Daily Times

Bursting vistas of the universe, Mawlana Rumi once said, “There is a voice in us all that is ever-present, a voice that always sings its melody to the world. This is the voice of truth and certainty, the voice that lays bare the hidden mysteries.”

Kashmir is singing, from the time I could hear, sometimes, for its heavenly beauty and, always, for unrest, disturbance and conflict. The political turmoil in the region since the revocation of the special status of Jammu and Kashmir (J&K) in August 2019 is resulting in serious contempt of human dignity. J&K has become a hugely militarized zone; leaving eight million people in the lurch of isolation with communication blackout and the inability to access emergency services, including healthcare. With each passing day, the tragedy and suffering continue without any hope of cessation. Most recently, all accounts of Kashmiri users were inactivated by WhatsApp because of being inactive for four months. Disappearances of citizens of disputed geographical territory from a social media platform remind us of the oppression, of the tyranny and the sage.

We are all aware of the fact that freedom of expression is one of the fundamental human rights. It reinforces all other human rights, allowing society to develop and progress. Free speech is also considered the soul of any democracy. Freedom of expression using social media has grown rapidly over the last decade. People use a range of social media sites and are increasingly turning to these platforms to get news and information. Facebook, the largest social media platform in the world, has 2.4 billion users. Other social media platforms including Youtube and WhatsApp also have more than one billion users each. According to ‘Digital Trends 2019’, there are 3.48 billion social media users in 2019, with the worldwide total growing by 288 million (9 per cent) since last year. According to this report, almost 3.26 billion people use social media on mobile devices and on average, the world’s internet users spend 6 hours and 42 minutes online each day.

Social media plays an important role in assisting democracy

Social networking sites have also emerged as a key venue for political debates and discussions and at times a place to engage in civic-related activities. Social media not only gives a voice to underrepresented groups but also magnifies issues that are not usually discussed in other venues. The online communities carry a strong and influential voice and there is much more to be gained from engaging directly with people through these channels. It has also helped people in demanding political change. The role of social media in the ‘Arab Spring’, a revolutionary wave of demonstrations and protests in the Middle East and North Africa between 2010 and 2012, remained a highly debated subject. At that time, the uprisings occurred in countries regardless of internet usage in the area and social media played a significant role in facilitating communication and interaction among participants of political protests. Protesters used social media to organize demonstrations (both pro- and anti-governmental), disseminate information about their activities, and raise local and global awareness of ongoing events. Similarly, the use of the #BlackLivesMatter hashtag in 2012 was one of the most sustained efforts during that time to bring attention to a cause using social media platforms.

Internet penetration in the South Asian country stands at roughly 41 per cent – a considerable improvement over the 31 per cent that was reported in 2018. Surprisingly, the standout story of social media usage in 2019 is India. Globally, it not only topped the internet growth ranking 2019 but has also seen internet users jumped by almost 100 million in 2019, representing annual growth of more than 20 per cent. These big numbers mean that India is responsible for more than a quarter of this year’s total global growth. How people use the internet are evolving quickly too, with mobile accounting for an ever-increasing share of online activities.

With the scrapping of Article 370 of the Indian Constitution in early August 2019, a news blackout began in the region as well. Television, telephone and internet links were cut, mobile phone signals were often blocked, and the internet was regularly turned off. After the communication blockade, people were reported to be queuing outside government offices for hours for just two-minute phone conversations with family members outside Kashmir. In this scenario, Indian media remained indifferent to the plight of Kashmiris and now social media disabled many accounts permanently. Spokespersons of Facebook, which owns WhatsApp, have cleared that disappearances were the result of the messaging app’s policy on inactive accounts.

Social media plays an important role in assisting democracy. By providing a platform for the underrepresented, it can give a voice to those who would otherwise be silenced. Kashmiris have lived in conflict since seven decades and the international community has been failing Kashmir since ages. Any move by authorities to restrict access to, censor or block social media sites should be recognized as an infringement on freedom of speech and citizens’ right to information. As J&K remains tense, civil rights activists should keep on pressuring the Indian government to reinstate communication lines. The international community should also call upon the Indian Government to respect the dignity of Kashmiri people and consult with them in any decision about their future, particularly their right to self-determination as enshrined in Article I of the United Nations Charter. Freedom of speech and the right to protest are key elements of democracy and must be protected to foster an equal and fair society. George R. R. Martin debunks the lie of silence in the following words, “when you tear out a man’s tongue, you are not proving him a liar, you’re only telling the world that you fear what he might say.”

The writer works as a researcher for the Islamabad Policy Research Institute (IPRI)