Radio Jaagriti 102.7 FM is a 24 hour radio station in Trinidad and Tobago formed by the Sanatan Dharma Maha Sabha to address the needs of the Hindu Community in the media.
It is the only Hindu Station in the Western Hemisphere. Born out of the community Radio Jaagriti will broadcast religious and inspirational programming, catering for the needs of the Hindu youth and incorporating current affairs. Radio Jaagriti aims to create a permanent space for the Hindu community in the media landscape of Trinidad and Tobago.
The 2000 Report of the Central Statistical Office of Trinidad and Tobago showed that the Hindu population in the nation comprised 23.4% of the national population. Historically the Hindu population continues to maintain near to quarter of the general population. Yet despite this numerical size the Hindu population religious needs are virtually ignored by the national media and even by the Indian formatted media house.
Radio Jaagriti 102.7 FM came on the airwaves of the nation on Friday 19th January 2007 at approximately 5:07 pm. Within the year of existence of Radio Jaagriti 102.7 FM significant inroads have been made within the Hindu community – the target audience – but also the nation and internationally.
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The stated objectives of the Radio Jaagriti 102.7 FM are:
The Radio forms part of the SDMS family and as such guided by the religious philosophy of orthodox Sanatan Dharma. As such all revenues generated after operating expenditure will be reinvested back into community activities and projects such as schools, home for battered women, museum, and temples. Advertisers will essentially be contributing towards the development of the community in a manner and way that no other radio station offers in Trinidad.
The Legal Struggle
In 1999 the Sanatan Dharma Maha Sabha Inc. of Trinidad and Tobago [SDMS] applied to the government of Trinidad and Tobago for a radio frequency for the expressed purpose of broadcasting Hindu programming. The Indian-led party with the Hindu Prime Minister informed the SDMS that they should apply under a company and not the religious organization as then the State will be then obliged to all religious organizations. The SDMS complied and then waited for the application to be processed.
In 2001 there was a General Elections in the twin island Caribbean nation just 10 miles off the coast of Venezuela and the South American continent. The victorious African led and Christian dominated party shortly winning awarded one of its party financiers a radio frequency. The supporter had no application made to the government and the company awarded the frequency was not even legally registered. The SDMS cried foul and subsequently took the matter to court.
In February 2004, the SDMS won its discrimination case against the State. Justice Carlton Best, presiding at San Fernando High Court, ruled that the organisation was treated unequally when Cabinet bypassed its application and awarded a broadcast licence to PNM supporter Louis Lee Sing. In his ruling, Best said the Maha Sabha had been denied equality of treatment before the law by the State. The SDMS was awarded redress and costs for senior and junior counsel. However, the judge stated there was no need to declare that the SDMS had been denied freedom of expression. Best also declined to give a court order directing Cabinet to grant the Maha Sabha a licence. The State, represented by former Attorney General Russell Martineau SC, filed an appeal against Best's decision.
At the October 2004 appeal Satnarayan Maharaj, head of the Sanatan Dharma Maha Sabha (SDMS), said yesterday that he was looking forward to taking his organisations fight for a radio licence to the Privy Council. He said this even before judgment on the case was delivered by the Court of Appeal. "I am hoping that the Court of Appeal will respond favourably to our arguments, but we know that there is another step in this journey for equality and it is at the Privy Council in London," Maharaj stated.
In January 2005 Cabinet has been ordered to consider the Sanatan Dharma Maha Sabha's application for a radio licence. However, almost a year after the religious body won its discrimination case against the State, it failed yesterday to convince the Appeal Court to order that a licence be awarded. Instead, in a unanimous decision, Justices of Appeal Roger Hamel-Smith, Margot Warner and Allan Mendonca directed that the Maha Sabha's application be placed before Cabinet within 28 days for its consideration. "I would think that Cabinet is to be trusted to act responsibly and fairly in determining whether or not a licence should be granted to the appellants. "There is nothing to suggest that there is a risk that the application will not be successful," Hamel-Smith said in one of three unanimous judgements delivered in the case. But in an immediate response, the religious body said if the Cabinet did not grant the licence, it would petition the Privy Council, saying that would be "even further evidence of discrimination by the State."
The Maha Sabha was also unsuccessful, last year, in asking the High Court to order that it be granted a licence. The body's secretary general, Satnarayan Maharaj, is in India. Also in a statement yesterday, Attorney General John Jeremie said Government was reviewing the judgement. "But (we) remain committed to the rule of law and deeply respectful of the decision of the courts." The appealed the matter to the Judicial Committee of the Privy Council in London as it continued to the deny the Caribbean's largest Hindu organization.
On July 4th 2006 The Sanatan Dharma Maha Sabha was victorious in its appeal to the Privy Council against the government because of its consistent refusal to award the organization a radio licence. In a landmark 19-page judgment Lord Mance said 'in light of the exceptional circumstances' of the discrimination the Privy Council would order Attorney General John Jeremie to do all that is necessary to ensure that a licence is issued forthwith to the Hindu organization. The State was also ordered to pay the Maha Sabha's legal costs in all the courts.
