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In 2023, the Indian government imposed 95 internet shutdowns. Of these, 81 were justified as preventive action to avoid conflict escalation or the spread of disinformation. Between 2012 and 2024, there were over 805 cases of internet shutdowns across India, out of which around 134 shutdowns occurred in 2018 alone.

Types of internet shutdowns

Internet shutdowns have been imposed in India for reasons ranging from preventing cheating during exams to instances of reactive measures against peaceful protests. The most common official justifications given by governments world-over include public safety and national security issues. Nevertheless, research suggests that the most common actual causes that led to the shutdowns included political instability and civilian protests that belie official justifications.

India creates history 

India’s northern most region of Kashmir had the highest number of internet outages across the country. Kashmir also saw the longest ever telecommunication restrictions in any democracy across the world, lasting well over 200 days, from early August 2019 to late January 2020. Furthermore, between 2015 and 2019, the Indian government imposed more than 40 internet blackouts lasting over three days in various parts of the country.