Internet Ban in Kashmir

Government in a worst form of crackdown which defies logic and says more about autocratic means has banned the internet and the mobile networks across Kashmir. The ban was imposed after the killing of HM militant commander, Burhan Wani. The blockade is the worst and has come when New Delhi has been championing the cause of digital democracy and the digital outreach. The internet blockade has ensured many things for the state: young men have not been able to give vent to the rage on the social networking sites and the state officials and the politicians have continued to see the situation through their own leanings. Government has been often giving lectures on e-governance; though the governance remains in a bad state and the continuous killings and the impunity to the forces has only shown how state can turn opaque to the feelings of its people. Instead of listening to the angry youth and their demands, which should have been expected from the state, the government has turned a blind eye to the aspirations of the young men. The aspirations which should have been taken note of and factored into governance means have been completely ignored. The aspirations of the young men have been buried under the carpet and instead of examining the reasons for anger a studied silence is maintained over the issues. The youth have unequivocally made it clear that the political engagement in the state needs to be started and the resolution to the Kashmir problem found out, but the message is being ignored. The defiance of the youth has been shriller and there are no signs of abatement of unrest as the separatists, sensing the mood of the people, have extended the calendar for the strikes. A youth cherishing the aspirations would always meet the curbs by the state with fierce resistance. The curb over the internet and the cell-phone services would only scuttle the efforts of the people to eke out living as the young men have lost jobs that would have been earned through tourism promotion and e-commerce means. The government should read the writing on the wall that it can’t muzzle the voices of the people and such measures as blocking the internet and mobile services would do it more damage than any good. The government should revoke the internet and the mobile ban at the earliest so that the people feel some sort of respite from the subjugation that they have been subjected to.