Longest Shutdowns
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Days and Counting
4th August 2019 - Present
Kashmir, Jammu and Kashmir
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An internet shutdown was imposed on 4th August 2019, when Article 370 of the Constitution was abrogated by the Parliament of India. There was a Presidential order 272 dated 5th August 2019 which stated this. The State of Jammu and Kashmir was bifurcated into the Union Territories of Jammu & Kashmir and Ladakh. There was a preventive shutdown imposed in the state which is yet to be lifted entirely. The shutdown in Kargil was lifted on 27th December 2019 but continues in other parts of the state. The beginning of the communication blockade saw landlines as well as Mobile services restricted, the ban on landlines was lifted but suspension of mobile internet continues in the valley. On 25th January 2020, 2G services were restored in the valley for verified users. Only whitelisted websites could be accessed and social media remains prohibited. The services were snapped again the same day on account of security concerns for Republic Day, 2G services for whitelisted websites were later restored on 26th January 2020 at 4PM. |
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145 Days
4th August 2019 - 27th December 2019
Kargil
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Kargil District of Laddakh faced a shutdown of 145 days which was imposed since 4th August, 2019 on the erstwhile State of Jammu and Kashmir. The shutdown was imposed alongside the suspension of all landline ,mobile and SMS communication as a preventive measure in the wake of the abrogation of article 370. It was lifted on 27th December 2019 in the district but it continues in other parts of the Erstwhile State. |
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133 Days
8th July 2016 - 19th November 2016
Kashmir, Jammu and Kashmir
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Longest Internet Shutdown was observed in Kashmir located in state of Jammu and Kashmir in 2016 due to the agitation caused by the killing of Burhan Wani on 8th July 2016. Mobile Internet Services were suspended for 133 days. While mobile Internet services on postpaid numbers was restored on November 19, 2016. Mobile Internet services for prepaid users were resumed in January 2017, this implies they faced almost a six month Internet shutdown. |
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100 Days
18th June 2017 - 25th September 2017
Darjeeling, West Bengal
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Third longest Internet services suspension was observed in Darjeeling. The order suspending the Internet services was promulgated on 18th June 2017 due to the ongoing agitation for a separate Gorkhaland. Two days later, on 20thJune, the order was extended to the broadband services as well, effectively shutting down the entire Internet, with several such extension orders Internet services were suspended in Darjeeling for 100 days. |
An internet shutdown was imposed on 4th August 2019, when Article 370 of the Constitution was abrogated by the Parliament of India. There was a Presidential order 272 dated 5th August 2019 which stated this. The State of Jammu and Kashmir was bifurcated into the Union Territories of Jammu & Kashmir and Ladakh. There was a preventive shutdown imposed in the state which is yet to be lifted entirely. The shutdown in Kargil was lifted on 27th December 2019 but continues in other parts of the state. The beginning of the communication blockade saw landlines as well as Mobile services restricted, the ban on landlines was lifted but suspension of mobile internet continues in the valley. On 25th January 2020, 2G services were restored in the valley for verified users. Only whitelisted websites could be accessed and social media remains prohibited. The services were snapped again the same day on account of security concerns for Republic Day, 2G services for whitelisted websites were later restored on 26th January 2020 at 4PM.
Kargil District of Laddakh faced a shutdown of 145 days which was imposed since 4th August, 2019 on the erstwhile State of Jammu and Kashmir. The shutdown was imposed alongside the suspension of all landline ,mobile and SMS communication as a preventive measure in the wake of the abrogation of article 370. It was lifted on 27th December 2019 in the district but it continues in other parts of the Erstwhile State.
Longest Internet Shutdown was observed in Kashmir located in state of Jammu and Kashmir in 2016 due to the agitation caused by the killing of Burhan Wani on 8th July 2016. Mobile Internet Services were suspended for 133 days. While mobile Internet services on postpaid numbers was restored on November 19, 2016. Mobile Internet services for prepaid users were resumed in January 2017, this implies they faced almost a six month Internet shutdown.
Third longest Internet services suspension was observed in Darjeeling. The order suspending the Internet services was promulgated on 18th June 2017 due to the ongoing agitation for a separate Gorkhaland. Two days later, on 20thJune, the order was extended to the broadband services as well, effectively shutting down the entire Internet, with several such extension orders Internet services were suspended in Darjeeling for 100 days.
Trends
upto 8th January 2020
Type of Shutdown
Of the 381 Internet shutdowns recorded between January 2012 and January 4th 2020, 236 were observed to be preventive i.e. restrictions imposed in anticipation of law and order situation and 146 shutdowns were reactive in nature i.e. imposed in order to contain on-going law and order breakdowns
Duration of Shutdown
93 of the 381 Internet shutdowns between 2012 and January 4th 2020 lasted less than 24 hours, 74 lasted between 24 and 72 hours, 41 lasted for over 72 hours, while no information was available on the respective duration of the remaining 208 Internet shutdowns. The non-availability of information is attributable chiefly to the fact that no public notifications are issued by the Government or Internet Service Providers before, during, or after shutdowns, leaving stakeholders outside the affected areas to source this information from available news reports, which do not consistently mention the duration's for the shutdown.
Nature of Shutdown
Of the 381 reported incidents, 301 were targeted at mobile Internet services alone (3 in 2012, 5 shutdowns each in 2013 & 2014, 8 in 2015 and 20 in 2016, 51 in 2017, 126 in 2018 and 86 in 2019 and 1 in 2020), 28 targeted both mobile and fixed-line Internet services (4 each in 2015 and 2016, 9 in 2017,4 in 2018 and 5 in 2019 and 2 in 2020)
In News
- India restores some internet access in Kashmir , New York Times (January, 2020)
- Top Court declares internet a fundamental right , Anadolu Agency (January, 2020)
- Internet blockade, Supreme Court intervention , Daily Times (January, 2020)
- Digital India is offline , The Wire (January, 2020)
- Suspension of the Internet: What the Rules say , Indian Express (January, 2020)
- Lawyer Mishi Choudhary on what India shutdowns ruling means for journalists , CPJ (January, 2020)
- The Global Cost of Internet Shutdowns in 2019 , Top10vpn (January, 2020)
- To Prevent Protests Against An Anti-Muslim Law, India’s Government Turned Off The Internet In Its Capital City , BuzzFeed News (December, 2019)
- Delhi internet shutdown did not come via right channel: Digital Right Activists , Times of India (December, 2019)
- Mobile internet shutdowns in Lucknow, Ghaziabad, Mangalore amid anti-CAA protests , Indian Express (December, 2019)
- Are Internet shutdowns healthy for India? , The Hindu (December, 2019)
- India Adopts the Tactic of Authoritarians: Shutting Down the Internet New York Times , New York Times (December, 2019)
-
Shut the
internet up! More than 350 internet shutdowns in India since 2014 , Media India Group (December, 2019) - Many lives have been lost’: five-month internet blackout plunges Kashmir into crisis , The Guardian (December, 2019)
- Delhi Shutdown Joins A France-Sized Hole In India’s Internet , HuffingtonPost (December, 2019)
- The scary trend of internet shutdowns , Ponyter.org (December, 2019)
- India Shut Down Kashmir’s Internet Access. Now, ‘We Cannot Do Anything.’ , New York Times (August, 2019)
- India Shuts Down Internet More Than Any Country In The World: Report (August, 2019)
Supporting Organizations
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