India’s VPN ban in Kashmir ‘adds to psychological pressure’, say residents

Basit Banday*, employed with an IT steadfast based successful the southwestern Indian metropolis of Pune, handles delicate healthcare information of his company’s clients, ensuring they are harmless from leaks and cyberattacks.

Until precocious past year, the 27-year-old Kashmiri Indian was capable to bash that utilizing a virtual backstage web (VPN), which allows a idiosyncratic to disguise their net protocol (IP) code by routing web postulation done a distant server successful a mode that makes it undetectable to telephone information oregon net work providers (ISPs).

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But that changed connected December 29 erstwhile the Indian authorities ordered a sweeping prohibition connected the usage of VPNs for 2 months successful Indian-administered Kashmir, citing “threats to nationalist security” and alleged “misuse” of the services to “incite unrest”.

The authorities claimed the usage of VPN successful Kashmir has the imaginable to beryllium exploited for “unlawful and anti-national activities”, including dissemination of inflammatory material, misinformation, and different activities that endanger nationalist order.

“It was further observed that VPNs alteration encrypted information transmission, disguise IP addresses, bypass firewalls and website restrictions, and whitethorn exposure delicate accusation to imaginable cyber threats,” said 1 of the astir identical orders, issued by the main head successful each Kashmir district.

Banday present fears helium whitethorn suffer his occupation oregon volition beryllium forced to relocate to Pune, much than 2,000km (1,242 miles) distant from his location successful Pulwama district.

“Unfortunately, the caller authorities bid appears to person been issued without capable information for professionals whose livelihoods and responsibilities are straight babelike connected unafraid VPN connectivity,” helium told Al Jazeera.

“VPN is highly important and mandatory for immoderate IT organisation. Even applications specified arsenic firm email cannot beryllium accessed without connecting to the VPN. It besides restricts entree to outer platforms, allowing lone authorised organisation systems and thereby limiting vulnerability to the extracurricular world.”

Banday’s fears are compounded by a information crackdown that followed the authorities order.

Multiple videos shared connected societal media by Indian media outlets and idiosyncratic users showed policemen successful riot cogwheel gesturing to pedestrians oregon those driving vehicles to stop, and asking for their mobile devices. If the devices were locked, radical were instructed to unlock them arsenic officers shuffled done them.

Indian soldiers basal defender connected the banks of Srinagar’s Dal Lake, January 7, 2026 [Farooq Khan/EPA]

Police said they person taken enactment against much than 100 radical crossed the portion since December 29 for violating the prohibition orders, adding that “security proceedings” were initiated against the “violators”. Those who were initially “identified” for violations were fto spell lone aft their “antecedents” were verified to corroborate they had nary connections with a “terrorist”, the word the authorities uses for Kashmiri rebels.

“Genuine users were released aft elaborate instrumentality investigation with a strict informing to refrain from VPN usage successful the future,” a connection issued by the constabulary said connected January 2.

An estimated 20 percent of India’s 800 cardinal net users usage VPNs. Surfshark, a cybersecurity institution based successful Amsterdam, estimates that India has the world’s largest fig of VPN users, with a marketplace size worthy $17bn.

Frequent disruptions

Internet restrictions successful Indian-administered Kashmir are not new.

Of the 901 internet shutdowns the Indian authorities has periodically imposed crossed the country, Kashmir accounts for astir 50 percent of them, according to a show which started signaling the blackouts successful 2012. However, the strength of specified blackouts successful the portion has travel down successful the past fewer years.

When the Indian subcontinent won its independency from British regularisation successful 1947, the Himalayan portion of Kashmir was divided betwixt India and Pakistan, though the nuclear-armed neighbours assertion it successful afloat and person fought 3 wars implicit it. China besides controls a sliver of Kashmir’s land.

In the precocious 1980s, an equipped rebellion against New Delhi’s regularisation erupted to question independency for Kashmir oregon merge it with Pakistan. In response, India deployed astir a cardinal Indian soldiers determination and gave them bonzer powers to power the region. The struggle has truthful acold claimed tens of thousands of lives, astir of them civilians.

India further tightened its grip implicit Kashmir successful 2019 erstwhile Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s right-wing authorities scrapped Article 370 of the Indian Constitution, authorities that granted a peculiar presumption to the portion by not allowing outsiders to get authorities jobs oregon bargain properties there. The authorities besides divided the semiautonomous portion into 2 territories – Jammu and Kashmir, and Ladakh – and brought them nether New Delhi’s nonstop rule.

Kashmir residents accidental the VPN prohibition is different summation to an ever-expanding database of restrictions connected civic freedoms successful the restive region.

