Imagine waking up one fine day and reaching out for your phone to browse your notifications—be it for personal or professional reasons—and finding a 'Data Alert' that says internet has been suspended in your region due to 'exams'. Would that irk you? Now imagine you have a medical emergency and you want to use the internet to find the nearest hospital or any help and there's no internet in your area. Would that scare you? If yes, then perhaps you should be a bit more sympathetic about the fact that Internet shutdowns have made a come back in Rajasthan and Haryana in February 2023, with the same old reasonings of exams and ‘maintaining public order’. While the shutdown in Haryana is supposed to end by February 28 midnight, Rajasthan’s internet suspension has been extended by over a day. What’s happening in Rajasthan? According to the Free Press Journal, internet was suspended in eight cities of Rajasthan on February 25 to prevent the question paper leak of a government teacher recruitment exam. According to the Times of India, internet was suspended in 11 cities. The move came after 39 people were detained for allegedly solving the question paper in Jodhpur. The shutdown was meant to end by February 26 evening. Yet tweets as recent as February 27 show that the suspension has not been lifted. https://twitter.com/why__am_i_here_/status/1630048090874077186 Newspapers had mentioned that the exam will continue till March 1. Does that mean these city residents are to do without internet until the end of…
