jammu and kashmir internet

After More Than a Year, 4G Restored in Two J&K Districts on a ‘Trial Basis’

The apex court had, on August 7, given a final opportunity to the Centre and the J&K administration to place their definitive stand on the resumption of 4G services in the UT.

Srinagar: High-speed mobile internet was restored in two districts of Jammu and Kashmir on a “trial basis” late on Sunday, more than a year after services were suspended across the erstwhile state on August 5 last year.

An order issued by the principal secretary, J&K home department, directed the restoration of 4G mobile data services in the Ganderbal district of Kashmir and the Udhampur district of Jammu, following a green signal by the security agencies.

“In context of the conclusions drawn and parameters laid down by the special committee for considering calibrated easing of restrictions in limited and comparatively less sensitive geographical areas, the law enforcement agencies while furnishing fresh inputs relating to the present security scenario in J&K identified Ganderbal and Udhampur for lifting restrictions on high-speed mobile internet connectivity on trial basis,” read the two-page order.

The move comes days after the Centre informed the Supreme Court that the special committee tasked to review the ongoing ban on 4G internet services in J&K was considering suspending the ban on a trial basis in two districts of the Union territory.

The apex court had, on August 7, given a final opportunity to the Centre and the J&K administration to place their definitive stand on the resumption of 4G services in the Union territory.

The court was hearing a contempt petition by an NGO – Foundation for Media Professionals – against the Centre for failing to comply with its May 11 judgment in which the court had ordered setting up a panel to explore the possibility of resuming 4G services in J&K.

Also read: A Year Without High-Speed Internet Has Been a Nightmare for J&K’s Entrepreneurs

“After more than a year you can now record a video in Ganderbal and upload it and then watch it in Udhampur! That is some development,” political commentator and author Gowhar Geelani wrote on Facebook, reacting to the government’s decision to restore 4G internet in Ganderbal and Udhapmur.

Another user, Hussaini Wajahat sarcastically described the decision as “wonderful developmental achievements” of the government of India post the reading down of Article 370.

Last month, the former Lt Governor of J&K G.C. Murmu had told the Sunday Express that the J&K administration had conveyed to the Union home ministry that it did not have any objections to restoring 4G internet services.

An official in the J&K home department said the Sunday order will remain valid till September 8 “unless modified earlier”. “The decision for continuation of the services will be taken at the next review meeting keeping in view the ground situation,” the official said.

While the high-speed internet service will be provided only to post-paid subscribers, pre-paid customers would be able to access the services only after completing the verification process.

With regard to fixed-line internet connectivity, the order said internet connectivity, without any speed-related restrictions shall continue to be made available with mac-binding.

There will, however, be no let-up in the remaining 18 districts of J&K where high-speed internet services will continue to remain suspended. “…in rest of the districts, the internet speed shall continue to be restricted to 2G only,” read the order.

Also read: ‘Online Classes’ Make Mockery of Kashmir’s Students Who Haven’t Attended Classes in a Year

Internet and all telephonic services were snapped in Jammu and Kashmir on the intervening night of August 4 and 5 last year, hours before the Centre revoked Article 370 and bifurcated the state of J&K into two Union territories.

The low-speed or 2G internet service on mobile phones was restored in J&K on January 25. The ban on high-speed internet services has hit life in Kashmir which has been subjected to two consecutive lockdowns – first, the six-month clampdown following the scrapping of J&K’s special status, and then the ongoing COVID-19 lockdown.

While students struggled to access online classes at low-speed internet services, people associated with different professions, from health to business and media continue to struggle to carry out their routine work amidst the internet ban.

Facing Contempt, Centre to Allow ‘Carefully Calibrated Easing’ of 4G in J&K from Aug 15

Easing will begin in areas that are “comparatively less sensitive from a national security, internal security, border security and public order standpoint”.

New Delhi: In its latest submission to the Supreme Court in the ongoing Kashmir 4G contempt matter, the Centre has said it will implement a “carefully calibrated easing” of the restrictions on high-speed mobile internet services in the Union Territory after August 15, beginning with specific regions.

A bench of Justices N.V. Ramana, R. Subhash Reddy and B.R. Gavai is hearing the contempt petition filed by the Foundation for Media Professionals (FMP). On July 28, the Centre had asked for the matter to be adjourned till August 7, and the bench agreed. The court will be hearing the case on Tuesday, and the Centre’s affidavit was filed on Monday evening.

