Farmers' protests: Rescind internet ban on Delhi’s borders

The government is now using blunt instruments like an internet ban and obstructionist tactics that curb the movement of people to counter the agitation by farmers who are rejoining and regrouping after the incidents on Republic Day. After mobs claiming to be local people resorted to violence against the farmers, the government has sought to secure the venues of the agitation on the Delhi border with barbed wire, spikes, nails and concrete blocks and other measures to prevent more farmers from reaching the sites. This amounts to curbing the right to protest and the right to movement of people who are peacefully agitating. The government has also resorted to an internet ban which has serious implications. Internet services have been suspended at Singhu, Ghazipur and Sikri and nearby areas and slowed down in some parts of Delhi. They have been suspended in many Haryana districts, too.

The right to access the internet is a fundamental right, and citizens cannot be deprived of it without valid reasons. A ban on it or its deliberate manipulation amounts to denial of the right to know and the right to expression. There is no reasonable ground to restrict the right at the protest sites and elsewhere. The internet is a part of life now, used for social, economic, educational and other purposes, and its disruption affects all aspects of life. The measure directed against the farmers has hit millions of people in Delhi, UP and Haryana. They include students attending online classes, people involved in commerce and other activities of normal life. The government has no right to disrupt all this. It is misuse of power, unjustifiable on any ground and unsupported by law.

The internet has transformed the country and empowered the citizen. A government that has proudly touted Digital India is now using it as a weapon to suppress citizens and curb their rights at will. Internet services have been suspended or disrupted in Kashmir in different degrees since August 2019. India has had the highest number and longest durations of internet shutdowns among all countries in the world. This is a shame that is now being extended to Delhi’s borders. Bans are counter-productive, too, because rumour and mischief take over when legitimate channels of communication are shut. Especially given the heavy, armed police presence all around the farmers, who are now confined in what looks like a warzone, it is important that the country and the world should be able to see at all times all that occurs there. Uninterrupted internet and access to reporters must be ensured at the protest sites to demonstrate adherence to protection of human rights. It is not through repression and denial of rights that the government should counter a people’s agitation.