By Hamza Khan | Jammu
Jammu & Kashmir is becoming an example of how India’s digital revolution can be considered a success story. The increasing number of internet users, the development of telecommunication facilities, and the ubiquity of mobile phones serve as indicators of this fact. At face value, the statistics are impressive. India’s internet users exceed one billion in 2025, broadband subscribers reach the number of almost 100 crore, and nearly 97% of villages have access to mobile phones.However, statistics only paint half a picture. In the case of Jammu & Kashmir, it may even paint a misleading picture.
The key issue here is a misinterpretation of the nature of inclusion itself. While statistics may prove that the state is well-connected in a digital sense, it masks the real and disturbing gap that separates people from their rights and opportunities.
Consider the connectivity in rural areas. Even after years of flagship initiatives like BharatNet and Digital India, roughly 70 percent of Gram Panchayats in Jammu & Kashmir still do not have effective broadband connectivity services. A negligible number of them are ready to provide these services in totality. It is not an insignificant execution problem – it is an intrinsic failure in delivering broadband connectivity to the last mile. The absence of broadband connectivity services at the village level translates to a complete lack of access to digital governance, online learning, and e-commerce services.
There are multiple effects of this failure, but none more evident than in the field of education. An important number of students in the area are yet to gain access to smartphones and reliable Internet connectivity. While the majority of urban students have been successfully mainstreamed into online and blended learning programs, rural students are still finding it difficult to get basic access to these facilities.
The gulf is widened even more by factors relating to geography. The urban centers in J&K benefit from improved connectivity, but the rural areas lag far behind in this regard. Such a pattern is evident across the country, wherein the level of tele-density in the rural areas consistently lags behind those in the urban centers. In a context like that of J&K, where geography and politics pose significant challenges, this issue becomes even more acute.
In those regions where connectivity is available, the quality leaves much to be desired. The frequent disruption, poor speed, and general unreliability of connectivity create an atmosphere where internet usage cannot be assured. Those who depend on continuous connectivity find themselves at a loss due to the lack of availability, and those who are able to use it are not able to reap its full benefits.
In addition to the above, the problem of digital capability must also be addressed. Simply owning a smartphone or having some kind of connection with the internet does not necessarily imply engagement within the digital sphere. Digital illiteracy is still high, especially in rural areas and among poorer communities. Data affordability, insufficient information about digital opportunities, and non-existent training programmes also act as limiting factors.
The element of gender brings yet another dimension to this problem. Women in J&K find themselves restricted by societal structures, economic factors, or a lack of specific policies that address the problem of their inability to access digital technologies. Hence, the existing problem is not merely one of the gap between urban and rural areas but also between genders.
Overall, this highlights the problem with the approach used by governments when implementing and evaluating policies related to the provision of digital resources. All too often, such efforts concentrate solely on output metrics such as numbers of towers installed, kilometres of fibre optic cable laid down, or villages “covered” by a programme. In simpler terms, there has been a bias towards visibility and not viability.
Today, Jammu & Kashmir is faced with a very important choice. There can be no doubt that it has already transcended the stage of digital scarcity. However, its infrastructure growth, network expansion, and increased access points have not led to the creation of a more inclusive environment. Rather, what has taken place is a move from digital scarcity to digital inequality.
This is because the problem with measuring success via headlines is that while it may reflect positive growth in certain areas, it fails to highlight the gaps in the current state of affairs. Thus, instead of providing an urgent wake-up call for policy makers to implement necessary reforms, statistics may only delay much-needed actions.
In order for a digital transformation in the region to take place successfully, there must be a fundamental change in its priorities. Reliable connectivity, last-mile deliveries, digital literacy, affordability, and gender inclusion should become key issues to address in the process.
If that happens, the story will have a different ending because currently what exists is a fractured society— a society connected through statistics but digitally segregated by reality.
