Why Only Internet Ban, Disallow Postal Services Also !

Was there any Internet Service in 1990’, When the Turbulence Started in J & K ?

Raman Sharma

Whilst  Prime Minister Narendra Modi was meeting with National Leaders of different Countries  there in America and pushing the case of India for permanent membership to the United Nations Security Council and while he was interacting with CEOs of global companies and Information Technology giants like Mark zukerberg of Facebook, Tim Cook of Apple,  Sundar Pichai of Google and when he was getting power point presentations on bringing high speed internet and wi-fi for different railway station in India back home population of more than 12 million people was pushed to an era of stone age just for a suspicion.  

There not only Indians but people across the globe witnessed sermons of the Prime Minister Modi regarding benefits of Social media and his claim that how does he is even famous in social networking sites in China and Israel too. I could not believe that how does the government under the leadership of such a person deprive millions of people even of basic internet facilities forget the social networking websites. Today when even the people there in the third world countries are enjoying high speed internet services without any break how does here in our state there always remain a chaos of breaking down internet services and SMS ban anytime.

Yes, on the eve of Eid,   Jammu and Kashmir  the state that have a population of over 12 million was disconnected for complete 3 days from rest of the world merely on the potential risk that some people may misuse internet services therefore  the internet services were snapped on the advise (must say diktat) of security and police authorities operating here. The method and the way the internet services were blocked and the people were left to speculate deserve highest condemnation.

This is not the 1^st time that the people of Jammu and Kashmir have been dragged back to the medieval period by the government of the day, people of this state were even deprived of  basic STD telephone services on the speculation of misuse by anti-national and anti-social elements. The former Chief Minister Omar Abdullah whose love for twitter is world famous also without caring the plight of the people had blacked out SMS services from the state for a long period of over 2 years. The turbulence in Jammu and Kashmir is not creation of social networking sites, because when in decade of 90’s the violence in Jammu and Kashmir was at its peak then there was  no Face book, Whatsapp that time even a very few people had basic landline telephone services in the state.

Now, the question arises whether these bans on SMS, STD and snapping internet services help to build an atmosphere of peace in the state. Can we make hostage 1.25 crore people of the state just for the potential threat of few dozen or hundred hate mongers who may display disgust on the social media. If stopping people from interacting with each other help the country and state to bring the graph of violence down then I am sure the people would also offer the union and state government to even ban postal services in Jammu and Kashmir because that may also incite people and result into violence, also ban Radio and Television and then stop newspapers from publication because there also people ventilate their emotions and highlight the poor performance of the government which has remained a failure till now.

Are our law enforcing agencies so weak and lethargic that they cannot take action against those hate mongers who misuse internet services to spread enmity amongst different faiths and sects. Instead of taking other corrective measures, the state government and especially the failed officers who are obviously lethargic, incompetent and worthless took the extreme step and put a blanket ban on the internet services in the entire state.

I challenge the IQ of these poor officers who have advised the state government for a complete black out of internet services in the state, these incompetent officers if had even taken  few moments to realise the impact of  this ban or had they consulted some competent person who  would have informed and enlighten them about the bad affect of this ban on the lives of millions of people not only economically and physically but also  a psychological impact on the millions of other potential tourists and pilgrims who would have visited the state.

This complete shutdown of internet services In Jammu and Kashmir would compel the potential investors to rethink whether to invest anything in the state that can anytime go back to stone ages where people use to put their messages in bottles and then drove them in a river or use the pigeons to convey their messages.    

The banking sector which is completely dependent upon the internet services remained paralysed during this period, the students and aspiring candidates from the state  could not submit their online forms for various posts and examinations. The tourists who were on the visit to the state suddenly came in a state of shock when they lost connectivity with their dear ones, they could not check the status of their air and train tickets. The people  of the state too could not book their advance tickets for aerial and railway journeys. The newspapers and local TV Channels that rely on internet service for transition of their text material, photo content or even video clips too fell prey of this uncalled internet ban.

It is pitiable that at one point the Prime Minister Narendra Modi is orchestrating so loud about digitization but here back home in India, in Jammu and Kashmir , his party leaders who are partner of the coalition government making total ignorance about snapping of internet services in the state even after 48 hours of the black out. Mr. Prime minister should give some training to the ministers and legislatures of his party belonging to the state of Jammu and Kashmir who are technological illiterates.

The Chief Minister, Mufti Mohammad Sayeed whose party claims that he is the only statesman in Jammu and Kashmir have also not come clean to the people and pre-informed about such ban or even after the ban shared anything with the citizens about the circumstances that compelled the state government to take such a extreme step of banning the internet services.

This is nothing but a sign of weakness of PDP-BJP coalition government that instead of taking on the anti-Indian elements , it  curtailed the rights of the innocent citizens. Had this government have some guts then  it would have taken action against the people  who openly supports global terrorists from Pakistan and spill venom against India  through  their teleconferences.

Where was the so called intelligence and security apparatus of the state when these separatists marked their presence in the rallies organized by JuD Chief in Pakistan through technological gazettes. Why selectively persecute only the innocent people of the state and give special treatment to these anti-national elements.

Depriving the people of connectivity to interact with their dear ones during the festive season in no way can be justified, if there was so emergent need to put such a ban than at least the people should have been pre-informed about this and taken into confidence.

The State government on the name of attracting tourists to the state of Jammu and Kashmir every years spends millions of rupees in organizing seminars, road shows and even send its ministers and officers to various parts of the country and even abroad.  All this is done just one the name of inviting more and more tourists and bringing investment in the state but it is shocking that the same government totally disregard its own efforts when it shuts down the internet services. Today i-ways are not less important that Highways and blocking i-ways is equivalent to economical blockade by the state. 

It is such a sorry state of affairs that in this era of transparency that even today we are not aware that who ordered banning the internet services and for what period of time this ban was to remain in force a chaos was created.

We wish the Prime minister Narendra Modi all the best and hope that India gets a permanent membership in the United Nations Security Council and the global technological giants help India to build IT infrastructure  in India but I am not sure whether that investment  and digitization program in India would ever help 12.5  million poor people of Jammu and Kashmir.  Raman Sharma is an RTI activist and can be mailed [a] jkrtiact@gmail.com, M:9796811012.
Published in State Times, Early Times and others on 29/Sept/2015.

http://www.earlytimes.in/newsdet.aspx?q=159671

http://news.statetimes.in/why-only-internet-ban-disallow-postal-services-also/