In a world where life is measured in terms of data, the internet shutdown imposed on Manipur has triggered an apocalyptic calamity. The violence-ridden state has suffered a fatal blow on account of the hackneyed policy of the administration, which deems shutting down the internet as the easiest route to salvage Manipur from the edge of the precipice.
Half a decade ago, the Government of Kerala took a bold step by declaring the internet to be a basic human right and made clear its intent to bring every household under internet coverage. As a sequel to this, the state last month launched an ambitious public centric project K-FON (Kerala Fibre Optic Project) for providing high speed internet for free for poor and at affordable rates to others. It is the first project of its kind in the country.
There have been several landmark judgments including that of the Supreme Court in Anuradha Bhasin vs Union of India (2020) declaring the paramount importance of internet in different spheres of life and livelihood. Nevertheless, various governments have been going around imposing internet shut downs with scant respect even to the unanimous recommendations of the Parliamentary Standing Committee on Communications and Information Technology in this regard.
Every year, different parts of the country have been witnessing suspension of internet services. This year itself there have been, so far, around three dozen such instances, with Manipur being the latest.
A recent visit to the strife-torn Manipur revealed the crippling impact of internet shutdown as it has struck the people as a second calamity. Plains and hills alike, the internet vacuum has been bleeding the entire populace. It has exacerbated the socio-economic conditions of the state. Economic activities have come to a grinding halt. Even those remote households which relied on the net to be connected for their daily needs seem to have been thrown out of gear. The administration always takes refuge under the facade that imposing the armed forces and revoking the net can bring normalcy to a violence-hit area. Never in the history of India have such quick fixes worked, and they have turned out to be rather counterproductive. In the case of Manipur, evil whispers have been burgeoning and the absence of the internet has made the state a breeding ground for fake news and false propaganda. The administration never realises that it is also an eventual victim of its own ill-conceived decisions.
Prudent use of the internet would have easily provided channels to disseminate information useful to obliterate misgivings and to clear the air. Ironically, administrations have never bothered to assess the catastrophic impact, let alone analyse the economic loss. Industry sources have made a conservative estimate of loss to the tune of nearly Rs 40,000 crore during the last three years on account of more than 16,000 hours of internet shutdowns across the country. But the impact is pervasive and extends well beyond the realm of economics and has the potential to affect even daily, mundane activities. The loss of business is tangible, but the devastating impact on education, information, health, entertainment and other facets of life do not find any mention at all in official reports. The Union government has been harping on about its achievements in turning India into a huge digital hub, but it also uses suspension of internet as the quickest way to deal with violence.
This writer is a member of the Parliamentary Standing Committee on Communications and Information Technology that had deliberated at length a few years ago on the issue of frequent internet shutdowns. On December 1, 2021, the Standing Committee presented to Parliament its report on “Suspension of telecom services/internet and its impact” and recommended to the Department of Telecommunications and Ministry of Home Affairs a wide range of measures including regulatory overhaul, oversight mechanisms, transparency and the need for consultation with stakeholders. But the departments have exhibited a lacklustre attitude in implementing these recommendations.
The standing committee was aghast to know that none of the ministries have accounts of internet shut downs frequently happening at different places across the country. Moreover, it was revealed that despite having a new Temporary Suspension of Telecom Services (Public Emergency and Public Safety Rules, 2017), shutdowns are also being effected under Section 144 CrPC, which only require approval from an officer as low as a Tehsildar. The Telecom Rules issued in 2017 made no reference to Section 144 CrPC, leading to such a conundrum.
The committee while expressing its displeasure over the negative attitude of the departments in implementing its earlier recommendations, tabled its Action Taken Report on February 9, 2023 in Parliament. Recommendations included having a due process for invoking shutdowns, having a review committee with eminent persons including judges as members, drawing up uniform set of Standard Operating Procedure and guidelines, and more importantly maintaining a centralised database for such internet shutdowns.
Apart from the Standing Committee, the Supreme Court and various high courts have detailed the importance of the internet and came up with directions and instructions in a catena of judgments. In September 2019, the Kerala high court in a landmark decision held that the right to internet access is a fundamental right. The court interpreted the ambit of the right to internet to various fundamental rights including the right to education, right to privacy, etc. In the Anuradha Bhasin judgment, the Supreme Court issued detailed guidelines and categorically made clear that the freedom of speech and expression and the freedom to practice any profession or carry on any trade, business or occupation over the medium of the internet enjoys constitutional protection under Article 19(1)(a) and Article 19(1)(g) of the Constitution. But every bit of it has been flouted by various governments.
Administrations may have to resort to suspension of internet services in certain scenarios, but it should not be done at the drop of a hat. As the Parliamentary Committee suggested, it should be proportionate and should be done after carefully analysing the pros and cons. As a young entrepreneur in Imphal complained to me, he has been dragged into a dark cave due to the internet shutdown. We have no right to push our citizens to a pre-information era when the world has accepted internet as a basic human right. As the adage goes, “Sunlight is the best disinfectant” – and the internet can play a constructive role in quelling violence.
John Brittas is a Rajya Sabha member and recently visited Manipur.
