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J&K saw highest internet shutdowns across country

July 5, 2022

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The conflict ridden-Jammu and Kashmir is leading the states and union territories in the internet shutdowns across the country, as the union territory has had more than 411 shutdowns since 2012.

The longest shutdown went on for more than 552 days after the abrogation of the special status of the erstwhile state. The longest shutdown was observed in J&K after the abrogation of Article 370 from August 5, 2019, till February 5, 2021. The shutdown went on for more than 552 days.

According to a report by the Software Freedom Law Centre (SFLC), Jammu and Kashmir (411), Rajasthan (88) and Uttar Pradesh (30) led the states in internet shutdowns from 2012-2022.

Jammu and Kashmir in India saw 27 internet shutdowns until June 2022. In 2021, this number was 79. Since 2012, the region has been subject to 411 internet shutdowns, highest in the country. The Rajasthan government recently suspended the internet, following the murder of a tailor, Kanhaiya Lal Teli, in Udaipur. The recent shutdown was in Bhaderwah town of Doda district, following communal tensions in June.

Here, ‘shut downs’ mean a total ban on mobile (3G, 4G/LTE), or fixed-line (dial-up, wired/wireless broadband) Internet, both or either of which may be shut down.

As per SLFC report India is fast becoming the “internet shutdowns capital of the world”, as the country saw 59 shutdowns in 2022 till June, 100 in 2021 and 129 in 2020, the year in which demonstrations and political activities were restricted due to Covid-19.

In a recent report on internet shutdowns, the UN defined “access to the internet as an indispensable enabler of a broad range of human rights” and said that “such shutdowns inevitably affect many users with legitimate pursuits, leading to enormous collateral damage beyond the scope of their intended purposes”.

Shutting down the Internet as an administrative or law-and-order measure has been a common step taken across India — for a range of reasons and by almost all political parties and governments.

The shutdowns are ordered under Temporary Suspension of Telecom Services (Public Emergency & Public Safety) Rules, 2017, which were amended in 2020. The rules state that the suspension order shall not be in operation for more than 15 days.

However, neither the telecom ministry nor the home ministry maintains data on internet shutdowns and there is no mechanism to review how many states have issued internet suspension orders and for what reasons. Before 2017, internet shutdowns were done under Section 144 of Code of Criminal Procedure, which allowed a district magistrate, sub-divisional magistrate or any other executive magistrate empowered by the state government to ban the internet.