India's internet shutdown crisis: A growing threat to digital rights
India’s internet shutdowns are undermining digital rights, economic development, and the fundamental freedoms of its people.
Originally published on Global Voices
Screenshot of interactive map on the Internet Shutdown Tracker website by SFLC.in. Fair use.
Every year, multiple digital rights watchdogs meticulously document the frequency and scale of internet shutdowns occurring globally. One such organization, the Software Freedom Law Centre (SFLC.in), is a Delhi-based not-for-profit. SFLC.in has been running the Internet Shutdown Project, a real-time tracker that monitors and records internet shutdowns in India since 2012. This tracker relies on raw data collected from reports published in both national and regional newspapers, as well as user contributions, making it a comprehensive resource for tracking these disruptions.
Internet shutdowns in India take several forms, including full blackouts, speed throttling, and restrictions on internet access for unverified prepaid SIM cards. These shutdowns are often implemented in response to political unrest or security concerns.
In Manipur, the government imposed a statewide shutdown from May 3 to December 3, 2023, affecting around 3.2 million people for a duration of 212 days. This shutdown was executed through 44 separate orders, with only a brief three-day reprieve in between, highlighting the severity and length of the disruption.
In Jammu and Kashmir, one of the longest internet shutdowns in India, and possibly the world, took place for 18 months. During this time 4G internet access was completely suspended. The blockade was reportedly lifted in 2021.
The alarming surge in internet shutdowns in India
From 2012 to 2024, SFLC.in recorded a staggering 848 government-imposed internet shutdowns in India — an average of approximately 65 shutdowns per year, representing a 2000 percent increase from 2012, which saw only three shutdowns. By comparison, 2023 experienced 96 shutdowns, and 2022 recorded 77 — both exceeding the yearly average.
Notably, the highest numbers of shutdowns have been observed in the past six years, a period during which India has consistently ranked as the global leader in internet shutdowns (from 2018 to 2023). According to a report and press release by Access Now, India reported 116 instances of internet shutdowns and disruptions in 2023 — the highest in the world — followed by Myanmar (37 instances) and Iran (34 instances). The significant margin by which India surpasses other nations in this regard is deeply concerning.
Read more: Netizen Report: Will India’s regional internet shutdowns ever end?
India’s dominance in global shutdowns: A disturbing trend
To fully understand the implications of these disruptions, India's internet shutdown figures must be viewed in a global context. According to Access Now’s 2023 report, “2023 is the worst year of internet shutdowns ever recorded,” with 283 shutdowns across 39 countries — the highest since monitoring began in 2016. Notably, Manipur in northeastern India experienced the world’s longest shutdown in 2023, lasting over 5,000 hours. While the state has faced decades of ethnic tensions, the shutdown followed intense intercommunal clashes, reflecting the authorities’ extreme measures to control information flow under the pretext of suppressing “anti-social elements.”
Read more: An Advox report on digital authoritarianism in India
Digital rights at risk: The societal and economic fallout of shutdowns
Independent VPN review and research organization Top10VPN’s January 2024 report, using the NetBlocks Cost of Shutdown Tool (COST), quantified the economic impact of internet shutdowns in India at USD 585.4 million, resulting from 7,956 hours of service interruptions. India ranked fifth globally in economic losses and third in users affected, with 59.1 million people disrupted, following Brazil (174.2 million), Russia (113 million), and Pakistan (82.9 million).
India's excessive government-imposed internet shutdowns reveal a troubling paradox: while the nation aspires to become a world leader in digital innovation, these disruptions undermine its digital infrastructure, critical services, economy, technological progress, and citizens’ fundamental rights to communication and expression, and their access to global markets.
This disparity is poignantly captured in a video post on X (formerly Twitter) by Anup Kaphle, editor-in-chief of Rest of World, showing how slow, interrupted internet access disproportionately hindered students’ ability to study for exams in the northern state of Kashmir.
