{"id":253995,"date":"2023-07-29T21:01:24","date_gmt":"2023-07-29T15:31:24","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blog.forumias.com\/?p=253995"},"modified":"2023-08-31T10:07:19","modified_gmt":"2023-08-31T04:37:19","slug":"manipur-internet-shutdowns-forgetting-the-lessons-from-kashmir","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/forumias.com\/blog\/manipur-internet-shutdowns-forgetting-the-lessons-from-kashmir\/","title":{"rendered":"Manipur internet shutdowns: Forgetting the lessons from Kashmir"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p><strong>Source:<\/strong> The post is based on the article \u201c<strong>Manipur internet shutdowns: Forgetting the lessons from Kashmir<\/strong>\u201d published in \u201cThe Indian express\u201d on 29th July 2023.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Syllabus:<\/strong> GS2- fundamental rights &amp; Important aspects of governance, transparency and accountability,<\/p>\n<p><strong>News:<\/strong> In this article author discusses how the Manipur government&#8217;s internet shutdown harms citizens by limiting their fundamental rights to expression and information, deepening the digital divide, and causing economic losses, and criticizes India&#8217;s frequent use of internet shutdowns, comparing it to past incidents like in Jammu and Kashmir.<\/p>\n<h2><strong>What are the impacts of internet shutdown in Manipur?<\/strong><\/h2>\n<p><strong>Limited Access:<\/strong> Over 90% of users, especially in rural areas, rely on mobile internet which remains suspended.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Digital Divide:<\/strong> The majority can&#8217;t access the internet, while a small urban section can, deepening inequalities.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Economic Losses:<\/strong> Past shutdowns in India caused significant economic losses, e.g., Kashmir&#8217;s 2019 blockade resulted in over five lakh unemployed people.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Decreased Information Flow:<\/strong> People can&#8217;t share or verify information due to the social media ban.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Surveillance Concerns:<\/strong> Internet access is tied to MAC Address binding, static IPs, and a ban on VPNs, enabling greater monitoring.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Violation of Rights:<\/strong> The restrictions infringe on rights to free expression, freedom of assembly, and privacy.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Economic Costs:<\/strong> Internet shutdowns lead to financial damage. In 2023, estimated losses reached Rs 2,091 crore in India.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Informal Sector Impact:<\/strong> The unorganized sector, often unreported, is hit hard, affecting sections like women more.<\/p>\n<h2><strong>What is the judicial view on internet shutdown?<\/strong><\/h2>\n<p><strong>Fundamental Rights:<\/strong> The Supreme Court recognized the right to free expression and privacy through the internet as fundamental.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Limitations:<\/strong> Rights can only be limited in a reasonable and proportionate manner.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Anuradha Bhasin Judgment:<\/strong> Shutdowns violate fundamental rights. They must be proportional, reasonable, necessary, and the least restrictive.<\/p>\n<p><strong>No Indefinite Ban:<\/strong> Internet shutdowns can never be indefinite.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Court Intervention:<\/strong> The gradual lifting of suspensions in Jammu and Kashmir came after a court intervention.<\/p>\n<p><strong>State Accountability:<\/strong> Shutdowns often imposed by state authorities must be accountable.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Source: The post is based on the article \u201cManipur internet shutdowns: Forgetting the lessons from Kashmir\u201d published in \u201cThe Indian express\u201d on 29th July 2023. Syllabus: GS2- fundamental rights &amp; Important aspects of governance, transparency and accountability, News: In this article author discusses how the Manipur government&#8217;s internet shutdown harms citizens by limiting their fundamental&hellip; <a class=\"more-link\" href=\"https:\/\/forumias.com\/blog\/manipur-internet-shutdowns-forgetting-the-lessons-from-kashmir\/\">Continue reading <span class=\"screen-reader-text\">Manipur internet shutdowns: Forgetting the lessons from Kashmir<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":10320,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1230,9],"tags":[212,10500,225],"class_list":["post-253995","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-9-pm-daily-articles","category-public","tag-gs-paper-2","tag-indian-express","tag-polity","entry"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","views":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/forumias.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/253995","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/forumias.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/forumias.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/forumias.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/10320"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/forumias.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=253995"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/forumias.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/253995\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/forumias.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=253995"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/forumias.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=253995"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/forumias.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=253995"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}