Add HAM radio in school syllabus -By N.Arunkumar
Users of amateur radio, also known as, HAM radio, have urged the Centre and state to include their hobby in school syllabus. They say this would take the technology to youngsters and since amateur radio often turned out to be the only mode of communication during disasters, it would help the HAM community to reach out more. In the west 70 to 80 persons in a population of one lakh used HAM radios but in India only one,in 20 lakh people used them, said Inarapan of Kalpakkam, who has been using these radios since 1985.
"The investment needed for setting up a HAM radio is not huge. The cost of a basic model is as cheap as Rs. 500. Most of the people in India are unaware of the advantages in using HAM or they are misled by people who do not know about it. These are the main reasons for the low number of HAM users in India," he said.Some of the famous HAM radio users include late Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi, UPA chairperson Sonia Gandhi, late minister for commerce and industry Murasoli Maran and actor Kamal Haasan. During the 1999 Orissa super cyclone and 2004 tsunami HAM radio was the only mode of communication used for coordinating rescue and relief measures.
Speaking to Deccan Chronicle on Sunday on the sidelines of the International Lighthouse and Lightships Week (ILLW), Ajoy, member of the Bangalore Amateur Radio Club said, "CBSE has added HAM as a lesson in disaster management subject for classes 8, 9 and 10. The state should also follow CBSE and include HAM in their syllabus."K Rajesh, another HAM user from Chennai said, "HAM is an excellent mode of communication for people across the world. This helps us to get in touch with persons from different countries, apart from developing our knowledge in electronics. "-Deccan Chronicle 18/8/2008
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