Restoring 4G Internet Access in Jammu & Kashmir
The Issue
Call for Action
The intent of this petition is to ask for an immediate relief in the 4G Internet services ban in the Jammu & Kashmir region for normal life to resume and to mitigate any further impact on education, healthcare and businesses, especially with the pandemic already hampering the usual course of activities. The pressing need for this petition is evident from the fact that the very people that this petition is intended to support may not be able to even know of this, let alone sign this and take a stand for themselves.
Thus, it is the responsibility of people like us, with the privilege of access to high-speed internet facilities using which we are accessing this petition, to garner support for getting them equal access to such services.
Background
Internet shutdowns, coupled with the COVID pandemic, has cost Kashmir INR 40,000 crores and over 5 lakh jobs. As of today, it has gone down in history as the longest-running Internet shutdown in any democracy. On August 5, 2019, the Central Government enforced an unanticipated communications blackout on the Kashmir region, with the most severe restrictions in the Kashmir Valley where there was no phone connectivity or internet, or even cable channels in the initial days. This shutdown was the by-product of a far-reaching decision by the Centre to revoke Article 370. The situation continued till January 2020 when the Supreme Court instructed authorities to review orders, following which 2G access was restored. However, this has been of little help as 2G makes conducting education, healthcare and business nearly impossible due to its slow speed. So far in 2020, there have been 55 shutdowns in India, out of which a startling 46 have been in Jammu & Kashmir. Security concerns against and propaganda by Pakistan has been cited as the primary rationale for these steps. For businesses and India’s economy, this has been nothing short of catastrophic. The Cellular Operators Association of India (COAI) estimated that internet shutdowns cost $24.5 million per hour due to a major disruption being caused to the daily life and businesses. In October, the 4G internet ban was extended except in two districts till November 26, 2020.
Impact on education:
In today’s world, internet access has become a key resource to facilitate education. The shift to the online mode of education necessitated by the nation-wide lockdown has made internet connectivity an absolute necessity for gaining access to education which is guaranteed as a fundamental right to children of the age 6-14 years under the Right to Education Act 2009. In this scenario, it is not hard to imagine the severity of the adverse impact that the internet connectivity restrictions in Jammu and Kashmir have had on the students in the region. Right from PhD students who need to perform extensive online research, to students preparing for college entrance exams, everyone has been affected due to the lockdown. The media reports are filled with stories of students travelling to nearby states to get internet access, buy books and check emails. Due to the strategic lockdown imposed on August 5, 2019 and the consecutive COVID19-induced lockdown from March 11, 2020, students in the valley have gained little formal education in more than a year now. The biggest fear is that this could lead to a generational gap and loss of a year for the students of the region.
Impact on healthcare:
The lockdown started for prevention of coronavirus meant that doctors were only treating patients online, barring the COVID19 patients. But to properly diagnose the issue, doctors need to have access to high-quality images of the patient, the ailing body part and the description of the symptoms faced by the patient. But 2G internet connections was the best that was available to the patients and the doctors, which meant that diagnosis and medical treatment were heavily impeded. Moreover, many hospitals that treat patients under the Ayushman Bharat Pradhan Mantri Jan Arogya Yojana need to upload the post-treatment pictures of the patients, along with patient’s signature and other details. Only after completion of this process are they able to receive the reimbursement from the government. The internet shutdown caused a delay in the claims process and the hospitals had to conduct treatments based on the limited capital they had.
Impact on Business:
According to the Kashmir Chamber of Commerce and Industry (KCCI), the state suffered a loss of roughly $2.4 billion in the first four months of the lockdown while the estimated industry losses for January 2020 to June 2020 amount to around $2.9 billion. Agriculture, horticulture, real estate, handicrafts, transport, and tourism among many other businesses saw at least a 50% slump in earnings. Internet-based businesses were forced to close, leaving the local workforce unemployed. The impacted businesses were mainly handicraft workers and weavers who were exporting goods. With curfews and communication blackout in place, the tourism sector also took a hit. Government data pinpoints at a 86% decline in the number of tourists in the Kashmir area from August 2019 to December 2019. Closure of public transport since August 2019 added to the woes of the daily wage workers who struggle to find avenues to earn. The local media has also been severely impacted with content, readership and revenues suffering a sharp decline, and several journalists have lost their jobs.
