ગુજરાતી
English
Ahmedabad, 17 May 2024 (Google translation from Gujarati)
The Gujarat government department has announced details related to the internet today. 82 crore people in India and 5.18 crore people in Gujarat use internet connectivity
India has the highest number of internet shutdown cases than any other country in the world. Gujarat is one of the 3 states in India where the government is at the forefront in shutting down the internet.
In 2024, the Modi government shut down the internet in Ladakh and imposed Section 144. Internet is often shut down in Modi’s Gujarat. Similarly, people’s thoughts are also shut down due to Section 144. Modi government should listen to the people.
On 25 February 2024, internet service was started in 7 districts of Haryana in the farmers’ movement.
The internet has been shut down in many parts of Delhi and Uttar Pradesh after protests against the Citizenship Amendment Act.
From 2012 to 2019, the government shut down the internet 367 times in the country.
In 2018, before the Lok Sabha elections in India, 134 or 67 percent of the total internet shutdowns in the world took place in India. In 2018, the internet was shut down only 12 times in Pakistan.
Jammu and Kashmir
From 2012 to 2019, Kashmir saw the highest number of internet shutdowns. During this period, 180 of the total 367 shutdowns took place in Kashmir alone. After this, the internet was shut down 67 times in Rajasthan, 20 times in Uttar Pradesh, 13 times in Haryana and 11 times in Bihar and Gujarat.
During 2012-17, the net was down for more than 16 thousand hours.
Between January 2012 and January 2019, there were 60 shutdowns that lasted less than 24 hours. 55 shutdowns were for 24 to 72 hours and 39 shutdowns were for more than 72 hours.
Internet was shut down for more than 16 thousand hours between 2012 and 2011. The longest shutdown till date was going on in Kashmir.
Loss of 21 thousand crores
According to the report, between 2012 and 2017, internet shutdowns in all the states of the country have caused economic loss of 3 billion dollars (about 21 thousand crores rupees). As far as the states are concerned, Gujarat suffered the highest loss of 117.75 lakh dollars. Jammu and Kashmir suffered 61.02 lakh dollars, Rajasthan suffered 18.29 lakh dollars, Uttar Pradesh suffered 5.3 lakh dollars, Haryana suffered 42.92 lakh dollars, Bihar suffered 5.19 lakh dollars.
Exam cheating in Gujarat
On one day in February 2016, mobile internet was shut down across Gujarat from 9 am to 1 pm. The move was taken to prevent cheating in the revenue accountant recruitment exam. There were 8 lakh candidates.
2015
The Centre for Internet and Society announced that Gujarat suffers high losses due to internet shutdowns.
Many exporters suffered an unexpected blow during the week-long internet shutdown in August 2015 amid Patidar protests over reservation across the state.
In 2015, Anandiben Patel’s BJP government shut down mobile internet, causing banks in Gujarat to pay Rs. 7000 crore in losses.
Mobile internet and SMS were shut down. People were left helpless as they could not transact through the internet as banks were sending one-time passwords to mobile numbers. In 2015, about 30% of bank transactions in Gujarat were done through the internet and mobile banking. Gujarat contributes about 13% to mobile banking transactions.
In 2017, internet services were shut down in Morbi, Gujarat after two people died in caste-related violence. Two people were shot dead while several others were injured in a clash between the two communities.
In 2012, the internet was shut down 3 times in India for the first time. In 2015, Gujarat was at the forefront.
How many times was the internet shut down in which year in India?
One year away from the internet
2012 – 3
2013 – 5
2014 – 6
2015 – 14
2016 – 31
2017 – 79
2018 – 134
2019 – 195
Internet was banned for several days in the state of Manipur.
India is paying a heavy price for the internet shutdown. The cost of internet outages in 2023 was $255.2 million. Losses of $184.3 million were incurred in 2022.
Internet was shut down in 54 countries from 2019 to 2023.
81 internet shutdowns in 14 countries in 2023 cost $1.72 billion.
Internet was banned for 17,901 hours worldwide in 2023.
Ethiopia was the most affected country. Losses of $526 million were incurred. It was followed by Myanmar and India.
In 2022, internet shutdowns occurred 114 times in 23 countries, with 50,000 hours of downtime and losses of $24.67 billion. Russia was the most affected country.
By 2021, 50 internet outages in 21 countries caused losses of $5.45 billion in 30 thousand hours.
In 2020, 93 internet shutdowns lasting 27 thousand hours in 21 countries cost $4.01 billion. India was the worst affected country with a total loss of $2.8 billion.
In 2019, 134 internet shutdowns lasting 19 thousand hours in 22 countries cost $8.07 billion. The worst affected country was Iraq, which suffered a loss of $2.3 billion.
In 2021, India suffered a loss of Rs 4300 crore due to 1200 hours of net shutdown. When the internet is shut down, all financial transactions stop.
From 2016-2021, 931 shutdowns took place in 74 countries.
Administration and governments have now started fearing social media.
Kashmir, Manipur and Gujarat are at the forefront in the country in terms of shutting down internet services and imposing Section 144. Shutting down internet service has become like imposing Section 144 on the body and mind.
In Gujarat, the internet is also shut down to prevent cheating in exams.
Between 2013 and 2015, internet services were shut down nine times in four states of India. Apart from Gujarat, internet was also shut down in Kashmir, Nagaland and Manipur.
Not only freedom of expression is attacked but national or personal security or business is also harmed.
Our whole life is now connected to the internet. The government also does many of its works through apps. Business is done through the internet. Even common people now make a living through the internet available on smartphones. The media closes the minds of people about the problems they have to face. Internet is like air and water. Does the administration stop the water supply during violence?
The administration is afraid that the situation may go out of control due to rumors being spread through social media.
In the Patel movement, the police entered his house and beat him up. The car has been broken. He had videos. But due to the internet being shut down, he could not send it to anyone.
The purpose of shutting down the internet is not only to stop violence but also to crush the movement.
How is the internet shut down?
If you understand WiFi, you can also understand internet shutdown. WiFi works through a router that spreads its signal. WiFi works as long as the router is on. Similarly, for any smartphone, its mobile tower works like a router. There are two main ways to disable this mobile tower. First, turn off the mobile tower itself and second, turn off the Internet Service Provider i.e. ISP.
Net connection in Gujarat
World Telecommunication and Information Society Day is celebrated every year on 17 May. The main objective of celebrating this day is to bridge the socio-economic divide and digital divide in the world.
The International Telecommunication Union (ITU) was established on 17 May 1865 and the first International Telegraph Conference was held in Paris. This day was first celebrated on 17 May 1969.
According to a report by the ITU, in the last two years, an estimated 407 million people are using the Internet even in the least developed countries, which is about 36% of the population compared to more than 66% globally.
82 crore people use the Internet in India and if we talk about Gujarat, more than 5.18 crore people use Internet connectivity. Which can be called a global development in the field of telecommunications and information society. Offline people are only 14% of the world’s population.
A telephone exchange was established in Calcutta in 1882 in the country, after which it was named Central Exchange. In which 93 customers were found in the first phase and today there are more than 100 crore phone holders in the country, whose income is more than 2 lakh crores. (Google translation from Gujarati)
