KASHMIR INSTITUTE OF INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS

Introduction
Kashmir has been in the eye of the storm for over the past several decades. The state and society,
both have suffered terribly due to the repressive policies, which India's human rights abusing
regimes have employed as a tool to suppress the peoples’ legitimate demand for holding a
referendum in the region. These aggressive policies, over the years, have led to uncounted deaths,
destruction and massive human rights violations. However, during the recent couple of years, the
Kashmir valley that is deemed as an epicenter of resistance against the Indian rule in the region
had witnessed relentless suppression of dissent that finds no precedent in Kashmir's recent history.

World human rights organisations and civil society groups working in the conflict-hit region have
over and over again raised their concerns regarding the abysmal situation but sadly the influential
world governments remained blithely unconcerned about the plight of Kashmiris while India’s
repressive regime remained remorselessly engaged in hiding ground realities in the conflict-hit
region by controlling the state media and promoting lapdog journalism to paddle its false and
fabricated narratives on Kashmir.

Effective scrutinizing of the content in the media and forcing newspaper

owners to black out stories relating to the use of disproportionate force by
the armed forces is what helped India's repressive regimes to enable silence
and create a smokescreen to conceal the crimes its forces have been
committing against the Kashmiris. But with the advent of social media, it
became difficult for India to hide the reality of the situation that started to
dawn on the world soon after educated Kashmiris within and outside the
valley availed this opportunity to engage themselves with digital platforms
to counter India's concocted and baseless narratives on Kashmir.

Marginalized Kashmiris who were so long denied access and space in the mainstream media turned
to social media in huge numbers to vent their resentment against India. The effective use of social
media by the tech savvy Kashmiri youth on one hand outsmarted Indian propaganda while on the
other the timely and objective reporting of incidents of violence by the new Kashmir-based
newsrooms and magazines spotlighted the ground realities that the Indian governments tried to
hide from the world.

The social media flooded with images and videos depicting everyday mayhem and carnage on the
streets in Kashmir valley left Indians red-faced at international level while international rights
groups started to question the authoritarian regime’s hostile policies towards Kashmir.

But instead of fulfilling its responsibilities to ensure that the right to freedom of expression is
protected the Indian government yet again resorted to its age-old colonial tactics to suppress the

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social media activists, who used social media to expose and document human rights abuses in
Kashmir on an extraordinary scale.

Kashmir’s Digital Siege

“The digital siege of Kashmir was a well thought out plan of the Indian government to enable
complete silence on Kashmir, hide ground realities and the massive human rights violations
taking place in the region”.
Initially, the Indian authorities in Jammu and Kashmir used frequent internet shutdowns to prevent
social media users from uploading any information relating to the incidents of state sponsored
violence, however, in April 2017, the authorities in Indian administered Kashmir (IAK) banned
several social media sites.

Though the authorities at the helm of affairs in the IAK regularly blocked internet connections,
this was the first time such a step was taken on social media. Since 2016, internet signals were
blocked over 28 times, whereas the internet connection was blocked for about five months as a
result the social media sites and apps including WhatsApp, Snapchat, Facebook, Twitter, WeChat,
Skype, Pinterest, and Vine and other services remained suspended.

However, one of the longest Internet Shutdowns was enforced in Jammu and Kashmir in 2016 due
to the mass uprising caused by the martyrdom of charismatic Kashmiri freedom fighter Burhan
Muzaffar Wani in July 2016. The region did not have access to the internet for close to 6 months.
Mobile Internet Services were suspended for 133 days. Mobile Internet services were restored in
November 2016 for postpaid users, and on January 2017 for prepaid users.

Longest ever Internet Shutdown

On August 5, 2019, a crippling lockdown coupled with communications blockade was imposed in
Kashmir after the Indian government revoked the special status of Jammu and Kashmir via
scrapping of the article 370 of the Indian constitution that had guaranteed semi-autonomous status
to the J&K state.

Following the controversial decision the Indian authorities arrested thousands of people, mostly
young men, to prevent protests and public backlash. The lockdown started on 5 August 2019, since
then, no foreign journalists were granted permission from the Indian government to report in
Kashmir.

Among the harsh measures imposed by the government was a near complete internet shutdown,
which has affected the entire territory of Jammu & Kashmir. Initially, a complete shutdown was
imposed for over five months, following which archaic 2G services were restored in some specific
areas. However, these restrictions remained in place for more than 14 months—mobile data speeds
remained throttled at the 2G level with a 384 Kbps upper limit.

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“The decision to curb the internet was primarily taken by the Indian government to stop
Kashmiris voices reaching the international community through social media and other online
platforms”.

The authorities barred all broadband as well as mobile internet services in the region. After a gap
of nearly six months, 2G internet was resumed in January 2020 with no access to social media.

Despite the fact that many cases of COVID-19 infection were confirmed in the region, authorities
remorselessly continued to enforce the 4G internet ban, preventing people from getting important
information about the COVID-19 pandemic and its safety tips.

“Medical institutions in the valley described 4G ban as a risk factor for COVID-19 deaths in
J&K, as the information about WHO's guideline on testing and its counter measures
remained largely inaccessible in the region. Even doctors working in different health facilities
were not able to effectively deal with the coronavirus due to non-availability of 4G internet
and lack of significant information available online.”

Amnesty International asked the Indian government to restore 4G internet in critical situations of
pandemic disease but the government remained blithely unconcerned.

Between April - May 2020, Supreme Court of India heard a batch of writ petitions challenging the
ban on 4G internet services. Sadly, the J&K administration opposed the plea stating that "the right
to access the internet is not a fundamental right".

