Restoration of 4G Internet in Two out of Twenty Districts in Jammu & Kashmir

On August 16, after a year of suspension, the Union authorities in Indian-occupied Kashmir ordered the restoration of 4G internet services in two of the 20 districts on a “trial basis”.

These two favored districts are Ganderbal and Udhampur. All other 18 districts have weak 2G internet connections 

Udhampur, in Hindu-majority Jammu region, and Ganderbal, in Muslim- majority Kashmir Valley, have a combined population of 850,000 out of the disputed region’s total population of about 12 million.

Internet had been cut off since last August, when India revoked the semi-autonomous status of Kashmir, divided it into two federally ruled territories and had imposed a complete lockdown and communications blackout.

In May, the Supreme Court declared an indefinite shutdown of the internet in the Muslim-majority region was illegal. The government had then restored the internet with 2G after 213 days.

More than 50,000 civilians have been killed since the recent phase of freedom movement started in 1989. India has been accused of human rights violations against the freedom fighters and the people of Kashmir.