Journey
Radio Mewat, a SMART initiative, is a community radio station located in Mewat, an extremely backward district in the state of Haryana, India. Radio Mewat seeks to give voice to the voiceless in this backward community. Launched on September 1, 2010, the radio station started with just 2 hours of unstructured broadcast. Absorbing the demands and expectations of the community, the radio stations now broadcasts 14 hours a day, covering a wide variety of local issues in its programming.
It was not easy to set up a community radio station in a socially and educationally backward district like Mewat. Paucity of funds, trained manpower and dedicated power supply were not the only hurdles, there were far more complex social issues that we had to contend with. There were genuine fears of being rejected by an extremely conservative religious community. Our radio programmes were subjected to hard scrutiny by the elders and conscience keepers of the community to ensure that they did not threaten their beliefs. What really worked in Radio Mewat's favour was the credibility of SMART and the work it had done in the last twelve years with women and children. Today the radio station has become not only the voice of the community but also it's pride and identity.
The radio station has been the recipient of two national awards from the Union Ministry of Information and Broadcasting. It won an award for being the 'Most Sustainable Community Radio Station' in 2011 and for the 'Most Creative and Innovative Programming' in 2012.