Facing protests against the economic policies of the ruling Hindu nationalist BJP (Bharatiya Janata Party), Indian Prime Narendra Modi’s 2019 re-election bid adopted the British colonial divide-and-rule approach, targeting the country’s large Muslim minority to appeal to his nationalist supporter base. As part of his manifesto, he promised to remove the special constitutional status of Kashmir, a provision most Indians knew nothing about until it became expedient to the BJP’s divisive politics.
In late July 2019, 10,000 extra Indian soldiers were deployed to Kashmir, the world’s most militarised zone, ahead of a curfew and lockdown imposed on the region from the evening of 4 August 2019. This was followed, on 5 August, by the revocation of Articles 370 and 35A of the Indian constitution; the former granted Kashmir extensive autonomy and the latter gave property ownership rights only to permanent residents of Kashmir. Days later, this was followed by what became the Jammu and Kashmir Reorganisation Act 2019, splitting the state into two union territories: Jammu & Kashmir and Ladakh.
The people of Jammu and Kashmir were not consulted. Instead, as part of the ongoing lockdown, 38,000 more soldiers were flown in. Over 8000 people were detained, including at least 144 children, and almost all (except BJP members) of Kashmir’s elected representatives, including three former chief ministers. By May 2020, nine months on, over 400 people remained in preventive custody. Amnesty International found that “excessive force and intimidation” was used, with several cases “amounting to torture or other cruel, inhuman and degrading treatment”. Many were released “only after promising not to criticize the government”.
As part of this lockdown, Kashmir has been subject to an extensive communications blackout on national security grounds. From the evening of 4 August 2019, “internet access, mobile phone networks, and cable and Kashmiri television channels [were] cut off”. UN experts described this action as “inconsistent with the fundamental norms of necessity and proportionality” and a “form of collective punishment of the people of Jammu and Kashmir”. Kashmiris were cut off from family in other parts of the state or outside of it and Kashmiri journalists could not report on the human rights violations taking place amid a campaign of arbitrary arrests and violence.
Initially, public access to phone services was available in some government offices but with limited access for Kashmiris. Landlines, owned by less than 1% of the population, were restored within a few weeks and some mobile networks followed in October. In the same month, petitions to end the media and communication blackout in Kashmir were heard by the Indian Supreme Court, arguing that the blackout is incompatible with Article 19 of the Indian constitution, which guarantee the right to freedom of speech and expression. Agreeing that internet access is a fundamental right, on 10 January 2020, the Supreme Court ordered the restoration of internet services “in institutions providing essential services like hospitals and educational places, and to review all orders imposing curbs in the Union Territory within a week”.
The response was to allow incredibly slow 2G services for verified users, access to government-approved websites only, excluding social media and messaging apps, and allowing SMS. As these services were restored on 25 January, one day before the Republic Day holiday, they were disconnected promptly for security reasons and restored 24 hours later. Access solely to government-approved websites was lifted in March but internet speed restrictions remain.
Journalists have had internet access via the Media Facilitation Centre in Srinagar; however, it has long queues, slow and inadequate internet and is monitored by the government. Since November, freelance journalists and those working for online journals have been excluded. Kashmir’s journalists have particularly been targeted for harassment and detention. A new media policy introduced by the administration threatens to restrict them even further.
Internet shutdowns are not uncommon in Kashmir or in India, the “shutdown capital of the world”. In 2019, there were 121 shutdowns across India. The Software Freedom Law Centre shutdown tracker considers this particular shutdown to have ended on 4 March with the lifting of the restrictive order made in January. According to it, the shutdown lasted 213 days, the longest perhaps anywhere outside of Myanmar. The easing of restrictions is partial; for millions of residents across Kashmir, both telephone and internet access are still hit and miss.
In view of the emerging Covid-19 pandemic, on 31 March, the Foundation for Media Professionals filed a petition in the Supreme Court to have 4G internet services restored. Rather than respond to the petition, in May, the Supreme Court set up a special committee to consider the issue, whose work is currently subject to scrutiny in court proceedings. In the meantime, orders extending the shutdown have been issued regularly by the territory’s administration, most recently until 19 August 2020. Furthermore, Kashmir was plunged into a complete communication blackout in May, similar to that of August 2019, following the killing of a militant.
The impact of this shutdown, one of at least 180 internet shutdowns in Kashmir since 2012, has been immense. Education, healthcare, tourism, commerce have been heavily interrupted as well as social communications between families living within different parts of the region and beyond. With jobs and educational opportunities drying up, many Kashmiri youth left to find work and opportunities elsewhere. Some have used this opportunity to create apps and digital workarounds to the slow internet service for others back home. By December 2019, the shutdown had cost the Kashmiri economy $2.4 billion. On the other hand, India’s largest internet mobile service provider, Reliance Jio, owned by close Modi associate Mukesh Ambani, has made over $70 million from subscribers in Kashmir over the past year who have had no access to the service.
In recent months, the situation has been compounded by the global coronavirus pandemic. For its size and population, Kashmir is particularly badly affected by Covid-19. Information for doctors and the public is hampered by lack of access to information and speedy communication. Various NGOs have called on the Indian government to restore 4G internet services.
For people around the world, months of lockdown and restrictions due to the pandemic have been stressful. The impact on mental health wellbeing is a growing concern, yet for Kashmir’s residents, the cycle of lockdowns and shutdowns has been ongoing for years. As others express concerns about remote working, schooling, healthcare and court hearings, Kashmir’s residents have almost no access to even basics such as WhatsApp and Zoom chats. The internet shutdown also means that Kashmiris are excluded from digital contact tracing efforts, made mandatory in India.
While the pandemic and the related lockdowns worldwide have seen people become more reliant on the internet in everyday life, big tech companies have found opportunities to make further inroads into the everyday lives of people everywhere; India is no exception. Homelessness, hunger and unemployment may be more pressing issues to many Indians, nonetheless the Indian government is pressing ahead with its digitalisation programme Digital India, with a huge recent $10 billion investment from Google alone. As Rayees Ahmad Kumar states, “while the Indian establishment is preparing to build 5G services, the Kashmir valley is languishing in an imposed time capsule with just limited 2G mobile data”.
The decision to embrace digital and internet technologies should be an individual choice that is neither imposed nor denied by the state or anyone else. India’s digital shutdowns are a punitive and extralegal measure that prevent scrutiny of other human rights violations that accompany them.
India’s actions in Kashmir demonstrate that the internet is a tool of exclusion and inclusion in equal measure as well as a tool of social control. Any decision to restore 4G services must be final and not involve flip-flopping or an intermittent service. The Indian government must prove that it is more than just a bully, hiding behind technology to suppress lawful and democratic dissent and opposition.
one small window... 
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