The special committee headed by the home secretary, government of India, had been deliberating on the matter of restoring 4G services in Kashmir, the Centre’s affidavit says. These services were suspended on the night of August 4, 2019 and have remained unavailable for over a year, creating problems for people in Jammu and Kashmir. In the committee meeting, according to the affidavit, “the pros and cons of multiple options that are available were further considered keeping in mind the security of the nation, the border security, public security, etc.”

Since the “threat perception on the security front in Jammu and Kashmir continues to be high” and “restrictions are not posing any hindrance to COVID control measures, education programmes or carrying out business activities”, the committee reportedly found that the situation is not conducive to lifting the restrictions on high-speed internet completely.

Also read: As New Delhi Spins an Alternate Reality, ‘Naya Kashmir’ Emerges in Centre’s Image

However, “on trial basis”, the committee has said that “a carefully calibrated easing of some restrictions in limited and specified geographical areas” can be attempted. These areas would be ones that are “comparatively less sensitive from a national security, internal security, border security and public order standpoint”. No areas near the international border or Line of Control is to be included in this, the affidavit says.

That this easing will be a “trial” is mentioned repeatedly in the affidavit. State-level committees should look into the impact once a week, the Centre has said, and the Central committee will review the matter after two months (or before that if required).

At the start, the affidavit says, the change from 2G to 4G should be limited to one district each in Jammu division and Kashmir division. It also says because of “heightened threat perception”, no 4G services are to be allowed before August 15, and the easing will begin after that.

The Centre has said in the affidavit that given how the committee has been constituted and has thought through the matter, no case of contempt of court is made out. The petitioner’s claims that the Centre has not complied with the Supreme Court order in the Anuradha Bhasin case are “untrue and false”, the government has said. The contempt petition, the Centre has said, is therefore “misconceived”.

As The Wire has reported before, the FMP filed a contempt petition because there was a lack of information in the public domain about the functioning of the Special Committee. The Centre in its earlier counter-affidavit had claimed that the Committee held two meetings so far, on May 15 and June 10, but the minutes of the meetings were not annexed with the counter-affidavit.

Also read: Excluded from Law-Making for Two Years, Kashmiris are Angry and Alienated

The FMP claimed that contrary to the Supreme Court’s orders, the Centre was not making public the orders it was issuing to restrict high-speed internet in Kashmir. Because of this, no legal challenges to the orders were possible. In Anuradha Bhasin, the Supreme Court had held:

“Although the Suspension Rules do not provide for publication or notification of the orders, a settled principle of law, and of natural justice, is that an order, particularly one that affects lives, liberty and property of people, must be made available. Any law which demands compliance of the people requires to be notified directly and reliably. This is the case regardless of whether the parent statue or rule prescribes the same or not….In light of the same, it is imperative for the State to make such orders public so as to make the right available under Section 144(5) CrPC a practical reality.”

On August 5, 2019, before the Centre read down Article 370 of the constitution and revoked Jammu and Kashmir’s special status and statehood, all internet services – including mobile internet and broadband – were shut down completely. While 2G and broadband services have slowly been brought back, in stages, 4G mobile internet continues to be restricted in the Valley.

A Year Without High-Speed Internet Has Been a Nightmare for J&K’s Entrepreneurs

Those who use social media to market their products have been especially badly hit, while customers say they no longer want to make online payments because of frequent errors.

On August 5, 2019, the Narendra Modi government revoked Jammu and Kashmir’s special status and statehood, dividing it into two union territories. In this series – ‘One Year in a Disappeared State’ – The Wire will look at what the last year has meant and what the region looks like now.

Srinagar: “One of my customers placed an order online, and the received her product only six months later,” said entrepreneur Iqra Ahmad from Srinagar. The persistent ban on high-speed internet services in Jammu and Kashmir is hurting businesspeople like her hard, she said.

Twenty-eight-year-old Ahmad, a designer, uses social media platforms like Instagram and Facebook to advertise her business ‘TulPalav’, translated from Kashmiri as ‘Pick the Clothes’. She started her business in 2015.

The year-long ban on high-speed internet services in Jammu and Kashmir have led to her sales dropping sharply. While frequent internet shutdowns have been a persistent problems for Ahmad and others like her, she says the last 12 months have been the most challenging for her business.

“I worked day and night to make my social media accounts stronger and reach wider. Because of this, lots of people found out about my business and I have been selling products all over the region. But after August 2019, the ban on internet services has badly hit my business. I can only work when there is uninterrupted online connectivity,” Ahmad told The Wire.

Illustration: Pariplab Chakraborty

Due to the lack of high-speed internet, Ahmad said that very few people have been placing orders. “Uploading pictures of the products on social media has become an uphill task in the absence of 4G, and customers do not have the patience to download pictures on 2G speed.”