The judgment was a unanimous one as the other law lords agreed with the
judgment delivered by Lord Mance. The other law lords were Lords Hoffman, Hope, Hutton and Brown. In addition to confirming the finding of discrimination, the court also held that the Maha Sabha's constitutional right to freedom of expression was also violated. It found that there had been a conspicuous failure to deal with the Maha Sabha's application for over three years and ruled that there was 'unexplained and unjustified discrimination in favour of Louis Lee Sing's Citadel.'
The court noted that the Maha Sabha's application had been approved since
the 1st September 2000 and found that no explanation was given for the sudden award of a radio licence to Louis Lee Sing's Citadel Limited which now operates the I 95 radio frequency. Former Minister of Science and Technology Hedwidge Bereaux told a media conference that Citadel had applied for its licence on March 13th 2001 but the law lord said this could not be correct because the Companies Register showed that Citadel was only incorporated on the 28th August 2001 shortly before the last general election after the 18/18 tie.
The court cited a letter dated 18th July 2002 by Permanent Secretary Emmanuel George to Lee Sing, describing it as 'a vigorous request' for an explanation from Lee Sing as to why he was applying for a new radio station when it was clear that he was already operating 92.5 FM. This frequency, as Mr George had noted, was not given to Lee Sing, but Trinidad Broadcasting Systems Limited. The law lord noted that no explanation was given by Lee Sing but he was nevertheless granted a new licence by the government. The Court of Appeal had ordered the government to consider the Maha Sabha's application within 28 days however, by letter dated 17th May 2005 the Maha Sabha was informed, for the first time, that Cabinet had long considered and refused its application since June 21st 2004 on the ground that it was incomplete.
The Privy Council described this as 'remarkable' and said that the failure to disclose this fact misled the Court of Appeal which proceeded to hear the case 'on a false premise'. The court said "The letter discloses a situation in which the Court of Appeal was allowed to proceed under a serious misapprehension in and throughout the course of two substantial hearings. The Court of Appeal was twice allowed to give judgment on false premises viz, that Cabinet had never considered the application, still less reached any decision on it prior to the Court of Appeal's first judgment'. The court commented that no explanation was given as to why the State concealed these facts from the Court of Appeal 'although it is obvious that one would be expected'. The State's lawyer described the position as 'unusual and unsatisfactory' but the Privy Council said this was 'an understatement'.
The Maha Sabha was represented by Sir Fenton Ramsahoye SC and [[Anand Ramlogan]]. The State was represented by Russel Martineau SC in the Appeal Court and Peter Knox QC in the Privy Council.
Despite this ruling the State up to September 2006 refused to implement the judgement and award the radio frequency and as such The Sanatan Dharma Maha Sabha Inc. issued a strongly worded letter to the Attorney General, John Jeremy, accusing him of demonstrating contempt for the judgment of the highest court of the land - the Judicial Committee of the Privy Council. As a result of this threat on Friday 23rd September 2006 THE Sanatan Dharma Maha Sabha's six-year wait for a radio broadcast licence ended when its secretary-general Sat Maharaj signed the relevant documents to grant it a radio licence at the Telecom Authority's offices in San Juan.
The new Maha Sabha radio station will be called Radio Jaagriti (Awakening), will be based in Tunapuna and be operational by November 1. Maharaj said it was unfortunate that this kind of treatment could be meted out to anyone in a democracy like TT. He hoped that no individual or group in TT would ever have to endure the Maha Sabha's "torture" and that Government would never allow this situation to repeat itself.
The Maha Sabha will along with the Radio Station also be operating a Cable Television station making it the first Hindu broadcasting network in the Southern Hemisphere as well as the Western Hemisphere.
No other radio station in the history of Trinidad and Tobago has received as much publicity prior to its actual launch than Radio Jaagriti 102.7FM. No other radio station has been held in anticipation prior to its launch than Radio Jaagriti 102.7FM
Radio Jaagriti 102.7FM was formed by the Sanatan Dharma Maha Sabha to address the needs of the Hindu Community in the media. Born out of the community Radio Jaagriti will broadcast religious and inspirational programming, catering for the needs of the Hindu youth and incorporating current affairs. Radio Jaagriti will create a permanent space for the Hindu community in the national media landscape.
The station carries live broadcast of Ramayans that are conducted almost nightly in Trinidad and Tobago, various Hindu religious observances, morning devotional programs, Astrological readings, Teaching of Hindi, Youth Forums, Vegetarian Cooking, Yoga, Ayurveda Medicine, Current Issues Discussions, Women's Issues, Film, Music Romantic and Religious. The Trinidad and Tobago culture that are ignored by the current national media and given token attention by the Indian formatted media houses.