⚠️ Confirmed: The internet shutdown in #Manipur, northeast #India has now extended to cover broadband connectivity including the national internet backbone, as Section 144 is imposed amid tribal unrest 📉

⚠️ Update: The internet shutdown in #Manipur, India, has passed the 50-day mark; the incident continues to cause economic damage while limiting the public's right to communicate and stay informed 📉

🔥 For 3 months, #Manipur in India has been in the dark due to an internet shutdown. Network data show that telecoms restrictions in #Manipur, India, have been ongoing since 4 May, leaving the region in the midst of a severe information blackout in a time of need.

Impacts:

▪️ Human rights violations unseen: Internet blackout hides murders, rapes, and arson.
▪️ Over 180 lives lost, 60K+ displaced amidst escalating violence, with little or no ability to communicate with the outside world.
▪️ Shutdowns like these are disproportionate and inherently cripple free speech and limit human rights reporting, while disrupting essential services.

🔌 Internet shutdown: a repeated government strategy to quell internal conflict, purportedly to curb disinformation, while the violence rages on.

📢 It's time to shed light on the Manipur crisis. The world needs to see, and the people need their digital lifelines restored.