Another fashion designer, Sadia Mufti, said she used to attract customers by uploading videos of products on her Facebook, Instagram, Twitter and WhatsApp accounts, but due to the slow internet speed, uploading high-definition videos is no longer an option.

“Even if I have broadband and WiFi, it will not make any sense because online business is a two-way process. If I upload a video, it should also work on the customer’s end, which it won’t on 2G network. Also, my customers keep complaining about the errors they get while making online payments,” said Mufti.

Twenty-eight-year-old Mufti is the owner of ‘Hangers, The Closet’, an upscale boutique in Srinagar. The lack of 4G connectivity has hit her business badly.

“When the government imposed an information blackout following the abrogation of J&K’s special status, I abruptly lost my customers from the rest of India. When I could not operate my business, the customers across India switched to other online shopping portals, due to which my business suffered badly,” Mufti, who has a master’s in international business, told The Wire.

The impact of the internet ban is not just on businesses but on minds too, she argued. “When your business gets hit, it brings frustration and depression, and you start cursing yourself.”

Also read: ‘Release Leaders, Restore 4G, Lift Curbs’: Citizens’ Group Urges Govt on J&K

Ammir Abbas, founder of Valley Basket – an online supermarket offering doorstep-delivery of groceries at discounted prices – said that the lack of internet access wreaked havoc on his business.

Abbas, 29, started his business venture in October 2017. Within a span of three years, he has had to close it down. “It is sad but true that Valley Basket is no longer operational. The continuous ban on high-speed internet services took a toll on my business and I could only increase bank liabilities. I still have almost Rs 20-25 lakh in liabilities. And expired groceries worth lakhs of rupees are lying in my warehouse,” Abbas told The Wire.

Abbas, who has a bachelor’s in information technology, said there was no work for his business after August 2019 and so he decided not to renew the subscription of his website or mobile application. “I have deep connections with online business and that is why I have now switched to a courier company, Stag Speed Logistics. I want to earn something so that I can repay bank loans.”

Suspending internet services in Jammu and Kashmir is common. After every gunfight between militants and security forces, the government blocks the internet as a “precautionary measure”.

The longest internet shutdown in Kashmir was in 2016, following the agitations after Hizbul Mujahideen commander Burhan Wani was killed by the security forces on July 8, 2016. Mobile internet services were suspended for 133 days.

According to a report in Money Control, India is the second largest internet consumer with over 560 million users. But ironically, the country also has the highest number of internet shutdowns in the world.

Quoting an internet advocacy group, the Economic Times reported that India led the world in internet shutdowns with 67% of the total recorded worldwide in 2018.

Internet bans in Kashmir have proved calamitous for the economy, crushing innovation in the region and leading to joblessness.

The owner of a mineral water-producing unit in the Lassipora industrial area of Pulwama, 30-year-old Sarwar Hussain Malik, said industrialists are already living in misery and the internet ban is adding salt to their wounds.

Also read: As J&K 4G Ban Is Extended, SC Should Adjudicate and Not Wait For Restoration

The lack of high-speed internet, Malik said, creates many hurdles for industrialists. For instance, he said they fail to make e-transactions and face difficulty in filing Good and Services Tax (GST) returns.

“In case a small technical glitch takes place in the machinery, we have to make video calls to foreign engineers and technicians. But due to the lack of 4G services, we are unable to make video calls. On 2G even if we try to make a video call, it will either buffer or work with poor resolution,” said Malik.

Zahoor Qari, president of the Kashmir Courier Association, told The Wire that a ban on high-speed internet services has not only hit the business of e-commerce companies, but also courier companies. “In normal working days we used to deliver 10,000 products in a day to customers, but due to the ban on 4G services that number has gone down to 1,000-2,000.”

Qari said that without the internet, online businesses cannot work. On slow speed like 2G, customers face difficulties in making payments and therefore do not purchase products online. “Many customers have been complaining that on 2G, they have faced errors while making payments, which is why they are no longer interested in shopping online.”

Meanwhile, people have again raised their hopes after G.C. Murmu, lieutenant governor of the union territory, in an interview with the Indian Express said that there is no objection to restoring 4G internet services in the region. Murmu said that he is “not afraid how people will use” the internet.

The Supreme Court case on 4G restrictions in Kashmir will next be heard on August 7. At the moment, the ban on 4G stands extended till August 19.

COVID-19: SC Asks Centre, J&K to Respond on Plea for Restoration of 4G Services

The bench said it is issuing a notice which may be served through e-mail on the standing counsel of the Jammu and Kashmir administration and the Centre.

