India has experienced 59 Internet shutdowns in the first six months of 2019, the Software Freedom Law Centre's (SFLC) Internet shutdown tracker has shown. In June alone, there were 11 shutdowns, of which seven happened in Jammu and Kashmir, two were ordered in West Bengal and one each in both Uttar Pradesh and Odisha.
2018 was the worst year for open Internet in India, with the SFLC’s tracker reporting a whopping 134 Internet shutdowns.
Overall, between January 2012-19, there have been a total of 331 shutdowns in India, according to the official data available.
Shutdowns have, in fact, been on the rise, with 2014 seeing just six as opposed to 79 in 2017. And it’s happening again now.
According to Medianama, the actual number could be much higher, with shutdowns being ordered quietly by governments and not always being mentioned in the media.
WHERE DID SHUTDOWNS HAPPEN IN 2019?
India experiences the highest number of Internet shutdowns in the world. No other nation cuts off access to the Internet from its citizens more than India.
As recently as 1 July, a shutdown was ordered in Meerut, Uttar Pradesh, after a local organisation called for a 'Bharat Bandh' after the police beat up people protesting against rising incidence of lynchings.
Jammu and Kashmir has seen the highest number of Internet shutdowns, with 44 since January 2019, with authorities often resorting to precautionary shutdowns.
West Bengal has experienced three shutdowns this year, two of which were in June, while the other happened in April when mobile Internet services were suspended in the Asansol subdivision of Paschim Bardhaman district in the wake of violent clashes, in order to prevent rumours on social media.
Uttar Pradesh has seen three shutdowns in 2019 as well, with one in July, one in June and one in February, following an altercation between some students and a TV channel over reports of a visit by AIMIM lawmaker Asaduddin Owaisi to Aligarh Muslim University.
There was one shutdown in 2019 in Maharashtra on 1 January, on the occasion of 201st anniversary of battle of Bhima Koregaon.
Odisha saw two shutdowns in 2019, once in January and once in June.
WHAT ARE INDIA'S RULES ON INTERNET SHUTDOWNS?
In August 2017, the Ministry of Communications issued rules for shutting telecom services, and by extension, shutting down the Internet in India. According to the rules, the Secretary of Home Ministry has the power to issue an order to the Secretary of the Home Department of the state, in case of an order by Government of India, Medianama reported.
The Secretary to the State Government, incharge of the Home Department, can also issue an order in the case of a state government.
The order is required to be reviewed by a committee within the next working day.
The problem is that the Internet Suspension Rules do not specify grounds on which a state or central authority can order a blackout.
It only specifies who makes orders, which means that a government is theoretically free to order a district or state to go offline on any ground it deems fit.
Moreover, the Ministry of Communications passed the rules quietly, without any prior public consultation. This was a failure to honour a multi-stakeholder commitment to involve non-government actors in matters related to Internet policy
WHAT IS THE EFFECT OF SHUTDOWNS ON THE COUNTRY?
India's high incidence of going offline has serious human rights implications for its citizens. Denying access to the Internet amounts to censorship and a violation of freedom of speech.
A report published by the Indian Council for Research on International Economic Relations (ICRIER), said that between 2012 and 2017, India lost 16,315 online hours because of shutdowns, costing the country approximately $3.04 billion.
In an interview with The Quint, Congress MP Shashi Tharoor also discussed the implications of Internet shutdowns. “Digital transactions depend on stable Internet services; so by arbitrarily disrupting these services, Digital India can never be realised. While there are economic costs involved in using such powers, my primary concern is in relation to the threat it poses to our fundamental rights,” Tharoor said.
According to a study at the Stanford University (Of Blackouts and Bandhs: The Strategy and Structure of Disconnected Protest in India), there is a correlation between the co-occurrence of violence with a shutdown and non-violent action. An Internet shutdown seems to encourage violent action, News18 reported.
“Information blackouts compel participants in collective action in India to substitute non-violent tactics for violent ones that are less reliant on effective communication and coordination,” the study stated, according to News18.com.
While India leads the world in Internet shutdowns, it isn't the only one to experience them. According to Quartz, there have already been shutdowns in Cameroon, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Congo Brazzaville, Chad, Sudan and Zimbabwe in 2019. In 2018, there were 21 such shutdowns on the continent, across Togo, Sierra Leone, Sudan and Ethiopia, among others.
(With inputs from News18, Quartz and Medianama.)
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