radio stations we access through our mobile phones or radio sets? Firstly, Community Radio has a very limited rich with a maximum capacity of up to 10 kms. Secondly, Community Radio Stations can’t be used for any commercial purposes, unlike mainstream FM channels. Community Radios are not permitted to play advertisements and promote any other institution/business/service, other than playing ads issued by the State/Central Government. Thirdly, Anyone doesn’t hold the freedom to set up a Community Radio. Community Radios can only be set up by NGOs or educational institutes, or an organization of the same kind, with the sole purpose of acting as a positive catalyst towards a positive change in the society through conveying information and healthy entertainment.
Ok, now let’s come back to where we were travelling. In this station, all programs that are played in the station are created by the villagers. They write scripts, they bring local artists and arrange folk performances of live music or instruments, and they arrange talk shows on issues which demand awareness. It doesn’t end there! They have learnt sound editing, mixing; all the RJs are from the local people. The station has citizen journalists spread across the village, who send reports regarding recent occurring. The station makes sure the local school students have access to the radio programmes. The little faces absolutely shine when they hear the neighbor-next door on the radio. A class of 30-35 kids experiences a pin-drop silence when a programme on science fictions, or may be literature, or may be easy ways to learn math, plays from that magical square box.
And yes, the radio station has noticeable number of women who participate in regular activities. Before a few years, they all used to be poor house wives with no weigh and importance given by the family men. But a microphone can change so much! With the entire village listening to them, the once-dominant husbands have changed too!
Last but not the least, they don’t care anymore if their stories are covered. They themselves have become story tellers, and you know? Stories can change the world!
