ABOUT

"Thousands of troops entered the land of Kashmir in August. Locals were quick to identify the get wind of the change that was about to happen. Speculation was in the air. Article 35A of the Indian Constitution was at the front and center of all such discourses. But, when the Indian government showed its hand, astonishment cornered every inch of the atmosphere. As of 5 August 2019, abrogation befell upon most of Article 370. J&K’s special privileges with regards to the Indian Constitution came to a cessation. Irrespective of where you stand on the legality of this decision, its brutal aftermath is undeniable. Vice’s 8-bit Journo came as a much-needed relief in this climate.
One of the biggest changes facing the J&K population was the embargo on communications. The calendar is now heading towards the end of December. It has been more than 4 months since the ban. Residents of J&K have been living with limited mobile, landline, and internet connectivity. The average youngster in the state didn’t have access to the country’s as well as the world’s major happenings. After the return of SMS services in the area, Vice Asia came up with the world’s first Teletext news portal on SMS. This new platform called the 8-bit Journo condensed news from the last 4 months into immersive 8-bit news articles. Thereafter, lakhs of Kashmiris received crafted SMS updates. The residents of J&K caught up with all the major events that they missed out on. Moreover, this wasn’t made possible by some new futuristic inventions. Instead, a technology from decades ago brought about the birth of this revolutionary platform."