We asked two Indian students—one in #Kashmir and the other in Tamil Nadu—under lockdown to record their screens as they download the same reading assignment.
This is what it looks like.https://t.co/pB86oU5CIR pic.twitter.com/k2OOj2gUub
— Anup Kaphle (@AnupKaphle) May 19, 2020
In a scathing critique of government-imposed internet shutdowns and disruptions, Apar Gupta (prominent lawyer and trustee of the Internet Freedom Foundation), reminds us that, despite their widespread use, neither the central government nor any state government has conducted or commissioned any credible study to evaluate the intended objectives or long-term effects of these disruptions.
The highest number of global internet shutdowns have brought India international shame. The institutional solution? “Limited internet shutdowns” for selective banning are now in force at Manipur. Fashioned as a reasonable middle ground, it has zero evidence of benefit but an… pic.twitter.com/3cHurIoxnI
— Apar Gupta (@apar1984) August 3, 2023
“Ample evidence exists for the social and economic harms of shutdowns. On the contrary, some studies even suggest social media creates greater state accountability,” Gupta asserts. Yet, despite this evidence, very little action has been taken to address the negative impacts of these shutdowns.
Read more: What do we know about the ‘Great Firewall of India’?
The Supreme Court’s dilemma: Security concerns vs. civil liberties
While Manipur's case is relatively recent, the Jammu and Kashmir region remains the worst affected by internet shutdowns in India. This region has endured what the International Federation of Journalists and the South Asia Media Solidarity Network has called the “world’s longest communications shutdown” — an unprecedented event from both local and global perspectives. Multiple scholarly inquiries have examined and reported on the harmful consequences of these shutdowns, specifically underscoring how the state power systematically undermine people’s human rights in the region. A recurring theme in these studies is the persistent failure of the top court to effectively protect citizens from the adverse impacts of such overbearing government actions.
Read more: Website blocking in India: One arrow for all
Despite the Supreme Court of India's landmark judgment in Anuradha Bhasin v. Union of India (2020), which declared the indefinite suspension of internet services illegal under Indian law, a significant gap remains between this pronouncement and ground realities. Both state and central governments continue to exercise considerable discretion in imposing internet shutdowns across the country, often justifying these actions by making vague references to factors such as “security concerns” or the need to preserve “law and order.” We also have instances in which the state governments of Rajasthan and West Bengal (among others) have shut down and/or disrupted internet services in several districts to prevent paper leaks and cheating during exams.
The legal framework supporting these shutdowns comes from the doctrine of “proportionality,” —a principle affirmed by the top court in a previous landmark right to privacy ruling. Under this standard, the government is permitted to curtail citizens’ fundamental rights, such as the right to free speech and expression, if it can sufficiently justify these actions by presenting more pressing public order claims related to, say, preserving national security or fighting terrorism.
In another 2020 ruling, the Supreme Court of India reaffirmed its stance in Anuradha Bhasin, emphasizing the challenge of balancing national security with personal liberty. However, the court denied substantial relief to petitioners seeking faster internet services, citing threats of border infiltration, national destabilization, and daily violence against civilians and security forces.
Suchitra Vijayan, author of the critically acclaimed book “Midnight's Borders” and the founder of The Polis Project, Inc, encapsulated the essence of the Anuradha Bhasin ruling as such:
Supreme Court says blanket ban of Internet in Kashmir is a violation of freedom.
Yet ban remains.
Remember the blanket ban is a collective punishment, which is a war crime.
And this is the longest ban in the history.
— Suchitra Vijayan (@suchitrav) January 10, 2020
A glimmer of hope?
India’s strong state control over digital governance makes immediate reforms to its shutdown policies unlikely. However, growing awareness of the social and economic harms caused by shutdowns, coupled with persistent advocacy from civil society groups, scholars, and human rights activists, offers a faint glimmer of hope. Sustained mobilization and resistance could gradually shift the balance toward a more rights-respecting digital future.