A Voice for the Voiceless: The Role of Community Radio in the Development of the Rural Poor

More than 850 million people in developing countries are excluded from a wide range of information and knowledge, with the rural poor in particular remaining isolated from both traditional media and new information and communication technologies, which would improve their livelihoods and development pattern (FAO, 2001).Considering the sociocultural and geographical structure of rural, remote people community radio has been found more effective and inclusive medium to provide equitable information and knowledge among the masses. The aim of this article is to analyze the contribution of community radio (henceforth CR) movement for conscientization and development of deprived rural people in various parts of world in general and south Asia (India) in particular. The analysis indicates that the community radio movement has created grassroots-level participation and horizontal circulation of ideas among the deprived rural communities, which are necessary pre-conditions to democratization of communication and redistribution of power.