Government departments and institutions in Kashmir are being allowed a limited Internet azadi after more than 100 days, but only if their bosses sign an undertaking not to allow any “misuse”.

The undertaking, which makes department heads responsible for any “kind of breach and misuse of Internet”, comes on the heels of a controversy over the release of political detainees against a bond that virtually muzzles them.

Officials said that Internet services had been restored to some government institutions, including Kashmir University, for “limited use” over the past two days. It’s not clear whether any connectivity has been restored to non-government establishments.

“There will be no social networking, proxies, VPNs and Wi-Fi,” the undertaking reads. “No encrypted file (of) any sort of video/photo will be uploaded.”

A Kashmir University official said the Internet connection of the institution’s data centre had been restored on Monday but no access was being allowed to the students or scholars.

“It will be used mainly for the Web portal and for e-governance so that the university website remains accessible from outside,” he told The Telegraph.

“We have created a facility with five computers, where the faculty can check emails and make limited searches on academics-related stuff. Other sites are blocked completely; social networking is blocked.”

Officials said the heads of government departments were required to submit the signed undertaking to the state police to have their office Internet connection restored.

Through the one-page undertaking, the government departments pledge to restrict their restored Internet services to business (official) use. They also pledge to ensure their Internet facility is protected through a MAC system so that it cannot be breached for any activity that is in violation of the undertaking. Also, “all the USB ports will be disabled on the network”.

The undertaking makes it binding on each signatory government office to provide the security agencies with access to all its Internet-related content and infrastructure, whenever sought.

The government enforced a complete information blockade on August 4, hours ahead of the scrapping of Jammu and Kashmir’s special status, suspending mobile phone, landline and Internet services. The restrictions on landline phones and post-paid mobiles have been gradually lifted.

Officials said the Internet curbs had badly hit businesses and academics in particular.

As for the bond detainees were asked to sign to secure their release, it barred them from speaking against the “recent events” -– a thinly veiled reference to the changes to Jammu and Kashmir’s constitutional status and the security clampdown.