Trinidad Hindus win battle to broadcast FM radio station

After a long and tedious 7-year legal struggle, the Sanatan Dharma Maha Sabha of Trinidad and Tobago [SDMS] was granted the licence to broadcast as Radio Jaagriti on 102.7FM. SDMS initiated the application in 1999 which languished in prolonged delays for 7 long years, while the government awarded another group a radio frequency for its station. In February 2004, the SDMS won its discrimination case against the government of Trinidad and Tobago. Presiding San Fernando High Court Justice Carlton Best ruled that the SDMS organization was treated unequally when Cabinet bypassed its application, stating that SDMS had been denied equality of treatment before the law by the State. But the licence was continuously denied by the government..

Satnarayan Maharaj, head of the Sanatan Dharma Maha Sabha (SDMS), who worked diligently throughout this lengthy legal process, stating during the appeal that "(we) remain committed to the rule of law and deeply respectful of the decision of the courts". On July 4, 2006, SDMS was victorious in its appeal to the Privy Council against the government because of the government's consistent refusal to award the organization a radio lisense. In a landmark 19-page judgment Lord Justice Mance said "in light of the exceptional circumscances" of the discrimination, the Privy Council would order Trinidad and Tobago 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 SDMS's legal costs in all the courts. The judgment was a unanimous one. SDMS was represented by Sir Fenton Ramsahoye SC and Anand Ramlogan.

The new SDMS radio station is called Radio Jaagriti (Awakening), based in Tunapuna and operational by November 1, 2006. Mr. Maharaj said "it was unfortunate that this kind of treatment could be meted out to anyone in a democracy like Trinidad and Tobago". SDMS, along with the Radio Station will also be operating a Cable Television station, making it a prominent pioneer Hindu broadcasting network in the Southern Hemisphere as well as the Western Hemisphere.

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