Volume 18, No. 5, 2021
India’s Digital Repression In Jammu And Kashmir: A Human Rights Perspective
Dr. Sadaf Bashir , Muhammad Bilal Awan
Abstract
Internet shutdown is an important tool of digital repression that a state uses to quell dissent and control protest mobilisation. The disputed state of Jammu and Kashmir (J&K) has suffered the highest number of Internet shutdowns since Modi government came to power in 2014. Around midnight of August 4, 2019, India had cut off Internet in J&K to stifle the protests and unrest that arose when Modi government unilaterally revoked Kashmir’s special status on August 5, 2019. The shutdown lasted 213 days while the ban on social media and 4G speed Internet continued till February 2021. This article argues that by cutting off access to this key digital resource, India effectively curtailed rights of Kashmiri people as part of its growing suppression on dissemination of information online and freedom of expression. The study also highlights that India’s legal and institutional framework enables it to use Internet as a digital tool to repress dissidents in J&K. Human rights law allows for restrictions to public freedoms, if they are legal, non-discriminatory, necessary and proportionate. India’s blanket Internet shutdown, however, fails to meet these requirements and hence, violates human rights of Kashmiri people.
Pages: 3690-3702
Keywords: Censorship, Freedom of Expression, Human Rights, Information Control, Internet Blackout, Internet Shutdown, Right to Information, Social Media.