Srinagar: The Modi government has added another weapon to its arsenal against the people of occupied Kashmir by imposing internet bans. Since 2018, the Modi government has suspended internet and telephone services 418 times in Kashmir.
After the revocation of Article 370 on August 5, 2019, internet cables and telephone services were cut off throughout Kashmir until February 5, 2020. The ongoing internet blackout, now lasting for one and a half years, is the longest internet shutdown in the world. Kashmiris have been pushed back to the Stone Age during this prolonged internet ban.
According to a report from American media on February 11, 2021, Kashmir tops the list of regions with internet shutdowns worldwide. For the past four years, India has consistently featured on the list of countries with the most communication blackouts worldwide. In 2022, out of the 187 internet shutdowns worldwide, 84 occurred in India and 49 in Kashmir. In April 2019, the Indian government also imposed restrictions on the movement of vehicles within a 270-kilometer radius of Kashmir.
