Radio for the Millions: Hindi-Urdu Broadcasting Across Borders by Isabel Huacuja Alonso (review).

Isabel Huacuja Alonso's book, "Radio for the Millions: Hindi-Urdu Broadcasting Across Borders," provides a comprehensive history of early radio in South Asia. The book explores various aspects of radio broadcasting on the Indian subcontinent, including ham radio, radio clubs, imperial radio, clandestine radio, and anti-colonial radio. Alonso argues that radio resonance, or the act of resistance and enactment of citizenship through radio listenership, offers a way to understand commonalities and solidarities across borders, nations, and states. The book also highlights the decline of Hindustani as the language of broadcasting in North India and the emergence of Hindi- and Urdu-centric broadcasting in India and Pakistan after their independence in 1947. Overall, Alonso's book contributes to our understanding of the history of radio broadcasting in South Asia and the enduring nature of radio resonance. [Extracted from the article]