Data | J&K saw highest number of communication clampdown

In the 35 days between November 9 and December 16, 2019, several States, including four from the northeast, have bore the brunt of telecommunication shutdowns after rising protests following the new Citizenship law and the Supreme Court's Ayodhya verdict

College students take out a procession on the streets of Guwahati against the Citizenship (Amendment) Bill.

The telecommunication clampdown following protests after the amendment of the Citizenship law extended throughout Meghalaya, Tripura and Arunachal Pradesh while parts of Assam, West Bengal and Uttar Pradesh were also affected. Earlier in November, internet services in Agra and Aligarh in Uttar Pradesh, parts of Rajasthan and Madhya Pradesh were curtailed in the wake of the Ayodhya judgment. In addition, internet services continue to be restricted in Jammu and Kashmir, where mobile services were cut-off on August 4 ahead of the abrogation of Article 370.

Affected States

 

The on-going shutdown in Jammu and Kashmir is the second longest in the country. The longest, also from J&K, lasted 202 days between July 8, 2016 and January 7, 2017, following the death of Hizbul Mujahideen leader Burhan Wani. While postpaid and SMS services were restored on November 18, 2016, it took 50 more days for prepaid Internet. The table shows the five longest telecommunication shutdowns since 2016.

Sorry state

 

The northeastern States, which hardly saw any communication restriction in the last three years, are jointly facing Internet shutdowns for the first time. The eight States in the region have seen 22 cases of telecommunication restrictions since 2016. Jammu and Kashmir, on the other hand, has seen 193 cases of communication clampdown, the highest in the country.

Rising restrictions