Battlegrounds Mobile India is Krafton’s revamped attempt at launching the popular battle royale back into the Indian market after the government’s ban on PUBG Mobile. The game was originally banned as part of a number of other Chinese apps due to what the Indian government claimed were security concerns.
However, last week Former Union Minister and current Arunachal Pradesh MLA, Ninong Ering, wrote to Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, asking him for a ban on Battlegrounds Mobile India as well. Gamers across the country were annoyed by Ering’s claims, but one PUBG streamer took things too far, using racial slurs against the politician and the state of Arunachal Pradesh.
As pointed out by Eastern Mojo, YouTuber Paras Singh implied that Ering does not look Indian, and that the state of Arunachal Pradesh is part of China. In the now edited video, Singh was seen searching for the Indian state on the map, after which he suggests that the state actually belongs to China and just touches India a bit. He also asked his viewers if Ering looked Indian, and if people from Arunachal Pradesh looked like that.
Singh went on to apologise in his next video, however a case was filed against him for “racial hatred”. Ering told Eastern Mojo that Singh’s comments did not impact him. “He is free to point out mistakes, if any, but the racists remarks are serious and something which needs re-thinking,” he said. “When I was an MP, I’ve always been the one to ask the government to ban apps which are not in public interest. Moreover, games like PUBG are spoiling our Arunachalee children. This is not about us but their future.”
Esports professionals in India have spoken out against Paras Sing’s racist comments. As pointed out by IGN India, Indian esports veteran and YouTuber Ankit 'V3nom' Panth released a statement. "This incident, as you can see, clearly had repercussions. There is a legal case against him [Singh] now. Gaming doesn't yet have strict laws in our legal system," said Panth in the video. "All this mother-sister cussing, if even one person decides to register a complaint, your whole life will get ruined in legal courtrooms." Panth appealed to viewers not to absorb the bad habits of the YouTubers and influencers they follow.