New Delhi: The Supreme Court asked the Centre and the Jammu and Kashmir administration on Thursday to respond to a plea seeking directions to them to restore 4G internet in the Union territory in view of the prevailing COVID-19 pandemic.

A bench of Justices N.V. Ramana, R Subhash Reddy, and B R Gavai issued notices to them and sought their reply within a week on the plea filed by ‘Foundation for Media Professionals’ which has assailed an order of the J&K administration on March 26 that restricted to the internet speed to 2G only in the UT.

Senior advocate Huzefa Ahmadi, appearing for the petitioner, contended that in view of the ongoing lockdown it is very necessary to enhance the technology and connectivity in the Union Territory.

He said that the virtual classes of students, whose schools are shut due to the lockdown, can only be done through enhancement of technology and better connectivity.

Also read: Slow Net Speed Hasn’t Restricted J&K’s COVID-19 Control Measures, Says New Govt Order, Doctors Disagree

The bench said it is issuing notice which may be served through e-mail on the standing counsel of the Jammu and Kashmir administration and the Centre.

The plea filed through advocate Shadan Farasat, while seeking restoration of 4G internet services, alleged that the action of the government was violative of Articles 14 (right to equality), 19 (freedom of speech) and 21 (right to life) of the Constitution.

Terming 2G telephone services as “outdated”, the plea said 4G internet speed would be useful in ensuring information flow to the citizens in view of the coronavirus or COVID-19 pandemic.

“The advent of the COVID-19 global pandemic has fundamentally altered the existing situation. At present, the following facts exist: first, COVID-19 exists in India and is a highly infectious and communicable disease. Research into its origins and the best ways of tackling this disease is ongoing, and there is a continuing flow of new information about how best to contain the fall out of the virus, and limit its spread and impact,” it said.

The plea added that it wanted to ensure the flow of information to citizens during these “extraordinary times when the number of cases of Coronavirus Disease ( COVID-19 ) in Jammu and Kashmir has already reached 33, with 2 reported deaths”.

“In these conditions – a pandemic and a lock-down – the restriction of mobile internet speeds to 2G only is completely unreasonable, illegal, and unconstitutional for the following reasons.

Also read: India Must Treat the Internet as a Public Utility During COVID 19, and After

“First the guarantee of life and personal liberty under Article 21 of the Constitution of India includes the right to health; and it is the constitutional obligation of the State to provide – or at least, not to inhibit the provision of – the essential infrastructure that makes this right effective, and not reduce it to a nullity..,” it said.

The right to health is a composite right which requires the state to take active measures to ensure the presence of necessary physical, and, by extension, digital, infrastructure, and a well-functioning internet, especially in times of an epidemic such as COVID19, is an essential part of this digital infrastructure that is required to make this right an effective reality, it said.

The slow internet speed also renders telemedicine or online video consultation impossible, it said.

“The right to internet connectivity has repeatedly been recognised by the Government of India as a basic necessity or an essential service to ensure the right to health,” the plea said and referred to the National Telecom Policy in support of its contention.

“Fourth, the impugned order has directly impacted the enjoyment of various other fundamental rights in the specific context of the ongoing lockdown. Restricted internet speeds are directly impacting the ability of children of Jammu & Kashmir to exercise their fundamental right to education, guaranteed under Article 21A of the Constitution since schools there are unable to shift their mode of instruction,” it said.

2G Allowed for Post-Paid Mobiles in Two Kashmir Districts but Only to Access 153 Websites

The order allows people to have extremely limited access to the Internet over mobiles for the first time since August 5, 2019. Broadband internet remains banned.

Jammu: The government of Jammu and Kashmir (J&K), in consultation with the security agencies on Saturday decided to restore 2G speed mobile internet services on post-paid mobiles across Jammu division and in two districts of Kashmir valley, allowing people there to have extremely limited access to the Internet for the first time since August 5, 2019.

However, access will be limited to a ‘white-list’ of 153 websites, which includes no news sites or social media.

The order issued by the home department of the newly carved Union Territory said there was no decision, as of now, on the remaining districts of Kashmir by the government, even as the situation largely remained peaceful after the scrapping of the special status of the erstwhile J&K state.

Two districts of Kashmir – Kulgam and Bandipora – can avail 2G internet services from Saturday until January 24, according to the order.

The other districts – Srinagar, Budgam, Ganderbal, Baramulla, Anantnag, Kulgam, Shopian and Pulwama – will have to wait a few more weeks, when the security agencies may recommend the restoration of internet services after assessing the situation.

