Mobile internet has been shut down in some parts of Kashmir due to protests over the death of 4 people in clashes with the security forces, reports The Hindu. The report added that the internet shut down was to ‘curb the menace of rumor mongering.’ NDTV states that the affected areas for internet were: Srinagar, Kupwara, Baramulla, Bandipora and Ganderbal districts. In September 2015, Jammu and Kashmir had suspended Internet services for two days following apprehensions of violence in the state in light of the beef ban in the state. The government had issued a notification asking all internet service providers to close 3G, 2G, GPRS, lease line and broadband services on September 25 and 26 to keep things under control. SC upholds states’ right to ban mobile internet Note that in February, the Supreme Court of India upheld the districts and states’ right to ban mobile Internet services to maintain law and order. This was challenged in court by student-activist Gaurav Sureshbhai Vyas and represented by lawyer Apar Gupta. A bench dismissed the appeal saying “it becomes very necessary sometimes for law and order.” Gupta argued that a blanket ban on Internet services was not justified. State of connectivity in Kashmir: Between July and September 2015, total broadband connections in urban India grew by 10% and by 8.7% in rural areas. Broadband connections in hilly states such as Jammu and Kashmir, Himachal Pradesh and the North East remained very low with a total of just 4.58 million connections. Also…
