Interview: London-Based DJ Jyoty Wants More South Asian Voices on UK Radio

  • Navi Ahluwalia

Interview with London DJ Jyoty discussing the lack of South Asian presenters on mainstream UK radio stations, and the reasons that may influence that. IMAGERY - ELLIOT HUNTLEY

Lack of diversity is an issue that's been discussed within the beauty and fashion industries for some time now, but industries like music and, particularly, radio have been slower to start the conversation. Despite the success of inclusive networks like BBC Asian Network, the active representation of these voices on wider-reaching stations appears to be pretty slim. The fact is, there still aren't enough South Asian voices on UK radio stations. Research conducted by South Asian Audio showed that out of 25 British radio stations, only five featured South Asian presenters as part of their lineup. There were no South Asian presenters on Bauer radio stations, just two on BBC radio stations, and four in total on wireless radio stations. We sat down with London-based DJ Jyoty to discuss why this might be the case and what fellow South Asian presenters and DJs can do to break the cultural glass ceiling that exists on the airwaves.

"Being South Asian is still not cool. It's still not something that is marketable. You still can't sell it in the cooler departments," Jyoty explained. When it comes to BBC in particular, the intentions of Mark Strippel, the former head of programming for BBC Asian Network, were pure. Networks like BBC Asian were a way in, a way to take a step in the right direction for young South Asians, but in Jyoty's view, what ends up happening is that "all these people are on BBC Asian Network but they'll never go to BBC Radio One. They'll never go to 1Xtra. They won't go to Six or Capital after that."

She's not wrong. According to the director of Westside Radio, Sone Palda, not much has changed in the last 20 years. In an interview with Radio Today, he said that "it's massively disappointing seeing these current figures. I was part of setting up the UK's first Asian youth station back in 2000 — BBA Radio — where we developed many South Asian broadcasters that went on to present on some of the biggest stations in the UK. It's a big shame that such little progress has been made in the 20 years following BBA Radio for South Asian presenters."
"People are made to feel so lucky that they even got their foot in the door that they don't even dare to dream of going somewhere else, and I think that's the real poison."
Palda's not the only one who feels that way — presenters on the network themselves also agree. "I started on national radio 18 years ago and to see almost no progression across the industry in nearly two decades is quite frankly depressing," DJ Bobby Friction, a presenter on BBC Asian Network, said to Radio Today. It's a real problem, and there's clearly truth in the fact that this lack of progression amongst networks is one of the biggest causes of South Asian voices not being heard on mainstream platforms, but there is more to the story.
FULL INTERVIEW: https://www.popsugar.co.uk/entertainment/london-dj-jyoty-inclusivity-in-radio-48161089