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2G Internet Stifling Education, Work in Indian Kashmir

Sheikh Uzair

   INDIAN ADMINISTERED KASHMIR - Everyday,KhalidFayazdownloads textfiles
   from his email on a smartphone, transfers them to his laptop with a
   datacable, edits them, then transfers them back to the phone to
   emailbackto their writers for final approval.

   Downloading or uploading a simple text file of 20kilobytes,or
   about2,000 words, takes four to five minutes.Fayazhas torepeat the
   process until thearticlesare finalized for his educational
   magazine,ZaanvunLockchaar.

   Every evening before going to bed, he sets up his phone to download
   print-quality pictures. At the speeds available to him, it usually
   takes all night. Sometimes, he wakes up to findthedownload failed.

   "I and my team of two men have been doing it since November just to
   bring out the magazine for our readers,"Fayazsaid.

   Disputed Kashmir

   Fayazlives in India-administered Kashmir, a disputed region in the
   Himalayas that India and itsneighborPakistan partially control. The two
   countries have fought three wars over it.

   Both countries had given the parts of Kashmir under their control a
   special status granting it a great degree of autonomy.

   In August, the Indian government took awaythat special statusand turned
   India-controlled areas into union territories, ruled directly by the
   federal government.

   To avoid violence in a region that was already tumultuous and where
   anti-India protesters often clashed with security forces, the Indian
   government imposed a strict curfew and a total communication blackout.
   Allcellphoneand internet connections were suspended.

   Without internet access,thousands were left jobless. Students,
   researchers,thebusiness community and journalists suffered.

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