India: From Telegraph to Internet
No communication system or network developed in a vacuum, nor did it exist in a bubble devoid of regulation. No nation existed in a vacuum before the world wide web changed the way its citizens communicated, India was no exception. Under British rule from the mid 1800s to the mid 1900s, the first extensive effort to link the communication distance across the far flung empire was the telegraph. With it came unexpected infrastructure and legislation difficulties that were initially considered unimportant. By the time it had evolved into a complex earth-space based wired-wireless digital mobile data system, those very difficulties reached exponential proportions.
The East India Company, in de facto control of India, already had a functional telegraph system in place. An effort to augment this system through an independent government backbone infrastructure met with numerous dismal failures due to the weather, uninsulated wire lines atop bamboo poles that would collapse when a cyclone rolled across the country, renegade villagers who stole the copper wire to make jewelry, insufficient battery power to relay messages, and signals that were interrupted and broken along the way.
The Sepoy Rebellion of 1857, a nationalist soldiers' mutiny war for independence, placed the telegraph into the central role it would play for years to come. (1) Already in operation through the East India Company, telegraph lines extended along railroad tracks as well as separate lines strung to outposts and cities away from the central hubs of Calcutta and Bombay. (2) In the aftermath, the British Crown ejected the East India Company and paved the way for development of mass communication. With the gradual expansion of the telegraph across India, the rebellion showed the British Raj its importance; eventually creating direct legislation in the form of the Telegraph Act of 1885 to safeguard the system. Infrastructure security setbacks prompted CC Adley to write:
“...uniformity of management is of great importance, and where circulation of false and inaccurate information, either by design or accident, should be specially guarded against, that the telegraphic operations should be conducted exclusively under the control of Government.” (3)
As a result, the system would remain a monopoly for many years and much of the legislation, which is still enforced today, amplified the necessity for security: Part Two, Section Five: “On the occurrence of any public emergency, or in the interest of the public safety.” (4)
Years passed, the invention of the telephone, radio and television prompted the government of India, which gained its independence following World War Two, to maintain its grip on censorship and monopoly. The Wireless Telegraph Act of 1933 extended the authority of the original legislation. (5) Variations were applied to each new communication method. The internet made its formal debut on the subcontinent around the early 1990s, with more rules imposed due to its rapid development. The Information Technology Act of 2000 reiterated much of the original Telegraph Act legislation. (6)
Due to the freewheeling nature of the world wide web, and its encroachment into the wireless domain of India, more rules appeared. The Temporary Suspension of Telecom Services 2017 updated the rules to quantify a timeframe (15 days) on how the government could manage the burgeoning wireless and cable systems cropping up across the nation in the framework of civil unrest, college exams and other unexpected variables of the revolutionary system. (7)
Due to the freewheeling nature of the world wide web, and its encroachment into the wireless domain of India, more rules appeared. The Temporary Suspension of Telecom Services 2017 updated the rules to quantify a timeframe (15 days) on how the government could manage the burgeoning wireless and cable systems cropping up across the nation in the framework of civil unrest, college exams and other unexpected variables of the revolutionary system. (7)
By the second decade in the 21st century, mobile wireless usage for the Indian nation had exploded to over one-billion subscribers, second only to China and two up from the United States. The top service providers in 2022 were Reliance Jio (424.5), Bharti Airtel (367.6), and Vodafone Idea (241.3). (8) With it came innumerable benefits, but also a downside, forcing the government to implement some of the more draconian laws written into the legislation extending all the way back to the Telegraph Act. The most significant was shutting down the system in times of civil unrest and similar circumstances as defined in the catchphrase of Part Two, Section Five: “On the occurrence of any public emergency or in the interest of the public safety.” Eventually, the shutdowns overshadowed the government’s ability to justify the reasons.
