Punjab (state in India)

Main article: India

Geography

North West India and Pakistan Physical Map

History

2023:27 million residents sit for 4 days without mobile internet due to search for separatist leader

On March 18, 2023, millions of people in the Indian state of Punjab were left without mobile Internet access. Residents cannot connect to online services and exchange text messages, including SMS.

According to The Record, the initiative to disable mobile web access comes from the state authorities. This is part of a special law enforcement operation to find and detain the leader of the separatist movement, Khalistan Amritpal Singh. He managed to escape despite roadblocks and a car chase that was broadcast live on television. More than 100 of Singh's alleged associates were arrested, but the location of the Sikh preacher himself remains unknown.

Punjab State Communications Cut Off Over Search for Separatist Movement Leader

Punjab state authorities reported that mobile Internet will remain inaccessible for at least four days. Because of this, approximately 27 million people lost from their smartphones, tablets and other gadgets. At the same time, this disconnection did not affect fixed Internet lines.

Digital rights experts have already condemned local government tactics, pointing out that Indian authorities regularly block internet access in the name of the country's security. A report by Access Now, an Internet watchdog, showed that in 2022, India was the world's largest initiator of Internet access blocking for the fifth year in a row. Moreover, more than half of all such cases occurred in the Kashmir region - a disputed area in the north-west of the Hindustan peninsula, which is divided by three countries: Pakistan, India and China. However, Indian authorities say banning mobile internet services is a necessary measure because social media and SMS can be used by separatists to spread inflammatory material and false rumors.^[1]

Notes