A 32-year-old Kashmiri writer told Al Jazeera helium often relied connected VPNs for work, but fears helium volition nary longer beryllium capable to bash truthful nether the caller restrictions.

“It is communal for journalists successful struggle zones to usage VPNs for safety, particularly erstwhile moving connected investigative stories,” said the writer who requested anonymity implicit fears of reprisal from the authorities. “Now, that furniture of extortion is gone.”

Mir Umair, a 24-year-old businessman successful Srinagar, said the VPN prohibition has chopped his entree to Bayyinah TV, an online level of Quranic studies tally by an Islamic preacher based successful the United States.

“There’s thing governmental successful his speeches. Just religion. He has ne'er talked astir Kashmir but erstwhile once helium narrated an occurrence of gathering a Kashmiri pilgrim during Hajj,” Umair said, adding that Khan’s transmission was banned past twelvemonth successful May pursuing the four-day India-Pakistan subject clashes.

“I utilized to entree his transmission via VPNs,” helium said.

Ahmad, a section lawyer who gave lone his past name, fearing retribution from the authorities, told Al Jazeera the VPN prohibition could beryllium unlawful.

“The legality of the bid is doubtful arsenic it is expected to comply with India’s IT Rules that bash not stipulate a broad prohibition connected VPNs,” helium said. “One azygous enforcement bid should not beryllium capable to authorisation a prohibition arsenic sweeping arsenic this.”

Al Jazeera reached retired to constabulary and authorities authorities successful Kashmir for their statements connected the VPN ban, but they did not respond.

‘Unconstitutional policing mechanisms’

Last week, David Peterson, who heads the Geneva-based ProtonVPN company, invited a torrent of maltreatment from Indian users connected X aft helium posted guidelines connected tapping into his application’s “discreet icon” diagnostic to evade the authorities ban.

“For further context, Jammu and Kashmir [has] historically been taxable to net restrictions, bans and outages astir this clip of twelvemonth to disrupt protests astir the Republic Day [January 26] and the anniversaries of the Gawkadal and Handwara massacres,” helium wrote, referring to the killings of civilians by Indian forces during the tallness of Kashmir’s equipped rebellion successful the aboriginal 1990s.

When an Indian X idiosyncratic accused him of facilitating “terrorism” successful Kashmir, Peterson referred to the usage of disguised apps by journalists moving successful unsafe environments. “[Like] successful countries specified arsenic Iran, China, Russia, Myanmar, etc”, helium replied.

In September past year, media watchdog Reporters Without Borders (RSF) described Indian-administered Kashmir arsenic an “information achromatic hole” retired of which reliable quality seldom emerges.

Srinivas Kodali, a integer rights activistic and researcher, told Al Jazeera simply having a VPN installed connected phones does not magnitude to a transgression offence.

“People from divers professions usage VPNs for morganatic reasons. This broad prohibition is uncalled for,” Kodali told Al Jazeera, adding that the enactment of stopping radical and forcing them to unlock their phones was a “gross violation” of their cardinal rights.

“But successful Kashmir’s case, we person continuously seen the authorities pushing each sorts of unconstitutional policing mechanisms. It is conscionable 1 much measurement successful that direction.”

Furqan*, different Kashmiri journalist, works remotely for an planetary media location based successful the confederate metropolis of Bengaluru. He edits videos connected large planetary events for his organisation and requires entree to a bigger repository of online worldly than helium tin “legally” scour connected the internet.

“India is 1 of the foremost countries to prohibition worldly connected the internet. Just look astatine the complaint astatine which the X handles are withheld successful India, particularly of critics and dissenters. To cognize who is penning what, a writer volition person to entree VPNs,” helium told Al Jazeera.

Furqan insists that, arsenic a journalist, helium has the close to beryllium discreet astir his work, particularly erstwhile helium is dealing with delicate information.

“Now this prohibition volition bent similar a sword connected our thoughts,” helium says. “Sometimes I americium expected to entree the dashboard of the company. And due to the fact that I americium moving remotely, it has to hap done a unafraid medium. So I usage VPN. But successful the damned portion specified arsenic ours, adjacent this mundane happening volition present beryllium deemed arsenic a transgression activity.”

Furqan says the VPN prohibition adds to the “psychological pressure” connected the Kashmiris. “It feels similar we are connected proceedings for our thoughts,” helium told Al Jazeera. “A Kashmiri is risking truthful overmuch adjacent erstwhile helium does thing arsenic basal arsenic accessing a VPN.”

*Names changed to support the individuality of radical implicit fears of retaliatory enactment by the government.