Kashmir at epicentre of India's spate of internet shutdowns

India enforced as many as 84 internet shutdowns last year and was on top of the list of nations that ordered internet blackouts for the fifth year in a row, a report by Access Now and the Keep It On coalition has found.

Kashmiri journalists holding placards protest on the 100th day of an internet ban in Srinagar, in December 2019. © Umar Ganie

Both digital rights advocacy groups say the internet was shut down 49 times in Indian administered Jammu and Kashmir.

This is the highest in any state in the country, including 16 back-to-back orders for three-day-long curfew-style shutdowns in January and February.

India tops list again

Findings by Surfshark, a VPN provider based in the Netherlands, said internet censorship in Jammu and Kashmir accounted for 31 percdent of global restrictions, adding that all were related to “political turmoil”.

The Surfshark report said residents of Jammu and Kashmir have been “facing unprecedented internet restrictions since 2019”, when the Prime Minister Narender Modi’s government revoked the region’s autonomy in a controversial move and downgraded its status from a state to a union territory.

On 5 August 2019, when the government scrapped Kashmir’s special status, the region endured its longest internet blackout, lasting several months. The day before, authorities had cut off phone signals, mobile data, and broadband internet.

Jammu and Kashmir led the world in internet shutdown cases in 2022. Was your country part of the rest of the list? Share your thoughts and find out more 👇 https://t.co/4dT5W0KIoI

— Surfshark (@surfshark) February 22, 2023

The government then revoked Jammu and Kashmir’s constitutional autonomy and split it into two territories under the control of the federal government.

While this brought an end to seven decades of semi-autonomous rule, internet disruptions continue to this day.

Authorities cite security-related incidents and political unrest to impose blocks in order to prevent the spread of “misinformation and maintain public order”.

• Kashmir rights group complains of India's policy of 'digital apartheid'

“Facing internet shutoffs or slowdowns is the new normal in the Kashmir Valley. There are no effective redressal mechanisms for residents. It no longer makes news and people have been forced to get used to this situation,” Kashmir Times editor Anuradha Bhasin told RFI.

“Internet restrictions have made it difficult for the region’s residents to access crucial information.”

Bhasin said the internet ban limited the ability of journalists to travel and was a violation of Article 19 of India’s Constitution, which guarantees the right to freedom of expression.

Most shutdowns in 2022

In response to Bhasin’s petition, the Supreme Court directed the union and state governments to publish internet shutdown orders on official government websites and to periodically review them.

The court ruled that an indefinite suspension of internet services would be illegal under Indian law and that orders for internet shutdown must satisfy the tests of necessity and proportionality.

• A mixed bag three years after scrapping of Kashmir's special status

“Historically, when it comes to Jammu and Kashmir, internet blackouts have been the administration’s playbook especially when it comes to security problems or anticipation of protests,” Prateek Waghre, policy director of the Internet Freedom Foundation (IFF) told RFI.

However, the government believes that an internet shutdown or disruption was at times necessary to stop the flow of misinformation during a state of crisis.

“In a volatile place like Kashmir rumour mongering can lead to strife and the situation can turn bad quickly,” a senior government official requesting anonymity told RFI.

Arrival of 5G internet services

Earlier this week, Lieutenant Governor Manoj Sinha inaugurated 5G internet services in Jammu and Kashmir.

"5G will bring transformational benefits for the people of Jammu and Kashmir and further the objective of the government to realise our honourable PM’s Digital India vision," said Sinha.

Shutting down the internet as an administrative or law-and-order measure has been a common step that has been taken across the country by almost all political parties and governments.

According to the IFF, internet restrictions cost the Indian economy $582.8 million in 2021.

A year earlier, the Indian economy lost an estimated $2.8 billion – more than any other country by far – after shutting down the internet for a combined 8,927 hours.

“It is in the interest of peace and transparency that the government should keep the flow of information seamless and open," Mohammed Yousuf Tarigami, a politician from Jammu and Kashmir told RFI.

"It will restore the faith of the people.”