‘Difficult to ban PUBG’: Indian government leaves it up to the parents

• The Bombay High Court had asked the Central Government for a review of the popular mobile game PlayerUnknown’s Battlegrounds (PUBG) in April.
• A public interest litigation (PIL) lodged with the Bombay court in April was specifically asking the bench to ban PUBG from schools.
• The Centre has said it is ‘difficult to ban PUBG’ in its findings on Wednesday.

PlayerUnknown’s Battlegrounds (PUBG) has been under on the Indian government’s radar for ‘distracting’ students from their studies for a while now.

But it’s unlikely that the game will actually be banned after the Central Government said that its ‘difficult to ban PUBG’ after looking into the matter, according to Advocate Rui Rodrigues.

A world of princes and princesses

In April this year, a bench headed by Chief Justice Pradeep Nandrajog and Justice Nitin Jamdar presided over a public interest litigation (PIL) lodged by a student, Ahad Nizam, through his mother, Mariam.

The PIL sought to ban the game in schools citing ‘violence and aggression’.

The bench, reminiscing the days old, stated that children used to fantasize about “a world of princes and princesses and chasing demons and living happily ever after.” Adding that there was “no violence” back then.

Ban unlikely

Advocate Rui Rodrigues presenting the details of the review by the Centre a couple of days ago pointed out that it is “technically difficult to ban all the sources (such as websites, mobiles and other communication devices) from where the game is available unless the creator or the parent company retrieves the game from circulation or administers some restrictions.”

“Parental awareness is required to control children's access to it,” Rodrigues added.

PUBG’s ride in India has been no less than a roller coaster with the game being blamed for suicides, murders, poor academic performances and seemingly irking every parent in the general vicinity from where its played.

Teens were even jailed over playing the game in Gujarat when the local police placed a ban on the battle royale game.

See also:
Faced with ban threats, PUBG is trying to placate Indian parents and the government

Warning: You’ve been playing PUBG for far too long

Teens are getting arrested for playing PUBG in India