Internet Ban Eased In Kashmir After Seven Months

SRINAGAR, Kashmir— Emotions ran high when Ruksan ul Nisa from Indian-administered Kashmir made a video call to Rafiqa in Colorado on Wednesday. Her eyes welled up as she started the conversation with a "salaam" or hello to her childhood friend and former colleague, who she used to speak with at least every other day.

"Her voice choked, and tears ran down her cheeks as she spoke to her friend," said Ashiq Ahmad, Nisa’s son sitting by her side. "They are seeing each other after seven months."

Their virtual separation came Aug. 5, when the Indian government stripped the Muslim-majority region of its statehood and partial autonomy. The Internet ban lasted seven months, the longest such ban in any of the world’s democracies.

The Internet ban was coupled with the suspension of fixed phone lines and mobile phones, cutting off the region with the rest of the world. While the phone lines were reopened gradually, the government continued blocking the Internet, citing security concerns.

Nearly seven million people live in the Kashmir Valley, 97 percent of them Muslims. A minority of Kashmiri Hindus resettled outside the valley, some fleeing violent attacks by militant separatists in the 1990’s. At least 47,000 people have been killed in the conflict in the last three decades, according to government figures. Human rights organizations estimate the numbers are higher.

Journalists flooded Srinagar’s media center every day during the seven months of Kashmir’s Internet ban. Photo by Basit Zargar.

The abolished Article 370 in India’s constitution had prevented non-Kashmiris from settling in the region. Its revocation, Kashmiris fear, could pave the way for the settlement of non-Kashmiri Hindus in Kashmir and change its Muslim culture.

On Mar. 4, Indian authorities temporarily lifted the ban on social media sites and allowed unrestricted Internet access in Kashmir. Then on Mar. 5, the government restored broadband Internet in Kashmir, limited to slow speeds.

The day the government lifted the Internet ban, the media center in Srinagar was empty. Photo by Zaffar Iqbal.

The Internet restoration will remain only until Mar. 17, according to a government order. Earlier, the authorities had issued a list of around 1,500 websites, mostly related to education, government, and business. Kashmiris were allowed to access only these sites. The present order removes this restriction.

A senior officer said the changes have been made on an experimental basis and are subject to review after some days.

Many international rights groups, including Human Rights Watch and Amnesty International, repeatedly asked India to lift the restrictions. In January, India’s Supreme Court gave a ruling asking the government to review the Internet ban in Kashmir, calling the Internet an essential part of freedom of speech and expression.

Since imposing the ban, the government has argued that the restriction was necessary to prevent anti-India protests and attacks by insurgents who have fought for decades for Kashmir's independence or unification with Pakistan, with which India has fought three wars over the region. India and Pakistan both claim the Himalayan region in its entirety since their independence from British rule but administer it in parts.

In January, the government restored low-speed 2G Internet, but only allowed access to a few hundred websites. Many Kashmiris began using Virtual Private Network (VPN) applications to access social media like Facebook and Whatsapp on their mobile phones.

Then a government order last month said that social media accessed through VPN applications was being used “for terror activities as well as to upload provocative material aimed at disturbing public order." The police made a few arrests of those allegedly misusing VPN applications.

Since Aug. 5, the authorities have arrested thousands of Kashmiri youth and placed many prominent local politicians and human rights leaders under house arrest. A law called the Public Safety Act allows the Indian government to arrest anyone “acting in any manner prejudicial to the security of the state” or “prejudicial to the maintenance of law and order” for up to two years and one year respectively without a trial.

The latest order continues restrictions to only websites the government allows access to, using Mac-binding (or media access control).  

The communications ban has caused significant financial losses for the people in Kashmir, crippling the region's economy and triggering a humanitarian crisis. Scores of small businesses and start-ups were forced to downsize or wind up their ventures.

The Kashmir Chamber of Commerce and Industry (KCCI), a business body of Kashmir, published a report which said around 500,000 jobs were lost in Kashmir due to the Internet gag and lockdown.

Students could not fill online forms to apply for admissions or download study materials. Patients were not able to access medical reports and contact doctors outside Kashmir. Journalists had to travel outside the region to file stories or wait in lines to access government-controlled computers to file stories.

The media center has been the sole savior for hundreds of Kashmir-based journalists who came daily for the last seven months to only a handful of computer terminals.

"We distributed sweets after the restoration of the internet,” said Imran Ahmad, a Srinagar based journalist.  “It seems that we have come out of the dark ages. We hope that our visits to the media center will also come to an end now."

In November, the government reached out to the businessmen, tour operators, and hoteliers by restoring Internet connections only after they signed contracts and complied with the conditions, which barred the use of VPNs, wi-fi, encrypted files, videos, and uploading of photos. It also called for all the USB ports of the computer to be disabled.

The businesses were also required to provide complete access to all their content and infrastructure as and when required by security agencies.

Syed Ashfaq, 44, left a lucrative banking job 12 years ago to open a trading company in Kashmir, employing several staff. The Internet ban forced him to lay off some of his employees.

"The low-speed restoration of Internet hardly matters for us,” Ashfaq said. "There is a lot of uncertainty. We don't know when the Internet will be suspended again.”

He says he can't take the risk to invest capital in his business without knowing what the future will hold.

“Business can only thrive in an atmosphere of peace, but nothing has been done to bring sustainable peace in Kashmir,” he said.  “Whenever the government wishes, the Internet will be suspended again. We are being experimented on. There is no consideration that we are humans, and they don't care."

Zaffar Iqbal is a journalist based in Kashmir, India. He has reported for 18 years on armed encounters, environmental issues, crime, politics, culture and human rights. He’s formerly the bureau chief of Jammu and Kashmir for NDTV.