Global Courant
NEW DELHI – In 2021, Mr. Bhumenjoy Konsam set up an e-learning company in his hometown of Imphal, the capital of Manipur state, northeastern India. Business was booming, thanks to a range of international clients, and things seemed to be going well for the 47-year-old entrepreneur.
But all this progress came to a halt on May 3, 2023, when the local government imposed a blanket ban on Internet access across the state, following ethnic clashes between the Meitei majority and Kuki minority communities.
The purpose of the internet ban was to curb online rumors and hate speech that would make a tinderbox-like situation even more volatile.
But with no lasting solution in sight — the conflict has since claimed more than 140 lives and displaced about 60,000 people — the state’s more than three million residents are still largely cut off from the internet.
This ban, which has lasted more than 80 days, has paralyzed people like Konsam, whose lives depend on the internet. On July 8, he finally moved to Guwahati in the neighboring state of Assam, where he has rented a flat and connected to the internet to try and rebuild his client base and business.
“It’s been taking too long,” said Konsam, who estimated his losses at more than 1.5 million rupees (S$24,300).
He had filed a petition with the Supreme Court of Manipur in June seeking the restoration of internet services in the state.
“If it had been 10 days or so, people could have adapted. But a ban of more than two months is a complete strangulation for those who work online… It’s like cutting off water for fish,” he told The Straits Times.
There was finally some respite on Tuesday when the government said it would restore broadband internet access “conditionally, in a liberalized way”.
Mobile internet and access to social media remain prohibited.
The long ban in Manipur has revived debate over the cost of such steps in India, a country that has for five consecutive years maintained the infamous distinction of imposing more internet shutdowns than any other country.
In addition to crippling everyday life, including by denying online educational and financial services, the ban has drawn criticism from many who claim it has allowed authorities to cover up their failures and evade accountability.
This was the case then a gruesome video in which two Kuki women are paraded naked and fondled by a Meitei mob appeared online last Wednesday, more than 75 days after the incident took place on May 4.
A police report was filed on 18 May, but no arrests were made until the video was widely circulated and widely condemned.
This attack was prompted by a message that went viral before the internet ban was imposed.
Using a photo of an old honor killing victim from Delhi, the report claimed the body was that of a Meitei woman who had been raped and killed by Kukis.
