2010 protest censorship[edit]
A protest reportedly took place in the Indian Administered Kashmir against the summer of 2010, when 15 people were killed in three weeks by the Indian Armed Forces.[2] Army's help was sought to restore law and order after protests by people as Government virtually banned the media in the Valley by imposing severe restrictions on journalists.[3] The revolution was allegedly carried out by youth who disseminated information to the outer world in view of the gagging of media,[4] newspapers and SMS services.
July 2016 media outlet ban[edit]
The ban of media in 2016 in Kashmir began 10 days after the killing of Burhan Wani, a popular rebel group leader in Kashmir. Protests against the killing of Wani broke out in the streets as young Kashmiris attacked the police.[5] Wani was a social-media-savvy insurgent who affected the lives of the majority of Kashmiris, requesting them to follow his path through social media and newspaper posts. These protests led to more than 33 deaths and hundreds being severely injured. The riots and protests got so unruly that the government decided to impose serious actions on the media while they struggled to bring the situation under control. The government decided to shut down cable TV operators and private cellphone services, as well as banning daily newspapers. The government called this an ‘information blockade’ as they believed that young and emotion lot of people out on the streets that are surcharged by certain media publications. The newspapers refrain from publishing content deemed inappropriate by the government but this was the first time there was a ban imposed on the newspapers. Police officials and security forces raided printing presses and seized copies of newspapers. The ban lasted for over a week in the state of Jammu and Kashmir.[6]
April 2017 social media ban[edit]
In April 2017, the authorities in Indian administered Kashmir (IAK) banned several social media sites after they believed that they were being used as a tool to indulge violence and terrorism amongst the youths by anti-national elements.[7] The government of IAK regularly blocked internet connections but this was the first time such a step was taken on social media. Over the past five years, the government blocked internet signals over 28 times and in 2016, the internet connection was blocked for about five months. The social media sites and apps blocked included WhatsApp, Snapchat, Facebook, Twitter, WeChat, Skype, Pinterest, and Vine. The government described this ban as an action to control the political space in IAK. Due to this ban, riots broke down in certain IAK regions. The protests started in the southern district of Pulwama by certain ringleaders. Hundreds of students have taken it to the streets, some chanting antinational slogans while others attacking the police using rocks.[8]