We recently conducted a poll on whether PUBG Mobile should be banned in India, and surprisingly 45 percent voters favoured the game's ban while 36 percent voted "no" on the ban. That doesn't say a lot as only a few people participated in the poll, not enough to conclude what millions of people actually want. But an 11-year-old boy from Mumbai has a strong will to see PUBG Mobile be banned completely.
PUBG Mobile ban in India has been a hot topic, and recently Prime Minister Narendra Modi addressed a mother's concern over the popular battle Royale game's influence on her kid's grades. Since many efforts to ban PUBG in India have hit a dead-end, the 11-year-old kid decided to take the matters in his own hands.
India Today reported that a boy from Maharashtra penned a four-page strong-worded letter seeking a ban on PUBG Mobile. The young kid, identified as Ahad, sent the letter to seven ministers, including Maharashtra CM Devendra Fadnavis, Ravi Shankar Prasad, Ministry of Electronics and IT, and Maharashtra's education minister Vinod Tawde among others.
In the letter, the boy has appealed to the ministers of respective departments to ban PUBG Mobile linking the game to immoral conducts such as violence, murder, aggression, addiction to gaming, looting and cyberbullying.
In addition to his appeal, Ahad wrote in his letter that he would be "compelled to seek appropriate legal [civil and criminal] proceeding as per law; naturally at your cost and consequences" if the game is not banned. Failing to receive any reply from the ministers, Ahad has reportedly decided to file Public Interest Litigation (PIL) at the Bombay High Court.
PUBG Mobile, despite its roaring success in India, has been getting a lot of criticism due to addiction fears. Recently, Jammu & Kashmir Students body and medical doctors association urged the governor to enforce a ban on the popular game. But Gujarat became the first state to ban the game across all primary schools.
PUBG Mobile has also been banned in a few academic institutions, including Vellore Institute of Technology (VIT). And it is being done so with good intent as medical experts have linked the game to mental imbalance. Over 120 cases were registered at Services for Healthy Use of Technology (SHUT) clinic in National Institute of Mental Health and Neuro Sciences (NIMHANS) due to PUBG addiction in late 2018.
What are your thoughts on PUBG Mobile? Do you think the game should be banned in India?
