On Wednesday, July 19, a video of two Manipur women being paraded naked and molested by a mob of men from the Meitei community on May 4 went viral. Information also emerged that another woman, aged 21, was gang-raped, triggering massive criticism against the Union government and the Manipur state government. Though the incident happened on the initial days of ethnic violence in Manipur, it took more than two months for the video to surface on social media, raising concerns about the information blackout on account of internet shutdowns across the state of Manipur.
Manipur witnessed the continuous shutting down of the internet amidst brutal ethnic violence first on May 3. The state government ordered suspension of mobile data and internet data services and directed all service providers to comply with the order. The state government said it was needed to check the spread of misinformation.
The website Internetshutdowns.in, a tracker run by Software Freedom Law Center (SFLC), has documented a total of 25 shutdowns in Manipur, across districts, as on July 15, 2023. Out of them,18 shutdowns were witnessed In 2023. SFLC data shows Manipur experienced its first shutdown this year on March 5, 2023, two days after the All Tribal Students' Union (ATSUM) organised a solidarity march against the inclusion of Meitei in the Scheduled Tribe list.
A second shutdown for a period of five days was announced on April 27, after the Indigenous Tribal Leaders' Forum (ITLF) called for a shutdown to protest against the accumulative forest and land survey. After the state began experiencing ethnic strife, on May 3, the government suspended mobile data services state-wide for a period of 5 days. This was extended to a blanket ban on all internet services, including broadband and VSAT on May 4. Orders for similar shutdowns across districts were issued every five days since May 4. The latest order notes that the internet shall remain suspended until 3 pm on Thursday, July 20.
The internet shutdowns in Manipur have assumed an arbitrary nature, which is contrary to the Supreme Court ruling in Anuradha Bhasin v Union of India which prohibits indefinite suspension of internet services.
A recent report by The Internet Society, an NGO, said the shutdowns in Manipur and Punjab cost the Indian economy an estimated $1.9 billion, which included a loss of nearly $118 million in foreign investment and nearly 21,268 jobs.
India's regular use of internet shutdowns as a tool to maintain public order gives the country a shutdown risk of 16 per cent so far this year, one of the highest in the world as of 2023, according to the NetLoss calculator, a tool by The Internet Society, which measures the economic impact of Internet shutdowns around the world.
Several organisations have petitioned the Manipur High Court for the resumption of the internet. In response, the High Court ordered the state government to allow for restricted internet access on June 16. The order was issued by Justices Ahanthem Bimol Singh and Guneshwar Sharma while hearing public interest litigations (PILs) filed by various parties seeking the restoration of the internet.
Shortly after, the Mainpur government constituted a 12-member Expert Committee on June 29 to assess the feasibility of safely restoring internet connectivity while maintaining restrictions on social media. Some of the safeguards stipulated by the Expert Committee for internet access to be restored include limiting the speed to 10 MBPS, securing undertakings from intended users that they will not indulge in anything illegal, and subjecting the users to “physical monitoring by the concerned authority/officials.”
Nearly a month later, on July 7, the Manipur High Court had directed the state government to lift the internet ban on Internet Lease Line (ILL) and Fibre To The Home (FTTH) connections in the state.
However, the Manipur government challenged the High Court order of July 7 in the Supreme Court. Solicitor General Tushar Mehta, on behalf of the Manipur government, argued that the risk of misuse of social media may lead to further violence in the state which is experiencing ethnic clashes.
“Any rumour may ignite the situation… Discretion should not be in the hands of the people on the ground,” Mehta told the Bench arguing that the High Court order was premature.
The Manipur government had made similar arguments and had told the High Court that the shutdowns were necessary to block websites in case inflammatory material was published.
However, a bench comprising Chief Justice of India DY Chandrachud and Justice PS Narasimha on Monday, July 17, asked the Manipur government to approach the state High Court to reconsider its decision to restore limited internet service.
On its end, the Manipur High Court had directed the state on July 9 to lift the ban on providing internet services through Internet Lease Line (ILL) throughout Manipur after ensuring that the recommendations by the Expert Committee were met with.
On the issue of whitelisting mobile phone numbers, the court directed the state to carry out physical trials to find out the feasibility of providing internet service to the whitelisted mobile phones without jeopardising the security of the state and the life and property of the citizen and after such verification and submit a detailed report to the court within 15 days. The court will consider the matter again on July 25.