On Friday 11 April 2025, the Centre for Communication and Social Change (CfCSC) was proud to host an SCA Research Seminar on the topic of Indigenous and Local Knowledge Systems and Community Radio in India. The seminar was based on work conducted in the project “Community Media, Participation and the Decolonisation of Indigenous Knowledge Systems”, funded by the Government of India under the Scheme for Promotion of Academic and Research Collaboration (SPARC). Presentations were delivered by two Centre scholars and two PhD candidates from the University of Hyderabad (UoH) who contributed to the research.
Although delayed by COVID-19, the SPARC scheme has enabled a research collaboration between The University of Queensland and the University of Hyderabad (2024–2026). The work was undertaken by CfCSC Principal Affiliate, Associate Professor Pradip Thomas and CfCSC Director, Associate Professor Elske van de Fliert, alongside UoH partners Senior Professor and UNESCO Chair for Community Media, Vinod Pavarala; Professor Kanchan K. Malik; and Professor Vasuki Belavadi. The project enabled A/Profs Thomas and van de Fliert to conduct field research in India, and Profs Belavadi and Malik to reciprocate with a visit to UQ, conducted in October 2025.
In addition, two UoH PhD candidates visited UQ and local community radio stations in Brisbane in April 2025, which occasioned this seminar. Treesa R. John and Vamsi K. Pothuru showcased their role in conducting fieldwork for the SPARC project and/or the publication which is planned. The visiting scholars presented on Radio Mattoli (Wayanad, Kerala) and Radio Sangham (Pastapur, Telangana), respectively, and additional work was completed at Nityananda Janavani (Purulia, West Bengal). Their papers were framed by presentations by A/Prof Thomas and A/Prof van de Fliert.
Pradip Thomas opened the session by presenting on “The Political Context of Indigenous Knowledge in India”. He outlined the contested nature of indigenous and local knowledge (ILK), a knowledge system which values cultural understandings and local connections with nature, but is often read as a threat to dominant Indian politics. Indigenous people are known as “scheduled tribes” in India’s official parlance, but self-identify as “Adivasis”. This large and heterogeneous group comprises some 704 distinct communities and over 104 million people. Indian community radio stations give Adivasi communities space to broadcast their own voice and information, although the station’s license must be allocated to an allied NGO.
Vamsi Pothuru outlined his research with Radio Sangham, located in the upland state of Telangana. Radio Sangham is a project of the Deccan Development Society (DDS), a group comprised of over 5000 Dalit smallholders, primarily women with limited literacy, from more than 75 villages. DDS works to preserve ILK though maintaining community seed banks, strengthening local food knowledge and sharing traditional plants on village medicinal commons. Radio Sangham was established in 2008, an all-women community radio station that broadcasts in the local dialect. It plays songs in Telugu and shares local wisdom in the forms of storytelling, songs, riddles and folklore.
Treesa John shared her work with Radio Mattoli in the south-eastern state of Kerala. This station operates in the district of Wayanad, where around 20% of the population is Adivasi. Established in 2009, Radio Mattoli broadcasts 24 hours a day, 5% of which is dedicated to indigenous content. This includes Thudichettam (1 hour daily), Ooruvettom (1 hour on Thursdays) and 1 hour of live phone-ins on Fridays only in indigenous languages. These programs cover tribal medicines, cuisines, agriculture, folktales and more. Indigenous radio producers are committed to the intergenerational transmission of their languages and cultures.
Elske van de Fliert tied up the days’ topics with her presentation, “Indigenous vs Mainstream Knowledges – The Best of Both Worlds?”. Indigenous knowledges tend to be holistic and bound up in a community’s sustainable daily living. It may not, however, have had a chance to develop in response to increased population and land pressures, or to the worsening effects of global heating. Mainstream knowledge, on the other hand, is often segmented (e.g. scientific knowledge) and expected to continue developing and evolving with new data. Any meaningful collaboration, however, must have a strong respect for both knowledge systems as a way to lead to feasible policies and practices in a changing world. When dealing with snakebite, for example, modern medicine will prove more effective than a visit to a shamanic healer.
The Centre for Communication and Social Change is proud to have hosted this event, and looks forward to hosting other scholars from the University of Hyderabad and around the world. To learn more about this session and the research it covered, watch the recorded presentation (available until April 2026; UQ credential required) or explore the slides for yourself (PDF, 3.1 MB).