Sharing details with mediapersons in Jammu, government spokesperson Rohit Kansal said 2G mobile data services on post-paid mobiles will be allowed in all ten districts of the Jammu region.

The government’s spokesperson said that the voice and SMS facility will be restored on all local pre-paid SIM cards across Jammu and Kashmir.

However, before activating the provision of mobile internet connectivity on such SIM cards, the telecom service providers will initiate a process for verification of credentials, which will be similar to the process followed when taking a post-paid connection.

Meanwhile, the Inspector of General of Police (IGP) in Jammu and Kashmir has been directed to ensure the implementation of the government’s directions. The directions will be effective from January 18 to January 24, 2020, unless modified earlier.

Also Read: No News in List of 153 Whitelisted Websites Allowed Under Kashmir’s First Govt Firewall

The government had earlier cited security concerns to block internet services across Jammu and Kashmir after the erstwhile state was bifurcated into two Union Territories. The administration has argued that the suspension of the Internet is necessary to cut off communication between militants who may be planning an attack after the Centre diluted Article 370 and to stop the spread of “rumours” and “fake news”.

Even as some peaceful protests against the government have occurred in Kashmir and Kargil (Ladakh), the situation has remained peaceful. The communication shutdown, however, is now in its sixth month.

People in Jammu, including student organisations, opposition political parties and civil society members, staging demonstrations forced the government to restore the Internet. Initially, it was restored in five districts of Jammu – Jammu, Kathua, Samba, Udhampur and Reasi. These districts have a strong BJP vote bank and resentment among the people pressurised the government to resume internet services, though only low speed connectivity was restored.

Last week, the Supreme Court said that a blanket Internet ban, without limiting it to a particular duration, violates the telecom rules. It also violates the freedom of speech and expression granted by the Constitution, the apex court said, asking the administration to review all restrictive orders within a week.

Kashmir: Document Shows J&K Police ‘Monitoring’ Posts on Social Media

A file inadvertently emailed by police to journalists on Friday contained screengrabs of various accounts talking about the situation in the Valley.

Srinagar: Are the J&K Police monitoring social media posts discussing the situation in Kashmir post-August 5, the day the state was stripped of its special status?

An email from the police containing a file with screengrabs of different Twitter accounts and “inadvertently” sent to journalists and media houses in the Valley suggests so.

At 6:29 pm on Friday (November 22), the police sent an email to journalists about the day’s updates.

The mail contained a press release about the arrest of three drug peddlers from two different areas of central Kashmir’s Budgam district and the seizure of contraband substances from their possession.

There were also two separate pictures of two private vehicles which, according to the police, were caught transporting charas and fuki in Bonpora and Kilkadal villages of the district respectively.

But what caught the attention of the journalists was a file attached with the mail and named “DNA file”.

The file contained screenshots of Twitter accounts of politicians, journalists and activists among others. There were also screenshots of official Twitter accounts of different TV channels run from different parts of the world.

One of the screenshots was that of Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan, in which he talked about the situation in the Valley. It is dated September 19.

Another screenshot was of Kashmiri student activists Shehla Rashid in which she narrates the incident of alleged human rights violations at the hands of security in Kashmir post-August 5, when the Centre diluted Article 370 and bifurcated the state into two Union Territories.

Those being “monitored” by the J&K Police, as per the list, also include Kashmir-based journalist Ahmed Ali Fayyaz and Pakistani journalists Hamid Mir.

The list also includes media organisations like Pakistan-based Radio Pakistan, Samaa channel and ARY News and Turkish news channel, TRT World and Germany-based DW News.

All these screenshots are after August 5.

More than an hour later at 7:57 pm, the J&K police sent another email to the media houses and journalist, asking them to ignore the DNA file.

“In reference to our press release no Note, S-11/19/872 dated 22/11/2019 an attachment DNA Sep.doc has been inadvertently received by you. You are requested to ignore this attachment,” the police said.

A senior police official of the rank of superintendent of police said it was “part of the job of J&K Police to keep track of any news related to Kashmir in the media and other platforms including social media.”

“This is nothing new,” he said. However, he refused to comment on how the file was sent as part of media briefings to journalists.

Another police official talked about the “general monitoring to ensure that rumours and false news was not spread in a sensitive place like Kashmir.” “In case of any suspicion we take up the matter with the authorities concerned for further action on their side,” said the official, wishing not to be named.

The government enforced the suspension of internet in Kashmir entered its 112th day on Sunday. There has been no word from the government on the restoration of the services. Both the Centre and local government has defended the internet gag, saying there were apprehensions that “Pakistan might foment trouble” if the service was restored.

The unprecedented internet gag has hit business and normal life in Kashmir.