New Delhi: The RSS-affiliated Swadeshi Jagran Manch (SJM) urged the Centre Tuesday to block permission to Starlink to roll out its commercial satellite broadband services in India, while condemning the irresponsible statements made by its owner, Elon Musk, against industrialist Mukesh Ambani and the government indirectly.
Musk Saturday stepped up his criticism of Ambani, sharing screenshots of media reports alleging that a Reliance-funded firm helped boost the social-media campaigns of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and that a Reliance-linked company made large political donations to the ruling party.
Prior to that, Musk had addressed Ambani as Prime Minister Ambani on X and accused him of protecting a monopoly. He had also criticised Ambani over the delay in the launch of Starlink’s satellite broadband services in India.
Reliance has not publicly responded to Musk’s allegations, while the government has maintained that the country’s authorisation framework for telecom and satellite services is fair and non-discriminatory and that any suggestion of selective application is baseless and misconceived.
SJM national co-convenor Ashwani Mahajan said the organisation believes that India is within its rights to deny permission to Starlink if the company fails to address the country’s national-security concerns.
The organisation is of the firm belief that blocking Starlink would send a message to trade partners like the US … that India is certainly within its rights to block Starlink based on its genuine national security concerns, he said.
Mahajan condemned Musk’s remarks, saying Starlink has applied for a licence to launch and operate commercial satellite broadband services in India but has not received approval, although its application has not been rejected either.
It is unfortunate that instead of responding to clarifications sought from his company, on national security grounds, Elon Musk has chosen to make allegations on Indian businesses and the government indirectly, he said.
Mahajan alleged that Starlink might be attempting to secure the licence by creating public pressure on the government or that Musk is making the statements out of frustration over the regulatory requirements.
It appears that Starlink is perhaps not prepared to meet those specific requirements. Consequently, it seems Elon Musk is either attempting to secure the licence by creating public pressure against the government or is making these statements out of frustration, the SJM leader was quoted as saying in a statement.
Mahajan said internet services often need to be disrupted to maintain law and order during separatist activities, terror acts, riots, protests and similar situations.
Currently, India is grappling with various law-and-order challenges. In such situations, internet-based social media often fuels rumours and anti-national narratives. Disrupting internet services frequently becomes essential to maintain law and order during instances of separatism, terrorism, riots, protests, and similar events, he said.
He added that Starlink’s satellite-to-satellite laser links raise concerns about Indian internet traffic bypassing domestic gateways and travelling through foreign infrastructure, potentially making lawful monitoring and enforcement more difficult.
Government wants Indian traffic routed through gateways within India, he said.
Mahajan also raised concerns about satellite internet being used by hostile actors, smugglers and insurgent groups to communicate beyond conventional telecom networks.
He said the SJM’s apprehensions about Starlink’s security risks are based on experiences in several countries, including Ukraine, Iran, Russia, China, Taiwan, South Africa, Brazil, Venezuela and Sudan.
Drawing a parallel with India’s rollout of 5G technology, Mahajan said the SJM had opposed the participation of Chinese companies Huawei and ZTE in trials on security grounds.
After SJM’s opposition, neither Huawei nor another Chinese firm, ZTE, were granted permission to conduct trials. Meanwhile, Indian companies and scientists, which had been working on developing 5G technology, ultimately developed 5G, popularly known as 5Gi, he said.
Mahajan said Starlink’s failure to secure a licence will not prevent India from providing satellite-based internet services.
If Elon Musk’s Starlink fails to get licence as it is unable to address the Indian government’s national security concerns, it does not mean India will not be able to provide satellite-based internet services. In fact, even if there is a slight delay in launching indigenous satellite-based internet services, we would still be able to offer services far cheaper than Starlink while ensuring national security, he said.
He said blocking Starlink on national-security grounds could provide a boost to indigenous satellite-based internet services and help extend affordable connectivity to remote areas.