On 11 May 2020, the Supreme Court disposed of these petitions refusing the request for restoration
of 4G internet services. Court, however, constituted a special committee composed of senior
bureaucrats to look into the issue. The committee ironically was composed of the bureaucrats
having a major hand in imposing censorship.

Until 15th Jan 2021, high-speed cellular internet was not completely restored across the occupied
territory. Wired fiber internet, according to reports, was available without any speed restrictions
only in elite city areas, that too at costs exceeding budgets of middle-class households. The public
alleges that it is a major way in which the current Government is oppressing the minority
community in the name of protecting the sovereignty of the country.

In the year 2019, 55 instances of Internet blockade were recorded. However, the longest internet
shutdown of the year was enforced on 5th August 2019 that continued for the rest of the year. The
first six months of 2020 witnessed the continuation of the banning of the 4G mobile internet
services, which was banned on August 5. Between 2017 and 2019 the Kashmir valley witnessed
at least 205 internet shutdowns (from time to time). Whereas, there have been 226 documented
internet shutdowns since the year 2012.

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There have been 70 separate shutdowns in 2020. However, the internet shutdown that began on
August 4th 2019, was described as the longest running Internet shutdown and the second longest
in the world, after Myanmar.

According to a report released by the Jammu and Kashmir Coalition of Civil Society (JKCCS),
India leads the world in ordering internet shutdowns, and both in terms of frequency and duration,
J&K accounts for more than two-thirds of the Indian shutdowns ordered. Mobile internet data
speed in Kashmir is currently restricted to 2G internet (250kbps).

Currently, even the 2G internet access available to Kashmiris remains extremely precarious as
localized shutdowns of the internet, often accompanied by mobile phone disruptions, remain
commonplace, sometimes lasting for a week.

International Response
The ruthless suppression of dissent by India's repressive regime evoked strong condemnation from
international community. Besides the influential world governments, the eminent rights activists
from across the globe criticized India's digital authoritarianism to suppress the media and voices
of dissent in the restive region. The UN Commissioner for Human Rights Ms Michael Bachelet,
US lawmakers and several other countries including Pakistan, China, Turkey, Malaysia called for
an end to the communications blockade.
Amnesty International – The NGO for human rights started an online petition titled Let Kashmir
Speak, which demanded a lifting of "the blackout of communications in Jammu and Kashmir"
while "letting the voices of the people of Kashmir be heard" and allowing "unconditional and
unconstrained access to news and information from the valley".
The United Nations' special rapporteur on freedom of expression, David Kaye, said in a statement
that "there's something about this shutdown that is draconian in a way other shutdowns usually are
not".
Secretary-General Antonio Guterres raised concern over the new limitations placed on Kashmir,
adding that the latest events "could exacerbate the human rights situation in the region.
The Special Rapporteur on the promotion and protection of the right to freedom of opinion and
expression in various communications to the government of India expressed concerns regarding
the internet shutdowns, restriction against 4G access and restrictions on the right to freedom of
assembly and the right to freedom of expression, as well as the reported pattern of detentions and
harassment of journalists and human rights defenders.

“But despite severe criticism at international level the right to information continues to be
severely restricted in the occupied Kashmir. Instead of heeding saner voices emanating from
Kashmir and the world over the India’s communal regime has further tightened the noose
around rights defenders, civil society voices and journalists who risked their lives to bring to

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limelight the harms and consequences of digital siege and its devastating impacts on the
Kashmiri society”.

Impact on the Ground

The communication and information blockade that continued for many months has not only
affected the media and the effective reporting of human rights violations taking place in the region
but it has also caused massive losses to business, economic activities, healthcare and education of
the people in Kashmir. The restrictions on expression and movement of independent journalists
and sanctions on human rights defenders and civil society activists and a systematic and an
intentional disruption of the internet services imposed by the Indian authorities under the guise of
so-called security reasons have virtually turned Kashmir into an information blackhole for the rest
of the world. The coercive measures taken by the Indian authorities on one hand hindered the work
of human rights defenders while on the other these punitive actions have had devastating impacts
on the lives of people in terms livelihood, healthcare and education.

Economic Impact of August 2019 Shutdown

While highlighting the financial losses the people of Kashmir have suffered due to shutdown of
August 2019, the JKCCS report says that the losses suffered by various businesses during the first
five months alone were estimated at Rs 178.78 billion, with more than 500,000 people having lost
their jobs in the valley in the period.

Health & Education

Health and education sector suffered major setbacks due to prolonged siege and information
blockade. Health indices showed a marked decline, with the months of June-August 2019 showing
numbers of hospital visits dropping by up-to 38%.

In August 2020 students enrolled in Kashmir’s 30,000 schools and 400 institutes of higher
education marked the first anniversary of the internet shutdown as a full year without attending
school, or college or university.

Delay in Dispensation of Justice

Justice saw systemic delays further compounded by ineffective online hearings. Amidst the
internet and telecommunications blackout, more than 6000 detentions and over 600
‘administrative’ detentions took place around August 5th 2019. Of habeas corpus petitions filed
for the release of illegal detainees during the period, 99% remain pending.

Squeezing Space for Independent Journalism

Press freedoms and the right to freedom of speech, expression and social participation suffered
from the direct impact and chilling effects of online surveillance, profiling and criminal sanctions,
with police complaints registered against working journalists and over 200 social media and VPN
users.

KASHMIR INSTITUTE OF INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS