Reinforcing Desia Culture Through Community Radio: A Cultural Analysis of Radio Dhimsa in Koraput, Odisha

Abstract

AbstractThis chapter is an effort to understand Desia (indigenous) community of Koraput and its ‘Culture’ through a cultural analysis of Radio Dhimsa (a community radio station) in Koraput, Odisha. This chapter is important because very few studies have dealt with how community media in general and community radio in particular engage with culture in the South Asian context. It also explores the role of community radio in countering the cultural hegemony being encouraged and propagated by the corporate and state-sponsored mainstream media. This study takes Radio Dhimsa as a case to understand the Desia community it caters to and the ‘Desia Culture.‘ Radio Dhimsa is located in the district of Koraput in Odisha. It came into being in the year 2012. It is associated with an NGO named South Orissa Voluntary Action (SOVA). SOVA in association with UNICEF established Radio Dhimsa in the year 2012 to give the Desia community people of Koraput a platform to express their voices and strengthen Desia culture and heritage. The broad objective of this study is to understand the interplay between Desia community and its culture in the context of Radio Dhimsa.KeywordsCommunityCommunity mediaCommunity radioRadio Dhimsa Desia Culture