Pokemon Go was declared a raging success in July when it was launched across a select few countries. In India, although, it seems to have drawn a very literal form of rage. Earlier this week, Alay Anil Dave filed a PIL (Public Interest Litigation) against the creators of the game in the Gujarat High Court. He claimed the game was hurting the religious sanctity of places of worship by displaying eggs in these locations. A lot of worship places in Gujarat are Hindu and Jain temples, and it is considered sacrilegious to have non-vegetarian food items in these holy places. Eggs in this context are considered non-vegetarian. According to a report by the Economic Times, the Gujarat High Court will hear the case today, and has named the creator of the game, Niantic Inc., and the State and Central governments as respondents.
Eggs in the Pokemon Go game can be found in any arbitrary place. They appear in the game when users reach specific locations which, according to the PIL, include temples in Gujarat. Image Source.
This isn’t the first time Pokemon Go has been at the center of controversy since its launch. In August this year, a PIL in Gujarat demanded a ban on Pokemon with risk of injury to the players and public cited as the cause. Pokemon Go has also faced religious resistance in Russia, where players have been warned of potential imprisonment. The game has also been at the center of some far-fetched claims, like the time a woman claimed a Pokemon Go character raped her. It is important to note that Pokemon Go hasn’t officially been launched in India yet, but was scheduled to sometime this month. Users playing the game so far accessed it by creating US ids. This lawsuit might just delay the game’s launch in India.
