Protests have erupted in Punjab and around the world over law enforcement treatment of Sikh Waris Punjab De.
Sikh flag flowing in the wind (Manroop Aulakh/TMU J-School)
The Indian government shut down the internet on March 19 extending to four days in Punjab over a manhunt for an activist they had previously arrested.
The 27 million citizens faced mobile data, SMS blocking, traffic filtering on certain websites and services, and seizing the mobiles of journalists and lawyers.
Police had imposed a statewide blackout while searching for the Sikh activist Amritpal Singh, who is a member of the Sikh Waris Punjab De movement and recently evaded arrest.
Residents were left questioning how long this shutdown would last and was worried about the potential violation of human rights.
In a phone interview, Gursharnbir Riar, a resident in Tughalwal, Punjab, said they shut down the internet on March 18 and there was a lot of damage done leaving many people scared for what was to happen next.
“No one could talk to anyone and there were a lot of problems between these four and five days and it felt like someone was capturing us in our own homes,” he said.
Riar said that they made it so that not even four or five people could get together and if they did they would also be arrested.
“Even people who took photos with him were arrested and all calls were recorded so if anyone mentioned him, they would be arrested,” he said.
According to the Shutdown Tracker Optimization Project (STOP database), India has been dubbed a world leader in internet shutdowns and has been condemned for it by human rights groups. Since 2016, India has accounted for approximately 58 per cent of all shutdowns documented.
In a phone interview, Prabhjot Pannu, a teacher in Amritsar, Punjab, said it was a very bad experience that troubled herself as well as her students.
“When I am going to school it’s very hard for everyone because it’s an exam month and every class has exams so it’s not possible without the internet and is a very sufferable time for students,” she said.
Pannu said it was a very bad decision made by the government and that it had troubled everyone including children, adults, banks, and other businesses.
“This is not freedom and is very bad because at the time I felt that this is not a democracy because you don’t know what will happen and I don’t think that is a part of democracy,” she said.
The STOP database report states that authorities tried to conceal significant rights violations and cut off connections between people and communities by using shutdowns, which also had an impact on human rights monitoring, including tracking shutdowns and providing humanitarian help.
The Standing Committee on Communication and Information Technology recommended that the rules be reviewed to address all aspects of the internet shutdown and be updated to reflect new technology to ensure that the public is not overly inconvenienced and that uniform guidelines be issued for states and UTs to follow before enacting an internet shutdown.
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