A three-part video series on Internet shutdowns in India | 7 min, 14 sec | 2020
- Disconnection (3’11”)
- Digital Citizenship (1’26”)
- Gravity (2’21”)
I’ve been thinking about Internet Shutdowns since a complete communications blackout was imposed in Kashmir in August 2019 and then in several parts of India during the anti-CAA (Citizenship Amendment Act) protests. For most of us today access to the Internet is a lifeline which we cannot imagine being without, yet its pervasive nature lends itself to also being used as an instrument of control. While we celebrate what the Internet has done for India, how it has transformed our lives, we must also recognize what it is like to live without it under forced Internet shutdowns. Each of us can empathize by simply asking ourselves what our lives would be like without Internet access.
This project is part of the 25 x 25 Initiative by India Foundation for the Arts, supported by lead donor Kshirsagar-Apte Foundation, and philanthropy partners Titan Company Limited, and Priya Paul and Sethu Vaidyanathan.