India witnesses highest number of Internet Shutdowns in last ten years

By: Yash Gupte

The internet is generally suspended by the state authorities when there are any communal tensions or any circumstances which can cause harm to the law & order and peace & tranquility in any area due to the inflammatory material and false rumors which could be transmitted to the public through social media.

The Meghalaya government suspended internet services in the seven districts of the state after a firing incident in Mukroh, West Jaintia Hills district resulted in a law and order situation. According to the government officials, six persons, including a forest guard were killed in violence at the Assam-Meghalaya border in West Karbi Anglong district in the early hours of Tuesday after a truck transporting illegal timber was intercepted. The truck tried to flee when it was stopped and as a result forest guards open fired on the truck. The firing deflated one of the tyres of the truck. The truck driver was apprehended by the forest guards along with two other men. Local police reached the spot after forest guards contacted the Zirikending police station. A large number of people from Meghalaya rushed to the spot with daggers and other weapons surrounding the forest guards and the police, demanding the release of those arrested. The mob attacked the police and the forest guards, forcing the cops to fire to bring the situation under control. 

Internet has been suspended in districts including West Jaintia Hills, East Jaintia Hills, East Khasi Hills, Ri-Bhoi, Eastern West Khasi Hills, West Khasi Hills & South West Khasi Hills. The mobile internet services have been suspended for 48 hours starting from 22 November, Tuesday. Following the incident in Mukroh, the Jorabat police blocked many Assam vehicles from entering Meghalaya in order to avoid any such incidents and to ensure public safety.

The internet is generally suspended by the state authorities when there are any communal tensions or any circumstances which can cause harm to the law & order and peace & tranquility in any area due to the inflammatory material and false rumors which could be transmitted to the public through social media. But in recent years, there have been many internet shutdowns in India. Apart from the recent one in Meghalaya, the internet shutdown in Rajasthan over the killing of tailor Kanhaiya Teli by two Islamic fundamentalist has raised the issue of internet shutdowns/ suspensions in India.  

According to Internet freedom and tech policy organisations, India is the leading country (by number) for Internet disruption incidents and frequency of shutdowns and is also known as the Internet shutdown capital of the world. The chart below showcases the number of government imposed internet shutdowns in India from 2012- 2022.

The above chart shows that the years between 2017-2021 witnessed the maximum number of internet shutdowns in India. The reasons attributed to this are the Abrogation of article 370 in Jammu & Kashmir in 2019, Citizenship Amendment Act, neutralizing of Hizbul commander Burhan Wani in Kashmir and etc. Between January 2012 and June 2022, there were 647 government-imposed internet shutdowns across India, resulting in the highest number of internet blocks in the world so far.

According to estimates in a report by the Indian Council for Research on International Economic Relations (ICRIER), the Indian economy suffered economic losses from Internet outages for almost 16,000 hours over the past five years totaling just under $3 billion. Jammu & Kashmir has witnessed the maximum number of internet shutdowns in India.

Since 2012, there have been 665 internet shutdowns in India. Since 2012, there have been more than 411 shutdowns in J&K, with the longest one spanning more than 552 days after the former state's special status was revoked. Rajasthan has had the most shutdowns out of all the states, with 88 such instances in over ten years.