Jammu and Kashmir doctors threatened with strict action for media leaks

Mumbai: As the world and India celebrate public healthcare professionals for their selfless work during the COVID-19 pandemic, those in Jammu and Kashmir are faced with intimidation from the State: speak against the administration, and you will end up in jail for up to six months, according to TheWire report. To snub the voices of medical workers that have now started emerging from the Valley, the Directorate of Health Services in Kashmir, on April 1, issued a circular, threatening government servants with "strict action" if they speak against the government's efforts to combat the pandemic on social media, or to the press.

The cited IPC section stands for 'disobedience to order duly promulgated by public servant,' and calls for imprisonment of up to six months, or a fine of up to one thousand rupees, or both.

The Modi government stripped the region of its semi-autonomous state on August 5, 2019, blocking internet and broadband services, arresting its mainstream politicians, and imposing restrictions on movement throughout the valley.

Over the past few weeks, some controls have been relaxed. But despite the global pandemic, Kashmiri doctors are still unable to access complete information about the novel coronavirus, owing to 2G-internet speed. On March 4, after 213 days of internet shutdown – the longest ever in a democracy, the Indian government restored web access for the state, but with conditions – poor internet speed, no mobile internet for pre-paid cards, and MAC-binding, which enables the state to trace any online activity to its user.