[cr-india] Fwd: {CRF India} Central University of Rajasthan starts CR work

Thu Feb 7 13:05:56 IST 2013

Dear Kanchan,

thanks for this, and I also fully agree.
I think the campus community radio stations are a great space for tapping
into the potential of young students. We need to re-examine whether the
emancipatory clause put on them by the guidelines is appropriate or
feasible. In many instances I'm sure it becomes a burden - quite
unnecessary in my opinion.

Many of the institutions are also capable of facilitating good
participatory communication processes, and agreed that some capacity
building is needed.

I'm 100% with you on sharing the skepticism of the deplorable conditions of
the women. I quote Ashis Nandy from a lecture he gave in April last year at
Ambedkar University. It is the concluding part of his lecture. I don't
think it can be said better than this (although this lecture is in the
context of Dalits and Adivasis, I think the point he's trying to make is
crystal clear and can be seen in this context as well) :

Pity and sympathy, after a point, can be degrading and vulgar. Instead of
shedding copious tears for the poverty and the exploitation of the Dalits
and Adivasis, the time has come to celebrate their self-affirmation and the
enormous diversity of cultural, ecological, artistic, technological and
intellectual riches they, as communities, have nurtured over the millennia.
I refuse to believe that in these communities grandparents do not tell
stories to their grandchildren and mothers do not sing lullabies to their
babies. I refuse to believe that, outside the reach of sloganeering and
propaganda, they do not have mythic heroes and myths of origin, their own
and that of the world. There are impressive ethnographic works on the
healing traditions, technological knowledge and agronomic practices of some
of these communities. Now there is even some interest in their distinctive
cuisines and there has been some serious interest in their artistic
traditions. All this can be a reasonable vantage ground to launch a search
for different worldviews and different visions of the future. I am tempted
to adopt the plea of the Zapatistas that one of their finest thinkers,
Gustavo Esteva articulates: the challenge today is nothing less than ‘to
host the otherness of others.’ We have been terribly busy all these years
hosting the sameness of others.

Dialogue of cultures can acquire new depth if it engages communities and
cultures at the receiving end of the system and reaffirms their right to
intellectual—yes, intellectual, not only social—dignity. The oppressed do
have their own, often-implicit theories of oppression and have no
obligation to be guided by our ideas of the scientific, the rational and
the dignified. They have every right to be historically, economically and
politically incorrect.
For those who are interested, the full text of his lecture is available at
http://kafila.org/2013/02/06/theories-of-oppression-and-another-dialogue-of-cultures-ashis-nandy/

best,
Ram

On Wed, Feb 6, 2013 at 1:41 PM, Kanchan K. Malik <drkanchan07 at gmail.com>wrote:

> Dear Ram,
>
>
>
> Agree with you completely. These ‘claims’ made by the university in the
> news-item troubled me too. Many of the educational institutions setting up
> CR stations have no clue about what all you have articulated with respect
> to participation, ‘expert’ knowledge and the philosophy of community radio.
> Their pedagogical and prescriptive approach to education itself, gets
> reflected in their understanding of the role of campus radio stations.
>
>
>
> However, the problem is, is there a way to "educate" the educational
> institutions about CR, its purpose, practice or philosophy? Those who are
> in some way or the other a part of the CR movement or feel passionately
> about it, have internalized some of its ‘givens’. But that is not true for
> the majority, for whom the radio models are limited to AIR and the private
> FM channels.
>
>
>
> Universities are applying for CR stations to add to their list of
> ‘infrastructure, services and facilities’ available on campus. Talking of
> participation by villagers, how would they, in the first place, be able to
> get access to the station given the amount of money universities spend on
> security? The participation of the villagers (if the station is pro-active)
> will be limited to 'selected groups' or some tourism-like visits specially
> organized for them.
>
>
>
> This is not to say that campus stations are not wanted – of course they
> are. But as the policy insists that campus stations justify their existence
> by doing developmental programming, this pushes them to talk about
> ‘disseminating knowledge and expertise’- a language and approach they
> understand best.
>
>
>
> Not sure if we can blame only them, unless some of the CR organizations
> take it upon themselves to create some kind of awareness/dialogue about CR
> among campuses and among people in general. Also, as discussed in our
> meetings (of the converted), maybe the expectations from the campus
> stations also should be (re)defined by the community they cater to rather
> than carry the burden to do "multi-layered" gyanvardak programmes as a service
> "catering to villages" as mentioned in the news-item.
>
>
>
> Also a bit sceptical about the "deplorable" condition of women that they
> mention, whom they wish to feed programmes like ‘a series (shows) on
> successful woman from Rajasthan.’ I am not being judgemental here,
> please, just a bit worried…
>
>
> Best,
>
>
> Kanchan
>
>
> --
>
> Dr. Kanchan K. Malik
>
> Associate Professor, Department of Communication
>
> Faculty Fellow, UNESCO Chair on Community Media
>
> Sarojini Naidu School of Arts & Communication
>
> University of Hyderabad
>
> Gachibowli, Hyderabad 500046
>
> Phone: +91-40-23135506 (O)
>
>            +91-990-858-2613 (M)
>
>
> On 5 February 2013 16:36, ram bhat <ram at maraa.in> wrote:
>
>> Dear All,
>> While I welcome more community radio stations in Rajasthan, I find this
>> report quite troubling.
>>
>> I quote three lines from this report (and this is just from the first two
>> paragraphs):
>>
>> "An aim to expand the knowledge base of rural people on wide array of
>> subjects"
>> "shows have been created by experts and students on the basis of feedback
>> given by village sarpanch and gram panchayat"
>> "the unique feature is that most of the shows will be presented by the
>> villagers themselves"
>>
>> Why does University of Rajasthan find it necessary to take on the burden
>> of expanding the knowledge base of the rural people? And isn't community
>> radio about communities sharing already existing knowledge base (inside the
>> community) amongst themselves?
>>
>> Why do we need experts and students to preach to communities, that too
>> based on the 'expertise' of sarpanch and panchayats?
>>
>> How is the notion of villagers presenting shows a unique feature? It is a
>> concept central to community radio. It is the whole notion of experts and
>> expanding knowledge etc. that are actually unique to community radio.
>>
>> Also, please note how participation is reduced to villagers "presenting"
>> shows. Participation, (as many have noted, quite eloquently may I add)
>> cannot be reduced to the mere presence of people on radio shows.
>> Participation is including people in the power of media - decision making,
>> financial control, programmatic control.
>>
>> This is not community radio. This is actually some bizarre avatar of
>> public service radio which aims to bring back the old patronizing top down
>> communication model of the 70s, and wants to call itself community radio. I
>> don't know why such organizations get licenses for community radio, and
>> deprive community groups of valuable frequencies.
>>
>> I hope to god that the CR station itself has very different ideas and it
>> is only the reporter from TOI who has got it wrong...terribly wrong.
>>
>> best,
>> Ram
>>
>>
>> On Tue, Feb 5, 2013 at 4:05 PM, N.Ramakrishnan <nram at ideosyncmedia.org>wrote:
>>
>>> Central University of Rajasthan starts CR work
>>> Read more about it here:
>>>
>>> http://articles.timesofindia.**indiatimes.com/2013-02-04/**
>>> jaipur/36742205_1_villages-**community-radio-radio-service<http://articles.timesofindia.indiatimes.com/2013-02-04/jaipur/36742205_1_villages-community-radio-radio-service>
>>>
>>> Ramakrishnan
>>> General Secretary, CRF
>>>
>>> --
>>> N.Ramakrishnan
>>>
>>> Director of Projects
>>> Ideosync Media Combine
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