Sound as Defiance: A Case of the Radio in British India

Abstract

There is a recent surge of interest in sound as a method in South Asia, specifically the use of technology as a means to reach the wider masses. The radio stands out here as a unique arbiter of public taste and for shaping a listening culture thereafter. But broadcasting in India had a different trajectory as compared to its counterpart in the UK. Initially, the AIR was intended to be the mouthpiece of the British Raj in India. It adopted structures of the BBC but soon internally resented its monolithic presence and attempted to move away. Other stations like Azad Hind Radio and Congress Secret Radio started using the resistance of airwaves to their advantage. I argue that radio was a powerful tool for anticolonial mobilisation. Despite differential access to sonic equipment and electronic autonomy, actors made powerful attempts at subversion of the colonial state on the radiowaves. A young generation of radio enthusiasts operated the Calcutta Radio Station, which supported the independence movement, especially during the Second World War at the height of censorship in India. By analysing Bengali language radio journals, newspapers, contemporary magazines, memoirs, official reports, and interviews, I demonstrate that certain radio programmes were not in line with the colonial machine. The listenership also went to great lengths to listen to “banned” stations operating from outside India. The British response to these attempts is of interest as well.