Update: That was very very quick. According to another notification issued today by the Department of Telecom, of which MediaNama has a copy, the ban has been revoked with immediate effect. Earlier today: The Indian government has restricted the usage of text messages/SMS in the terrorism plagued state of Jammu and Kashmir, according to a report by news agency PTI, quoted subsequently by multiple media publications. While post-paid users have been banned from sending SMS' altogether, pre-paid users are restricted to 10 SMS' per day per subscriber. Meanwhile, no takers for 3G spectrum in Jammu & Kashmir. No data services allowed their either, yes? The reports also claim that messages originating outside J&K service area from International Long Distance (ILD) operators should not be delivered to mobile subscribers in J&K. While not explicitly stating it, this apparently refers to messages coming from across the Jammu & Kashmir border, from Pakistan or Pakistan administered parts of Kashmir. It is probably possible to prevent messages just from Pakistan from being delivered to subscribers in India, so we wonder if it's a case of throwing out the baby with the bathwater by banning all SMS' altogether. We couldn't find the said notification on the Department of Telecom's website, and in case any you reading this have received it, please do mail it across to nikhil@medianama.com. Also note that in March, a report in the Pakistan media had alleged that Indians who called Pakistan would receive a warning SMS stating that "You just made a…
