Swadeshi Jagran Manch (SJM) on October 13, 2026 asked the government to block Elon Musk’s Starlink from launching commercial satellite broadband services in India.
SJM argued that Starlink’s technology could make internet restrictions and security-related surveillance difficult. “Currently, India is grappling with various law-and-order challenges. In such situations, internet-based social media often fuels rumours and anti-national narratives,” SJM national co-convener Ashwani Mahajan said in a statement.
He further argued that disrupting internet services is often essential to maintain law and order during “instances of separatism, terrorism, riots, protests, and similar events”, and urged the government not to grant Starlink permission to operate.
‘Starlink’, a company owned by Elon Musk, had applied for a licence to launch and operate commercial satellite broadband services in India but has not yet received the same (though the application has not been rejected either).
SJM’s national co-convener Ashwani Mahajan cited national security risks from Starlink to seek a ban on the company in India.
This comes after Elon Musk alleged that Starlink was being “blocked by certain oligarchs” in India, an assertion the government rejected. In its response, the Centre had said that India’s regulatory framework for satellite communication services was “fair and non-discriminatory”.
The SJM said in the current situation “,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,” SJM’s national co-Convenor Ashwani Mahajan said in a strongly worded statement.
Mahajan condemned Elon Musk’s statement about pending permission to Starlink to operate commercial satellite broadband services in India.
“Elon Musk has chosen to make allegations on Indian businesses and the government indirectly. It appears that Starlink is perhaps not prepared to meet those specific requirements. Consequently, it seems Elon Musk is either attempting to secure the license by creating public pressure against the government or is making these statements out of frustration,” Mahajan said.
Mahajan said Starlink’s technology poses a serious challenge to meeting India’s regulatory requirements and utilises laser-based satellite links to transmit data directly between satellites before it reaches a ground station.
“The Indian government is examining this system to ensure that data cannot bypass Indian gateways during security-related emergencies. A key regulatory condition is that Starlink must be able to precisely restrict its services at the government’s behest; however, Starlink has not committed to meet this requirement, or its technology may not permit it,” he said.
“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,” Mahajan said.
“Apprehensions of Swadeshi Jagran Manch are about the security risks, attached with Starlink are based on experiences of Ukraine, Iran, Russia, China, Taiwan, South Africa, Brazil, Venezuela, Sudan and many others. Most prominent case studies for a national security analysis are Ukraine, Iran, Russia, China and Taiwan,” Mahajan said.
SJM also hit out at Musk over his recent remarks, alleging that instead of addressing security-related issues concerning Starlink, he was trying to create public pressure on the government.
“It appears that Starlink is perhaps not prepared to meet those specific requirements. Consequently, it seems Elon Musk is either attempting to secure the license by creating public pressure against the government or is making these statements out of frustration,” it said.
Notably, the government has clarified that Starlink, Reliance Jio and Bharti-backed Eutelsat OneWeb have received licences, but must demonstrate compliance with security conditions before proceeding to spectrum assignment and commercial operations. Security assessments of all three are underway and they are “broadly at the same regulatory stage”, the Ministry of Communications has said. Union Minister for Communications Jyotiraditya Scindia subsequently said the security clearances fell within the home ministry’s domain.