Timeline of events:
August 2019: Internet services suspended as the Central Government announced nullification of Article 370 and bifurcation of Jammu and Kashmir into two union territories — Jammu and Kashmir, and Ladakh.
January 2020: The Supreme Court ruled that this indefinite suspension of Internet services in Kashmir was illegal under Indian laws and regulations. Nevertheless, the court stopped short of instructing the Central government to immediately restore connection.
March 2020: The low-speed or 2G internet service on mobile phones is restored, although outages continue to be imposed intermittently amid a complete ban on 4G network.
May 2020:The Supreme Court rejected a petition seeking restoration of 4G services in Kashmir on humanitarian grounds. It directed that a special committee led by the Ministry of Home Affairs secretary should be constituted to look into whether 4G internet services should be restored in the Union Territory of Jammu and Kashmir. This committee has been asked to look into the petitioners’ contention, as well as examine the alternatives suggested by them, on allowing faster internet on a trial basis in areas wherever possible.
August 2020: The government restarted high-speed mobile data service in Ganderbal and Udhampur districts on a trial basis, as part of a calibrated easing of restrictions. But on September 9, the Centre refused to extend high-speed mobile internet outside the two districts.
Petition by students of IIM Ahmedabad:
1. Vineet Mall
2. Shrey Banka
3. Anika Bhasker
Petition endorsed by:
1. Prof. Sandeep Pandey, Ph.D., UC Berkeley; Visiting Faculty, IIT Kanpur, IIT Gandhinagar, BHU Varanasi, IIM Ahmedabad (Social Activist)
264
The Issue
Call for Action
The intent of this petition is to ask for an immediate relief in the 4G Internet services ban in the Jammu & Kashmir region for normal life to resume and to mitigate any further impact on education, healthcare and businesses, especially with the pandemic already hampering the usual course of activities. The pressing need for this petition is evident from the fact that the very people that this petition is intended to support may not be able to even know of this, let alone sign this and take a stand for themselves.
Thus, it is the responsibility of people like us, with the privilege of access to high-speed internet facilities using which we are accessing this petition, to garner support for getting them equal access to such services.
Background
Internet shutdowns, coupled with the COVID pandemic, has cost Kashmir INR 40,000 crores and over 5 lakh jobs. As of today, it has gone down in history as the longest-running Internet shutdown in any democracy. On August 5, 2019, the Central Government enforced an unanticipated communications blackout on the Kashmir region, with the most severe restrictions in the Kashmir Valley where there was no phone connectivity or internet, or even cable channels in the initial days. This shutdown was the by-product of a far-reaching decision by the Centre to revoke Article 370. The situation continued till January 2020 when the Supreme Court instructed authorities to review orders, following which 2G access was restored. However, this has been of little help as 2G makes conducting education, healthcare and business nearly impossible due to its slow speed. So far in 2020, there have been 55 shutdowns in India, out of which a startling 46 have been in Jammu & Kashmir. Security concerns against and propaganda by Pakistan has been cited as the primary rationale for these steps. For businesses and India’s economy, this has been nothing short of catastrophic. The Cellular Operators Association of India (COAI) estimated that internet shutdowns cost $24.5 million per hour due to a major disruption being caused to the daily life and businesses. In October, the 4G internet ban was extended except in two districts till November 26, 2020.
