Politicians lead in beating J&K internet ban

Tweets sent out three days ago by the youth-wing president of the ruling Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) about chief minister Mehbooba Mufti meeting young entrepreneurs would have been innocuous, had the situation been normal in J&K.

But the internet has been banned in the state since April 26, and Waheed-ur-Rehman Para’s 140-character post on the microblogging site drew an immediate caustic response from rival National Conference spokesperson Junaid Mattu.

Mattu retweeted Para’s tweet, adding: “Hasn’t the CM banned Twitter in Kashmir? Isn’t your tweet the irony of ironies?”

Para did not respond. Mattu, however, was least embarrassed when asked how he could manage to tweet during the internet ban. He blamed the state government for circumventing the ban.

“It’s not only hypocritical but outright evil of a government to have laws and then circumvent them as per convenience. It’s tragic,” he riled.

Para’s silence and Mattu’s broadside shone the light on what has been an open secret in Kashmir: That the ban enforced to quell rumours and violent protests has been more of a joke with almost everyone turning to the Virtual Private Network (VPN) technique to access blocked sites. The VPN masks a user’s location, letting them access websites banned in a particular area.

The Who’s Who of Kashmir is continuing to post on Facebook and Twitter.

The PDP and its social media handles are still promoting the chief minister while opposition leader Omar Abdullah is as active as ever in disseminating his views on social media.

At a recent official meeting in Srinagar, a source recounted officials in attendance discussing alternatives to circumvent the ban since one particular VPN had stopped working.

The brazenness with which the ban is flouted has assumed bizarre proportions.

When news broke this Tuesday of the chief minister being heckled by women at an event, PDP officials requested journalists to check out the videos uploaded on Twitter by rural development minister Abdul Haq Khan that seemed to show otherwise. Khan’s tweets drew instant sarcasm. “Which VPN does the minister use,” many asked.

THE BAN ENFORCED TO QUELL RUMOURS AND VIOLENT PROTESTS HAS BEEN MORE OF A JOKE WITH ALMOST EVERYONE TURNING TO THE VPN TECHNIQUE TO ACCESS BLOCKED SITES