SRINAGAR:Braving the snow and cold, Abrar Ahmad, 18, is one of thousands of Kashmiris who regularly spend hours journeying on a packed train just so that they can go online as\u00a0Indian Occupied Kashmir (IOK) grapples with the longest internet blackout imposed by the Modi government.<\/p>\n

Stepping off the crammed train \u2013 dubbed the \u201cInternet Express\u201d by Kashmiris \u2013 in the nearby town of Banihal, the passengers make a beeline for cafes where they pay up to Rs300 for an hour\u2019s broadband.<\/p>\n

\u201cI couldn\u2019t have afforded to miss this opportunity,\u201d Ahmad said\u00a0after filling out an online job application at a teeming internet cafe, where dozens of others hit by the 162-day internet shutdown queued behind him.<\/p>\n

\u201cThere is no one else in my family to take care of my three younger siblings and me,\u201d he said, adding that his father, a mason, lost his leg in a road accident last year.<\/p>\n

The Himalayan territory\u00a0has been without broadband and mobile data services since August 5 when\u00a0New Delhi revoked the special status of its only Muslim-majority state, splitting Jammu and Kashmir in two.<\/p>\n

Despite a United Nations declaration in 2016 that the internet is a human right, shutdowns have risen in recent years as governments from the Philippines to Yemen said they were necessary for public safety and national security.<\/p>\n

India\u00a0claimed it cut communications to prevent unrest in the valley, where more than 40,000 people have been killed since 1989.<\/p>\n

The lockdown has cost Occupied Kashmir more than $2.4 billion since August, with sectors directly dependent on the internet such as e-commerce and information technology worst hit, the region\u2019s main trade organisation said.<\/p>\n

\u201cDoing trade without the internet is unimaginable in the present day world,\u201d said Abdul Majeed Mir, vice president of the Kashmir Chamber of Commerce and Industry, which estimates nearly 500,000 jobs have been lost. \u201cIrreversible damage has been caused to the economy.\u201d<\/p>\n

The disputed region\u2019s internet ban has impacted everything from relationships to access to healthcare, said Raman Jit Singh Chima, Asia policy director at global digital rights group Access Now.<\/p>\n

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In addition to introducing the democratic world\u2019s longest internet clampdown in IOK, Access Now said India also accounted for two-thirds of global shutdowns in 2018.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n
\u201cPunishing an entire population on the basis of saying potential violence or terrorism might occur is extraordinary,\u201d said Chima.<\/p>\n
The home and information ministries did not respond to requests for comment.<\/p>\n
At a noisy cyber cafe in Banihal, Danish stepped out to catch his breath as people elbowed past to get on the web. Diesel generator fumes filled the cramped space to keep computers and laptops running during frequent power cuts.<\/p>\n
\u201cI felt suffocated inside,\u201d said Danish, a Kashmir University scholar who declined to give his full name.\u00a0\u201cThis internet gag is driving me crazy.\u201d<\/p>\n
But he prefers the lengthy trek to Banihal to trying to get online at one of the hundreds of internet kiosks the Prime Minister Narendra Modi-led government has set up in the valley, where demand hugely outstrips supply.<\/p>\n
New Delhi said the scrapping of Occupied Jammu and Kashmir state\u2019s special status was necessary to integrate it into the rest of India and spur development.<\/p>\n
It has done anything but that, say locals.<\/p>\n
Outside a courier company in Srinagar, two delivery executives chatted idly by a bonfire, saying no internet meant no packages.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe are the only two who still come to the office. Some 50 boys have lost their jobs,\u201d said Touseef Ahmad.\u00a0\u201cIf the internet is not restored soon, I can lose my job.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u00a0\u2018Dark future\u2019<\/strong><\/div>\n
Tourism \u2013 for decades the backbone of the scenic region\u2019s economy \u2013 has been badly hit.<\/p>\n
Every year, people from across India flock to the Himalayan region to enjoy its snow-capped mountains and scenic Dal Lake, home to hundreds of ornately-carved houseboats whose owners rely on tourism.<\/p>\n
Bashir Ahmad Sultani, president of Kashmir\u2019s Shikara (Boat) Association, said there was no work for more than 4,000 boatmen.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe are going through very bad times. Some of us are not even able to arrange two square meals for our families,\u201d said boatman Mohammad Shafi. \u201cWe are looking at a dark future.\u201d<\/p>\n
The restriction has served a major blow to tour operators, hoteliers and artisans as well.<\/p>\n
\u201cI mostly buy things on credit from local shopkeepers,\u201d said Ghulam Jeelani, a hotel manager in Srinagar, who feared being laid off with no online bookings or transactions.<\/p>\n
Jeelani, 52, said he has been struggling to pay for his daughter\u2019s tuition and daily groceries since his monthly salary was slashed by three-quarters to Rs6,000 in October.<\/p>\n
\u201cI have been told that I can\u2019t get even this amount if tourists don\u2019t start arriving in a few weeks,\u201d he added.<\/p>\n
The government has not said when internet will be restored, despite calls from civil society and the United Nations.<\/p>\n
Without it, many locals say they may have to take up manual jobs such as on construction sites \u2013 or even pack up and leave.<\/p>\n
\n
But for Danish, the Kashmir University scholar, frequent trips to Banihal are the only way forward.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n
\u201cI would have moved to some other city but I can\u2019t because my (supervising) professor is in [Occupied] Kashmir. How can I exchange emails with him when there is no internet?,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
\u201cSuch a long blackout \u2026 amounts to playing with our future. We are losing precious time.\u201d<\/p>\n
The Express Tribune<\/a><\/p>\n
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