Ban military-style Chinese game Undawn in India: NGO to IT Ministry

New Delhi, June 17

Non-profit organisation Prahar on Saturday said 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 via its Singapore and Amsterdam-based global publishing arm, Level Infinite, on June 15.

According to Prahar, the launch of Undawn on June 15, the anniversary of the Galwan incident, portraying military uniforms and weapons that were used by Chinese soldiers is "purported and hurtful to the sentiments of Indians".

"India needs to be watchful of the Chinese soft influence, which is being used in the recent years along with technology invasion and trade dominance. These issues become relevant during times of potential military aggression, as was witnessed during the Galwan war," said Abhay Mishra, National Convenor and President, 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 sentiments of Indians," he added.

The Prahar letter to MeitY said that "the Chinese company Tencent Games has launched a military style game called Undawn in India".

"The company has chosen to launch this game on 15th June 2023, the anniversary date of the Galwan incident, where the Chinese army had attacked our Indian army soldiers," the letter read.

The game involves players in military style uniform, armed with assault rifles and heavy weapons like M416, AK 47, G36, MPX. Other weapons include stun bombs, decoy bombs, hand grenades and various kinds of bombs.

Undawn also involves weapons used by Chinese forces to attack the brave Indian soldiers.

One of the prominent categories of weapons in the game are the Melee weapons. This includes the infamous combined maces with spikes and sharp edges that the Chinese used to bludgeon our soldiers.

"We request you take action to immediately ban this game under section 69A of the Information Technology Act, as it threatens the sovereignty and integrity of India, defence of India, security of the state, and public order," read the letter.

The launch came about three years after Tencent withdrew all of its games and mobile apps from the country, including WeChat.

The apps were banned by the government in June 2020 citing national security concerns amid border tensions between India and China.

Since then, India has suspended more than 300 mobile apps.