Community Radio in Bangladesh: The Policy and the Spirit

Abstract

This paper reviews Community Radio (CR) in Bangladesh in two steps. Firstly, it gives an exploratory review of the current scenario of the CR in Bangladesh. Secondly, it crticises the government of Bangladesh’s ‘Community Radio Installation, Broadcast and Operation Policy of 2008’ which was published in Bangladesh Gazette of 12 March 2008, under which the Ministry of Information had approved on 22 April 2010, 14 CR stations for installation, broadcast and operation for the first time in Bangladesh. From the exploratory review of the progress in some areas further challenges have been identified. While analysing the policy in the theoretical framework of development communication and the CR as a development aid, this paper found that some parts of this policy are rather contradictory to the basic spirit of CR concept. In particular, formation of some of the advisory and monitoring committees and their power to confiscate any number or all of CRs without serving any notice may prove to be fatal to the entire policy. The danger is two fold: first, this may increase the chances of self-censorship on the one hand and on the other may become a tool for the political victimisation. The paper therefore recommends that the Clauses 7.2.2, 7.9.1, 7.9.2, 7.9.3, 7.10, 7.13, 7.22 and 8.2 should be reconsidered and suitably amended to ensure that the CRs in Bangladesh neither turn into a government-owned transmission mechanism, nor succumb to any commercial pressures.