Indian student protesters use Bluetooth messaging after internet curbs

Young protesters in New Delhi have turned to alternative communication tools after Indian authorities suspended mobile internet services near a protest site.

Thousands of young people have been protesting, with some camping under tarpaulin in the capital. They are demanding changes to the education system after a series of irregularities in important exams, including leaks of some papers.

India's Ministry of Home Affairs issued an order suspending mobile internet services for eight hours on Thursday within 1.5 kilometres, or nearly one mile, of the protest site. The order, published on the ministry's website, said the measure was needed in the interest of public order and to prevent incitement to offences.

Some students switched to Bitchat, an open-source peer-to-peer messaging app developed by American tech entrepreneur Jack Dorsey. The system uses Bluetooth to connect nearby users in an ad-hoc network without the internet.

Kumar Shalabh, 21, said many people were using Bitchat. He is among protesters calling for change and for the resignation of Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan. Shalabh said he used the artificial intelligence services Claude and ChatGPT to look for new ways to communicate.

The demonstrations are led by the social media-driven Cockroach Janta Party. The source described them as one of the biggest challenges to Prime Minister Narendra Modi's administration since his 2024 re-election for a third term. The protests have also expanded to include concerns about unemployment, opportunities for young people and what critics describe as Modi's increasingly authoritarian style of governance.

Tensions rose on Monday, when police fired tear gas and used batons against tens of thousands of demonstrators. Protesters said mobile internet communications then slowed or stopped. Some said they had prepared by agreeing on meeting places before leaving home.

A 19-year-old protester, Khushi, said she and her friends expected network interruptions and planned where to meet in advance. She also said Bitchat allowed users to send messages by Bluetooth.

On Friday, Dorsey shared another government document in a post on X and said the Indian government did not like technologies such as Bitchat and wanted it taken down.

Digital rights advocates called for the newest order to be revoked. The Internet Freedom Foundation said it stood with developers and young protesters whose speech it said the order sought to silence.

Internet shutdowns are frequent in India. The international non-profit Access Now said India ranked second globally in 2025 for internet shutdowns, imposing 65 during protests, conflict, communal violence and religious holidays.

Digital rights activist Nikhil Pahwa said he was not surprised by the suspension. He said authorities often respond by blocking internet access to prevent information from spreading. He also said many people in India rely on internet connections to make digital payments.

Despite using alternatives, many protesters struggled to communicate with each other and with worried family members. Gunveer Singh, 19, said calls were coming through, but callers could not hear them. He said the message was still reaching people, whether or not the internet worked.