1. The country has seen seven incidences of internet shutdowns just in its first month – including five cases at the farmers’ protest site in Haryana and the national capital region in the last one month.
2. In 2019, 93 shutdowns have occurred, according to SFLC.in, which relies on reports from journalists, advocacy groups and citizens.
3. According to the same portal, internet service was cut in India 134 times in 2018. Jhajjar, Sonipat, and Palwal districts in Haryana have borne the maximum brunt of the recent internet shutdowns, bringing the total number to over a whopping 400, in the last four years.
4. The world’s longest internet shutdown was also reported in India. The internet was shut down in Jammu and Kashmir after Article 370 was abrogated in the parliament between August 4, 2019, and March 4, 2020, – for 223 days.
5. India shuts its internet down more frequently than any other democracy in the world, said a report by Forbes. Within India, Jammu and Kashmir faced the maximum internet outage. Rajasthan, Uttar Pradesh, West Bengal, Haryana, and Maharashtra follows Jammu and Kashmir.
6. On January 2020, the Supreme Court declared access to the internet a fundamental right. A government cannot deprive the citizens of fundamental rights except under certain conditions explicitly mentioned in the Constitution.
7. Additionally, the internet shutdown also hurts the economy. A report by top10vpn revealed that the cost of the internet shutdown in India was $2.7 billion in 2020 as it continued for 8,927 hours, including hours of simultaneous shutdowns at different places.
