Matters India reporter
Darjeeling – A group of college students in Darjeeling Hills celebrated world radio day with a seminar on various aspects of community radio, 15 February. The first batch of six first year students of Mass Communication & Journalism at Salesian College Sonada presented academic papers on various aspects of community radio, the third tier of radio broadcasting in India.
The chief guest at the event was a former employee of All India Radio Kurseong Mr Ranvir Bhusan Biswas.
The other two tiers of broadcasting are the government owned public radio and the popular commercial broadcast.
The six topics presented at the mini-seminar included an overview of World Radio Day as celebrated on 13 February, Community Radio in India; Community Radio in Nepal; Community Radio: Values and Principles; Community Radio: Educating Citizens to Human Rights; and Community Radio and Poverty Reduction.
“It is the first time we students get opportunity to present academic papers, and it is a great feeling to present papers before our seniors,” said one of the student presenters, Dikshit Tamang, youngest radio journalist at Radio Salesian 90.8 FM who hosts his weekly show Yuva Awaaz (Voice of Youth).
His batch-mate Iqra Ahmed appreciated the opportunity of presenting academic paper saying, “The opportunity gave me exposure and compelled me to do research and present my thoughts confidently.”
The chief guest, Mr Biswas, an award winning radio audience researcher who worked over three decades in various radio stations in northeast India complemented the students and the department head for the bold initiative.
The presentations were interspersed with quiz for the audience on radio related topics by Assistant Professor of Mass Communications Mr Privat Giri.
A group of 10 students and faculty from Mass Communication Department at Salesian College Siliguri campus also participated.