MULTI-STORY FEAT
SHUBHRANSHU CHOUDHARY DEFEATED U.S. WHISTLEBLOWER EDWARD SNOWDEN TO WIN THE DIGITAL ACTIVISM AWARD 2014 FOR HIS CITIZEN JOURNALISM INITIATIVE
GAUTAM SUNDER came to the realisation that iInternet, mobile phone and radio were the means to the solution,” explains Shubhranshu, who is a Knight International Journalism Fellow.
So, CGNet Swara was conceptualised after several years of planning and brainstorming. “But we had no basic model to follow; even Africa or South America had not attempted something like this before. We wanted to set up a community radio station, but the legal issues were always going to be a problem. Short wave radio was the answer to reach out to people over a large area — but the government didn’t allow it. So then we chose phones, and approached organisations already working in the area, persuading them to let us help the locals, and put the plan in place,” he recounts. Having grown up in Chhattisgarh himself, Shubhranshu did have a personal connection and their ingenious plan started taking shape. The users, who don’t even speak Hindi or English but only their mother tongue, could dial in and leave an audio message of the story they would like to tell in their own language. CGNet Swara has moderators who check on the authenticity of the stories.
But despite the enormity of his achievement, Shubhranshu admits that while the model is innovative, it can’t be sustained for long. And the long-term answer? “Short-wave radio. I’m hoping that recognition like the Digital Activism award will give us the necessary support to push for introducing radios into our experiment. We are looking to work with short wave transmitter companies and get the permission to implement them. Even while I was in London to receive the award, I spoke about this. Once we reach a larger audiences, we can combat this problem better,” he concludes.