India Stifles Protests By Blocking The Internet

NEW DELHI — As the government of India pushes increasingly provocative policies, it is using a tactic to stifle dissent that is more commonly associated with authoritarian regimes, not democracies: It is shutting down the internet.

India tops the world in the number of internet shutdowns imposed by local, state and national governments. In 2018, internet service was cut in India 134 times, and 106 shutdowns occurred in 2019, according to SFLC.in, a legal advocacy group in New Delhi.

“Any time there is a sign of disturbance, that is the first tool in the toolbox,” said Mishi Choudhary, founder of SFLC.in. “When maintenance of law and order is your priority, you are not thinking about free speech.”

In December, citing a threat of violence, authorities in the states of Assam, Meghalaya and Tripura in northeast India severed connectivity in response to protests against a new citizenship law that critics say would marginalize India’s 200 million Muslims.

With the Kashmir region still languishing offline since August, at least 60 million people have been cut off.

These moves come as Prime Minister Narendra Modi tightens his grip on India. His administration and its allies have jailed hundreds of Kashmiris without charges, intimidated journalists and arrested intellectuals. His critics say he is undermining India’s deeply rooted traditions of democracy and secularism, and steadily stamping out dissent.

The authorities say they are simply trying to stop the spread of hateful and dangerous misinformation.

“A lot of hate and provocative stuff starts appearing on messaging services,” said Harmeet Singh, a police official in Assam.

But the shutdowns can be devastating to people just trying to make a living.

In Kashmir, internet service was stopped on August 5, when Mr. Modi’s government sent in thousands of troops and disabled all communication.

“There is no work,’’ said Sheikh Ashiq Ahmad, the president of the Kashmir Chamber of Commerce. He said thousands of entrepreneurs relied on social media to sell their products online. “The dignity of these people has been taken away,’’ he said.

On December 11, the authorities in Assam shut down everything but a government-run landline internet service, which was necessary to keep banks and other institutions online. The following week, they restored most landline internet service, but mobile internet, which is how most Indians stay connected, remained off.

“Peace is more important than a little inconvenience to you and me,” Mr. Singh said.

An authoritarian tactic for the world’s largest democracy.