21 votes

India suspends internet and phone services in some parts of the country to quell protests over new citizenship law that excludes Muslims

10 comments

  1. [3]
    MimicSquid
    Link
    Yes. This will go flawlessly. No one has ever protested, let alone protested successfully, without phones or internet. On a less sarcastic note, there's actually some research that indicates that...

    Yes. This will go flawlessly. No one has ever protested, let alone protested successfully, without phones or internet.

    On a less sarcastic note, there's actually some research that indicates that the absence of phone or internet strengthens protest networks by forcing people to interact and plan in person. This means that not only is it harder to infiltrate the groups, but stronger personal bonds are developed which lead to more resilient networks.

    15 votes
    1. [2]
      skybrian
      Link Parent
      Do you remember where you read about the research?

      Do you remember where you read about the research?

      4 votes
      1. MimicSquid
        Link Parent
        I don't remember the specifics. It was in regards to one of the current or near-past protest movements in South America where a similar blackout occurred. I'm sorry I don't have more detail for you.

        I don't remember the specifics. It was in regards to one of the current or near-past protest movements in South America where a similar blackout occurred. I'm sorry I don't have more detail for you.

        4 votes
  2. [2]
    Algernon_Asimov
    Link
    If anyone (like me) is curious about the law that's being protested... https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Citizenship_(Amendment)_Act,_2019

    If anyone (like me) is curious about the law that's being protested...

    The Citizenship (Amendment) Act, 2019 was passed by the Parliament of India on 11 December 2019. It amended the Citizenship Act of 1955 by providing a path to Indian citizenship for Hindu, Sikh, Buddhist, Jain, Parsi, and Christian religious minorities fleeing persecution from Pakistan, Bangladesh and Afghanistan. The act was the first time religion had been used as a criterion for citizenship under Indian law.

    The amendment has been widely criticised as discriminating on the basis of religion, in particular for excluding Muslims.

    https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Citizenship_(Amendment)_Act,_2019

    10 votes
    1. Deimos
      Link Parent
      And if you're interested in more of the history of the anti-Muslim sentiment (especially in the current government) that's been leading up to this, this was a great (long) article in The New...

      And if you're interested in more of the history of the anti-Muslim sentiment (especially in the current government) that's been leading up to this, this was a great (long) article in The New Yorker recently: Blood and Soil in Narendra Modi’s India

      10 votes
  3. [2]
    stu2b50
    Link
    The whole situation in India has been very strange for me. I have actual friends, born in America, raised in America friends, who vocally support Hindu repression of Muslims in India. I've...

    The whole situation in India has been very strange for me. I have actual friends, born in America, raised in America friends, who vocally support Hindu repression of Muslims in India. I've personally never seen that before--ask someone about uighur treatment, the response is always "that's fucked up", or anything like that. A law that specifically excludes a particular religion seems pretty cut and dry to me, let alone the real effects the combination of CAA + NRC does.

    It makes me somewhat worried for the future of Muslims in India that among the Hindu majority this opinion is prevalent enough that expats even hold it.

    8 votes
    1. Kuromantis
      (edited )
      Link Parent
      Yeah. And the current majority party is a Hindu nationalist party, the BJP, and it just won another turn may this year, meaning this is just the beginning. I think the problem is that Pakistan is...

      Yeah. And the current majority party is a Hindu nationalist party, the BJP, and it just won another turn may this year, meaning this is just the beginning. I think the problem is that Pakistan is India's main enemy and a majority muslim state, meaning they can just say 'no muslim pak extremists in our country' and people will think it has something to do with extremism and nationalism, rather than just religion. (Which will be interpreted as an argument for this by radical hinduists rather than against it.)

      2 votes
  4. Kuromantis
    Link
    Damn.

    Internet shutdowns are a favored tactic for the government of Prime Minister Narendra Modi. Authorities have interrupted internet services at least 102 times so far this year, according to a public online tracker maintained by the New Delhi-based Software Freedom Law Centre.

    Damn.

    2 votes
  5. [2]
    cfabbro
    Link
    Meta/Offtopic - Should the "that excludes Muslims" part be included at the end of the title, @Deimos? I feel like it's pretty important context here.

    Meta/Offtopic - Should the "that excludes Muslims" part be included at the end of the title, @Deimos? I feel like it's pretty important context here.

    1 vote