Crawling back to the net

A cross-platform application for instant messaging launched by three youngsters. This is the kind of news that is unlikely to make it to the front page of national dailies. But what if we add that this app was developed to fight a ban on social media? And that it helped some to stay in touch with the world outside?

That’s KashmirChat for you. Following the Jammu & Kashmir (J&K) government’s decision to ban 22 social media sites to prevent their misuse by “anti-government elements” to incite violence, three Srinagar residents got down to the task of providing the Valley with an alternative.

Says Naveed Malik, one of the teenagers who developed KashmirChat, “We are happy to see that many people supported us and installed the app even from outside the State to stay in touch with their folks back home.” The trio, however, is aware that the government ban, which completes a month today, may jeopardise the future of their app. It has, till date, recorded almost 5,000 downloads on Google Play.

“Our intention is not to spread rumours through this app, we have put up a disclaimer and also have a privacy policy,” adds Malik, a Std XI student. He says the messages shared on the app are secured with end-to-end privacy encryption. “We wanted to help students like us who can remain in touch and share study notes, videos, PDFs...” Malik’s views on the ongoing ban — a decision spurred by a wave of student protests across Kashmir following the April 9 by-poll violence in Srinagar — are strong. “It is unjustified. Students like us suffer the most from such bans. Why ban platforms that help us share knowledge?” he asks.

Frequent disconnect

On April 26, the J&K government ordered a ban on 22 social networking sites “for a month or till further orders” after the student protests spread to many schools and colleges in Kashmir. Apart from popular platforms such as Facebook, Twitter and WhatsApp, others such as QQ, WeChat, Ozone, Tumblr, Google+, Baidu, Skype, Viber, Line, Snapchat, Pinterest, Telegram, Reddit, YouTube (Upload), Vine, Buzznet, Xanga, and Flickr were also banned with immediate effect.

“Any message or class of messages to or from any persons or class of persons relating to any subject or any pictorial content through the following social networking sites shall not be transmitted in the Kashmir valley, with immediate effect, for a period of one month or till further orders, whichever is earlier,” read the order issued by the home department.

The announcement sparked outrage among internet users in Kashmir, who interpret the ban as denial of basic rights. Goodbye messages from Kashmiris, with the hope of reconnecting a month later, started pouring in on social media platforms. Expressions of anger and disappointment mingled with castigation of the order, which is being viewed, in the words of some online posts, as an attempt to silence Kashmiri voices.

Following Hizbul commander Burhan Wani’s killing in July last year and the violent protests thereafter, internet services in the Valley were suspended for about four months. According to internetshutdowns.in, a website that tracks internet shutdowns in India, it was a loss of ‘over 2,920 hours without access’. Prepaid mobile services resumed only on January 27, 2017 while the interruption of mobile internet lasted over five months (July 9 to November 19, 2016). Between 2012 and 2017, the tally of internet bans in Kashmir is 31 (source: https://internetshutdowns.in).

Set to wrongs

So, what does the frequent suspension of Net connectivity mean for business in the Valley?

Tahir Qazi, an entrepreneur and IT executive with over 20 years of experience, says any individual or business relies heavily on uninterrupted wireless and internet communications for normal functioning. “This is the reason that the United Nations released a resolution in 2016 condemning intentional disruption of internet access by governments, thereby reaffirming Net access as a basic human right,” he says.

Qazi is also quick to point out that such bans — topical band-aids — won’t muzzle Kashmiri voices. “Citizens throughout the world have used virtual private networks (VPNs), e-mail services, proxy services, DNS workarounds, and anonymised browser tools to fight back such restrictions under dictatorial regimes,” he says. “And these days there are also non-profits like accessnow.org that help citizens of the world anywhere when they are denied internet access by the State.” He adds that technologies such as FireChat, which uses Bluetooth and wi-fi to ensure smooth communication between users, bypasses State- or company-controlled wireless networks.

The human link

For Mudasir Ali, a web designer in Srinagar, the frequent bans on internet and social media are akin to imposing an e-curfew on the social and economic life in Kashmir. “First, the J&K government has done nothing for professionals like me... unemployment is always an issue in Kashmir,” he says. Instead of chasing government jobs, Ali, like many young web entrepreneurs (who run online booking services, e-commerce portals and web/app development, for instance) in the Valley, set up his business in 2013. Unfortunately, the frequent internet bans has taken a toll on work. He views the government order as a “ban on the young generation of Kashmir” who don’t want the life of a government employee. “We’d rather do something on our own, explore and use modern technology to support our families and make Kashmir a better place,” he says.

Ali adds that it is not just militant graphics and videos — the kind that the government wants to curb through the bans — that go viral. Social media has been used to mobilise people, both online and offline, to save lives. Through posts on sites such as Facebook, people have come forward to help the poor in need of expensive treatment and medication, as well as those who sustained bullet and pellet injuries during violence between security forces and the public. Ali mentions two such cases: An 11-year-old boy from his neighbourhood — Harwan — and a young girl, also from Srinagar. Both are cancer patients who received financial help from people who read about them online. “In times of distress, it’s cruel to deny people such opportunities and platforms where they can help each other,” says Ali.

Long lives proxy

While Ali mourns the loss of business and a network that brings people together, other web developers and IT experts are of the belief that the ban is rendered ineffectual by modern technology. Tunnelling tools are in abundance, and the collective will to circumvent the ban is growing stronger.

A young Kashmiri who managed to access Facebook through a VPN left this note for the government: Tum kitnay VPN maro gay, har ghar say VPN niklayga!” (How many VPNs will you stop, VPNs will emerge from every home!)

Yasir Zargar, a Srinagar-based web security analyst, explains that a VPN grants a new IP of some other location to the user, who is then able to access the sites from that location remotely. “Since the ban, many people have downloaded VPNs,” says Zargar. “And many others are using proxy servers.” He says it is common practice in places where such bans are enforced.

Meanwhile, offline, on the streets of Kashmir, student protests refuse to die down.

Majid Maqboolis a Srinagar-based journalist and writer

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