2023 has gone into history, leaving behind the traces of unending wars, historical man-made disruptions, immense crackdowns, and worse humanitarian crisis. For India, under the Modi regime, the country has unprecedented takeaways on political, economical, and democratic fronts. One of them is a grim feat, where parts of India went bleak, not only with a blanket of violence but also with arbitrary curbs on connectivity. 

If there is one thing that put India on a bad light around the world in 2023 is the Modi administration's clampdown on the internet connectivity. In the wake of incessant ban on the internet, India has become the only country in the world to shut Internet more times in 2023. Such disruptions were made amidst severe violence between the two communities in Manipur and the heat of crisis is yet to be mitigated in the Northeastern state.

According to the Software Freedom Law Centre, which is a legal services organisation based in India, the internet shutdown in Manipur has made India the global leader in internet shutdowns for five consecutive years. Owing to the violence that is lasting even today due to the flawed handling and approach from the state and centre-ruling BJP governments, Manipur has faced internet shutdowns nearly for 250 days in 2023. 

For the Modi government that banned the internet connections in Kashmir after abrogating the Article 370, that guaranteed the territory's autonomous status, for 550 days, the internet shutdowns had become its weaponry to subdue the violence amidst its failure to make a timely intervention and approach. It is noteworthy that it took over 70 days for Prime Minister Modi to speak about the Manipur violence. 

The Union government has imposed a statewide internet ban on Manipur on May 3, 2023, after the two dominant Kuki and Meitei communities vehemently clashed against each other. When the ban was finally lifted on September 23, it has become the longest internet shutdown in the Northeast, but eventually, the ban was again reimposed three days later. 

The second episode of the internet shutdown lasted till December 3 and the incessant internet ban has not only put the Manipuris in the bleak but it also prompted severe blow on the economy. The Internet Society Pulse's NetLoss calculator has estimated that, as a result of internet shutdowns, the Indian economy has suffered a loss of around $2.8 billion. 

The calculator estimates the impact of internet shutdowns on a range of economic, social, and other outcomes. According to The Print, India has, in the past eleven years, witnessed a surge in the use of internet shutdowns, raising concerns about their impact on human rights and socio-economic development.

In June 2023, a report from the Human Rights Watch and Internet Freedom Foundation has highlighted the adverse effects of these internet shutdowns including the inability of hospitals in contacting the donors during emergencies, voters seeking informations about the candidates running for public offices, students missing the exams, and thousands of people facing disruptions for digital transactions. 

Furthermore, a yearly analysis of SurfShark, a cybersecurity company, has revealed that India has secured the top spot for internet shutdowns globally in 2023. With at least 110 cases of internet shutdowns reported since 2015, India has got conferred with a label 'Internet Shutdowns Capital of the World'. Overall, Asia reported 71 per cent of all internet shutdowns in the world and some of the autocratic countries are doing better than India in this regard. 

While India topped the table on the global internet shutdowns since 2015 accounting for 49 internet shutdowns, it is followed by Iran at the second spot with 46 disruptions, while Pakistan stood third with 13 instances and China was at the 12th spot with only four instances of internet shutdowns since 2015. Between 2012 and 2023, India has had 741 internet shutdowns and it has also been reported that in 2023, India has suffered losses of $481.6 million with 6,000 plus hours of internet shutdowns, affecting over 56 million people.