ABSTRACT

This study combines a case study approach with in-depth interviews to explore the role of Radio Madhuban, a community radio station in India, in addressing the challenges faced by tribal women. Findings offer insights on operations, impact and challenges and emphasize the station’s amplification of local voices through community outreach and solution-based programming. The station functions in alignment with the tenets of democratic-participant theory and offers an alternative to the top-down communication approach. Based on the findings, a theoretical framework that captures the focus on local context, community engagement and solution-based programming to nurture participatory and democratic communication is proposed.