Desi Radio by and for the Panjabi Community: Citizens' Media, Gender, and Participation

Abstract

Desi Radio, the project of the Panjabi Centre located in Southall, West London, was started in 2002 by Ajit Khera and his sister, Amarjit Khera, to promote Panjabi culture, language, and history, and build connection and communication among Panjabi community living in the area. The word, 'Desi', is derived from 'Des' "meaning a specific space, locality or homeland," refers to "Panjab: the Land of the Five Rivers," that sits along the border between India and Pakistan. In the 1947 partition of India, the region was divided between India (East Panjab) and Pakistan (West Panjab). The idea that Muslims should be in Pakistan and that Hindus and Sikhs should concentrate in India compelled many to migrate across the new border creating violence, resentment, hostility, and chaos. Since then Punjabis have been one of the most prominent South Asian groups living outside their cultural homeland, concentrated in the United Kingdom, North America, and the Middle East. Southall is a home to the Panjabi community of West London. Desi Radio defines its mission as to "provide a service for the Panjabi community and the inclusion of Panjabi speakers particularly those facing disadvantage and exclusion," and challenge "social conventions, community racism and casteism, and social prejudice through live debates, alternative music and the social engagement." 1 Building dialogue constitutes the main philosophy of the station by questioning the political divide between East and West Panjab, religious divide of Muslim, Hindu and Sikh, gender inequality, and cast division. Desi Radio is run by the volunteers, and Panjabi women of the community constitute the majority. This paper chapter is based on ten days of participant observation during a visit to Desi Radio and participation in the cultural activities of the Panjabi Centre in 2012; interviews with volunteering women

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“…Mitchell and Lewis (Follmer and Badenoch 2018, p. 35) outline that community stations are participatory because they are owned by the community, and thus their voices are articulated by the communities and they are involved in the production of programmes. Haydari's (2018) case study of Desi Radio, a community station in Southall, West London, highlighted that female volunteers found that spending time at the station, producing programmes, and speaking in Punjabi (the presentation is solely in Punjabi) encouraged them to be more conscious of their identities and history: Music and language also play an important role to claim and promote a Panjabi identity beyond the divisions of caste, gender, politics, and religion. The physical location of the radio in the midst of Southall, continuous training activities, and the process of radio production also facilitate connection and communication among all communities.…”