Ban Chinese military-style game Undawn in India: NGO to IT Ministry
Tencent launched the online game through its Singapore- and Amsterdam-based global publishing house, Level Infinite, on June 15.
New Delhi: Nonprofit organization Prahar said on Saturday it has written to the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY) to ban the Chinese game Undawn launched by Chinese internet giant Tencent in the country.
Tencent launched the online game through its Singapore- and Amsterdam-based global publishing house, Level Infinite, on June 15.
According to Prahar, the launch of Undawn on June 15, the anniversary of the Galwan incident, depicting military uniforms and weapons used by Chinese soldiers, is “alleged and hurtful to the feelings of Indians”.
“India should be vigilant about Chinese soft influence, which has been used in recent years in conjunction with technology invasion and trade dominance. These issues become relevant in times of potential military aggression, as seen during the Galwan War,” said Abhay Mishra, National Convenor and President of Prahar.
“The launch of the Undawn game is an insult to India, to our brave soldiers and to our people. It is hurtful to the feelings of Indians,” he added.
Prahar’s letter to MeitY stated that “Chinese company Tencent Games has launched a military style game called Undawn in India”.
“The company has chosen to launch this game on June 15, 2023, the anniversary date of the Galwan Incident where the Chinese Army attacked our Indian Army soldiers,” the letter said.
The game includes players in military style uniform armed with assault rifles and heavy weapons such as M416, AK 47, G36, MPX. Other weapons include stun bombs, decoy bombs, hand grenades and various types of bombs.
Undawn also includes weapons used by Chinese troops to attack the brave Indian soldiers.
One of the prominent categories of weapons in the game is the Melee weapons. This includes the infamous spiked, sharp-edged combined maces the Chinese used to club our soldiers.
We request that you take action to immediately ban this game under Section 69A of the Information Technology Act as it threatens India’s sovereignty and integrity, India’s defence, state security and public order. letter.
The launch came about three years after Tencent pulled all of its games and mobile apps from the country, including WeChat.
The apps were banned by the government in June 2020 over national security concerns amid border tensions between India and China.
Since then, India has suspended more than 300 mobile apps.