Participatory Communication Approach for RD: Evidence from Two Grassroots CR Stations in Rural India

The traditional approach of communication for rural development (RD) was greatly influenced by the dominant paradigm of development. The retort against this paradigm gave birth to the participatory approach of communication wherein the common people in rural areas were considered as the ‘subjects’ of development in conjunction with their active involvement. It is the era when alternative communication medium like community radio (CR) was accepted as a tool of participatory RD in developing counters like India. Based on case studies of India’s pioneer CRs (Sangam Radio and Radio Bundelkhand), using media ethnography tools, a qualitative enquiry was carried out to explore its role in the process of RD by inclusion of voices of rural subalterns in their own development.