Citizens' Accountability LedgerWho owned the mess? 25 years, every party, on the record

Case 37 · Rights and dissent

Internet shutdowns. Democracy switched off

Aug 2019 onward

World leader in blackouts

2,567 days since Recorded outcome: World leader in blackouts.

Human cost Est
Millions cut off from information, income and help during shutdowns; Kashmir endured one of the world's longest
Financial cost Est
Billions of dollars in estimated economic losses over the years

What happened

India has repeatedly imposed more internet shutdowns than any other country, from the record-length blackout in Jammu and Kashmir after 2019 to routine shutdowns during protests and exams.

Claim against record

What the government said

Authorities cite law and order and the prevention of rumour and violence.

What the record shows

World leader in blackouts

The blackouts are ordered with little transparency and no independent test of necessity, cutting citizens off from banking, medicine, schooling and news, and the human and economic cost is never accounted for or owned.

What accountability should have looked like

Narrow, time-bound, judicially reviewable shutdowns as a genuine last resort, with published justification and cost.

Ministers and office-holders responsible

Naming who held the portfolio is a matter of public record. It is not by itself a finding of personal responsibility for any death or any rupee.

Sources

T1 primary record · T2 reporting · T3 partisan

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Cite or export this case

Citizens' Accountability Ledger, "Internet shutdowns. Democracy switched off" (Aug 2019 onward), case-16. https://whoisresponsible.xyz/case/case-16/

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