The Software Freedom Law Center (SFLC) of India follows internet suspension and has mapped out the number of shutdowns since 2012. The total to date is just under 800, with Jammu and Kashmir territories leading the way accounting for nearly half, as well as the longest of 552 days from August 2019 to February 2021. Most of the states registered brief fallouts, with Rajasthan on the Pak border (98) and Uttar Pradesh (33). Manipur, the most recent troubled hotspot, has a total of 39 denials of access. (9)
Located in the far eastern region of India, the state of Manipur is in many ways cut off from the rest of the nation. Its geography contributes to communications shortcomings. Unrest broke out early in 2023 between two cultures with views completely foreign to each other. The New Delhi government was forced to step in as casualties mounted. One of the principal means to control the outbreak was to cut off access to communications. (10)
The state is serviced by both wireless and cable providers. When ethnic violence flares up, the shutdown isn't necessarily all inclusive with most being blacklisted; there are others who are not. Those include individuals who can afford to pay off the local officials to retain access to the web. It falls under the title of “whitelisting.” Upon a visit to the region, Al Jazeera reporter Angana Chakrabarti in October 2023 had this to say:
The state is serviced by both wireless and cable providers. When ethnic violence flares up, the shutdown isn't necessarily all inclusive with most being blacklisted; there are others who are not. Those include individuals who can afford to pay off the local officials to retain access to the web. It falls under the title of “whitelisting.” Upon a visit to the region, Al Jazeera reporter Angana Chakrabarti in October 2023 had this to say:
“a leader of a Kuki-Zo civil society organisation led me into the building in a residential area of Churachandpur, to my surprise, the internet was up and running on his phone.”
Access was attributed to “hackers” but may have just as well been a payoff to the whitelisters for passwords. (11)
The original intent was to draw a parallel between the shortcomings of the Telegraph Act, workarounds due to government bungling, and a similar status today with the internet. The effort fell short due to constraints placed on the project. However, the whitelisting factor points in a general direction of mishandling of internet access for the public when it comes to privacy, security and emergency. By no means are the few acts, laws and rules cited cover the entire scope of how the government of India, through its Department of Telecommunications, manages its communications systems. (12)
Further investigation will probably bear witness to shortfalls across the board where New Delhi justifies failure in the system, but it can wait another day for the internet, until access is restored for everyone in the nation on a permanent basis.
Further investigation will probably bear witness to shortfalls across the board where New Delhi justifies failure in the system, but it can wait another day for the internet, until access is restored for everyone in the nation on a permanent basis.
10 December 2023
Sources:
1.) Indian Mutiny, Britannica, https://www.britannica.com/event/Indian-Mutiny
2.) CC Adley, The Story of the Telegraph in India., Bucklersbury, London 1866, https://www.google.com/books/edition/The_Story_of_the_Telegraph_in_India/N_lNzCHQkS4C?hl=en&gbpv=1
3.) see footnote 2.
4.) India, Telegraph Act of 1885, https://www.indiacode.nic.in/bitstream/123456789/13115/1/indiantelegraphact_1885.pdf
5.) The Indian Wireless Telegraphy Act 1933, https://www.indiacode.nic.in/bitstream/123456789/15410/1/the_indian_wireless_telegraphy_act%2C_1933.pdf
6.) Information Technology Act 2000, https://eprocure.gov.in/cppp/rulesandprocs/kbadqkdlcswfjdelrquehwuxcfmijmuixngudufgbuubgubfugbububjxcgfvsbdihbgfGhdfgFHytyhRtMjk4NzY=
7.) Temporary Suspension of Telecom Services 2017 https://www.mha.gov.in/sites/default/files/TelecomServices_27012021.pdf
8.) India: Wireless Service Subscribers, 2022, https://www.statista.com/statistics/639514/internet-subscribers-by-service-providers-india/
9.) Software Freedom Law Center, https://softwarefreedom.org/
10.) Manipur Service Providers: Airtel Mobile, Imphal: https://www.nperf.com/en/map/IN/1269771.Imphal/1991549.Airtel-Mobile/signal/?ll=24.811121785733786&lg=93.87850532191807&zoom=13
11.) Angana Chakrabarti, In India’s strife torn Manipur, narrative battle is fought on social media, Al Jazeera, 27 October 2023, https://www.aljazeera.com/features/2023/10/27/in-indias-strife-torn-manipur-narrative-battle-is-fought-on-social-media
12.) India Department of Telecommunications, https://dot.gov.in/new-telecom-policy-1999
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