Impact on education:
In today’s world, internet access has become a key resource to facilitate education. The shift to the online mode of education necessitated by the nation-wide lockdown has made internet connectivity an absolute necessity for gaining access to education which is guaranteed as a fundamental right to children of the age 6-14 years under the Right to Education Act 2009. In this scenario, it is not hard to imagine the severity of the adverse impact that the internet connectivity restrictions in Jammu and Kashmir have had on the students in the region. Right from PhD students who need to perform extensive online research, to students preparing for college entrance exams, everyone has been affected due to the lockdown. The media reports are filled with stories of students travelling to nearby states to get internet access, buy books and check emails. Due to the strategic lockdown imposed on August 5, 2019 and the consecutive COVID19-induced lockdown from March 11, 2020, students in the valley have gained little formal education in more than a year now. The biggest fear is that this could lead to a generational gap and loss of a year for the students of the region.
Impact on healthcare:
The lockdown started for prevention of coronavirus meant that doctors were only treating patients online, barring the COVID19 patients. But to properly diagnose the issue, doctors need to have access to high-quality images of the patient, the ailing body part and the description of the symptoms faced by the patient. But 2G internet connections was the best that was available to the patients and the doctors, which meant that diagnosis and medical treatment were heavily impeded. Moreover, many hospitals that treat patients under the Ayushman Bharat Pradhan Mantri Jan Arogya Yojana need to upload the post-treatment pictures of the patients, along with patient’s signature and other details. Only after completion of this process are they able to receive the reimbursement from the government. The internet shutdown caused a delay in the claims process and the hospitals had to conduct treatments based on the limited capital they had.
Impact on Business:
According to the Kashmir Chamber of Commerce and Industry (KCCI), the state suffered a loss of roughly $2.4 billion in the first four months of the lockdown while the estimated industry losses for January 2020 to June 2020 amount to around $2.9 billion. Agriculture, horticulture, real estate, handicrafts, transport, and tourism among many other businesses saw at least a 50% slump in earnings. Internet-based businesses were forced to close, leaving the local workforce unemployed. The impacted businesses were mainly handicraft workers and weavers who were exporting goods. With curfews and communication blackout in place, the tourism sector also took a hit. Government data pinpoints at a 86% decline in the number of tourists in the Kashmir area from August 2019 to December 2019. Closure of public transport since August 2019 added to the woes of the daily wage workers who struggle to find avenues to earn. The local media has also been severely impacted with content, readership and revenues suffering a sharp decline, and several journalists have lost their jobs.
Timeline of events:
August 2019: Internet services suspended as the Central Government announced nullification of Article 370 and bifurcation of Jammu and Kashmir into two union territories — Jammu and Kashmir, and Ladakh.
January 2020: The Supreme Court ruled that this indefinite suspension of Internet services in Kashmir was illegal under Indian laws and regulations. Nevertheless, the court stopped short of instructing the Central government to immediately restore connection.
March 2020: The low-speed or 2G internet service on mobile phones is restored, although outages continue to be imposed intermittently amid a complete ban on 4G network.
May 2020:The Supreme Court rejected a petition seeking restoration of 4G services in Kashmir on humanitarian grounds. It directed that a special committee led by the Ministry of Home Affairs secretary should be constituted to look into whether 4G internet services should be restored in the Union Territory of Jammu and Kashmir. This committee has been asked to look into the petitioners’ contention, as well as examine the alternatives suggested by them, on allowing faster internet on a trial basis in areas wherever possible.
August 2020: The government restarted high-speed mobile data service in Ganderbal and Udhampur districts on a trial basis, as part of a calibrated easing of restrictions. But on September 9, the Centre refused to extend high-speed mobile internet outside the two districts.
Petition by students of IIM Ahmedabad:
1. Vineet Mall
2. Shrey Banka
3. Anika Bhasker
Petition endorsed by:
1. Prof. Sandeep Pandey, Ph.D., UC Berkeley; Visiting Faculty, IIT Kanpur, IIT Gandhinagar, BHU Varanasi, IIM Ahmedabad (Social Activist)
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Petition created on 24 November 2020