How the World’s Longest Internet Shutdown Has Failed to Counter Extremism in Kashmir

In the wake of the bifurcation of Jammu and Kashmir and waves of protests, the Indian government imposed one of the toughest security crackdowns ever seen on the region that disempowered the population. Along with the military occupation also came to the longest internet blackout in Indian history– for around two years, the regions of Jammu and Kashmir are deprived of access to high-speed internet in the name of anti-radicalization and combatting religious extremism. Despite such claims from proponents of the Modi regime and the larger Hindutva movement, however, the author of this study argues that the internet blackout did not curb the misuse of the internet by militant groups. By gathering qualitative evidence of interviews, review articles, and reports of extremist groups, it is shown that groups like Mujahideen and the Resistance Front have found workarounds that slip through the constraints of low-speed network access. Moreover, in the absence of a persuasive counter-narrative, extremist content still continues to gain traction and take advantage of the general anger with the collective punishment and occupation.