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Offers of support are pouring in to help a poor, illiterate man whose hugely popular FM radio station in rural Bihar was shut down for not possessing an operating licence
People ranging from affluent farmers and contractors to middle class and poor families in and around Vaishali district are offering financial support to Raghav Mahto to allow him to restart his popular FM radio station that was closed down by the authorities on March 26.
For over three years, Mahto's station, 'Radio Raghav FM Mansoorpur 1 channel', had been beaming popular programmes from Mansoorpur village in Vaishali district. The station aired music and local news and views to hundreds of people in and around the area.
In a rare display of unity, local residents decided to collect money to revive Radio Raghav, as it is popularly known. "We will collect money from neighbouring villages also," says Manohar Prasad Singh who lives in Mansoorpur.
Mahto confirms this, saying: "A large number of people have approached me and offered financial help to restart the radio station."
The spontaneous outburst was evident when hundreds of people who loved to tune in to Radio Raghav gathered in Mansoorpur village for a protest meeting, one day after the station was shut down. Affluent locals like Damodar Singh announced a contribution of Rs 5,000, while others vowed to raise more funds to revive the station.
According to officials, a radio licence costs around Rs 400,000 annually -- an amount that the 20-something Mahto, who repairs electronic goods at Gudri Bazaar near Mansoorpur, simply cannot afford. "I don't even have the money for medical treatment for my father who is suffering from cancer," he says.
Officials forced Mahto to sign a bond stating that he would not go back on air again. "My hope lies with the people who have urged the district administration to help me restart the station before the Vaishali festival on April 12," he says.
The angry residents of Vaishali district have also planned a signature campaign. They want President A P J Abdul Kalam, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and Chief Minister Nitish Kumar to intervene in the matter.
Vaishali district magistrate Sanjeev Hans says that the station was closed down for violating the Indian Telegraph Act, 1985. A formal police complaint was lodged against Mahto, and his equipment seized by a three-member team from the communications and IT ministry in the village.
Ironically, Mahto's hugely successful FM station ran into trouble after stories of its popularity made national and international headlines. Following the publicity, in early March, the district administration directed officials to submit a report on the radio station. The communications ministry directed that action be taken if it was found to be running without a licence.
Mahto admits that he was unaware that a licence was required until he was informed last month that it was illegal to run a private radio station without one.
Despite the fact that in the eyes of officialdom the young man is an offender, for the people of Mansoorpur village, Mahto is a hero. He is said to be more popular even than the local legislator and Member of Parliament (MP), with people preferring to tune in to Radio Raghav rather than the national channels.
Radio Raghav was being run like a community radio service, providing news and opinion in the local dialect as well as entertainment for villages in Muzaffarpur, Vaishali and Saran districts. "I broadcast melodious Hindi songs, news, information about crime in the region, programmes to create awareness about AIDS, on polio eradication and on literacy and agriculture," says Mahto.
The station also broadcast news about missing people, functions and festivals. All this completely free of cost.
Mahto says he did not receive any professional help in assembling his radio station. Nor did he require heavy or costly equipment. He ran his station using old parts of radio sets.
The self-taught entrepreneur, who has a penchant for experimenting with outdated electronic parts, stumbled upon his discovery quite by chance, in his shop. "I ended up setting up this radio station, which is running and growing in popularity," Mahto said in an earlier interview. He began the station four years ago with an investment of only Rs 50.
Meanwhile, the issue has raised some crucial questions vis--vis the role of the media in reporting such stories, their spin-off, and the state's rigid stance on grassroots initiatives in the development process. The huge public outcry against the station's closure indicates that people at the grassroots level are unwilling to have their voices stifled by unimaginative administrative polices and legal procedures.
Perhaps it's a pointer to the government that it needs to do some out-of-the-box thinking to facilitate optimum use of information and communication technology at the grassroots level. Otherwise, attempts to bridge the growing digital divide between the privileged and marginalised sections of society will not yield the desirable results.
Source: IANS, March 29, 2006
The Hindu, March 28, 2006
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