South Central

South Central 64: Karnataka’s ban on teenage mobile use and Kerala Story 2’s divisive agenda

By Dhanya Rajendran

March 01, 2026 at 10:00 AM

In this episode of South Central, hosts Dhanya Rajendran and Pooja Prasanna first discuss the Karnataka government’s plan to ban teenagers from using mobile phones. They are joined by policy researcher Tara Krishnaswamy, child psychologist Sama Adil, and Adhira S Magesh, a teenager who is a black belt in Karate and an enthusiastic baker.

Dhanya starts the discussion by asking Adhira if a ban will really work on teenagers. “I don’t think it will work. Several apps have age restrictions, but I have seen friends circumvent this in their own ways,” says Adhira.

Sama says that the effects of screen-time on teenagers are very apparent, but banning is not a solution. “When COVID hit, we digitalised education and childhood. Now we tell the same kids that we are going to take away their phones. Yes, there are problems with excess screen time, but when adults are also on the phone perpetually, we cannot expect children to follow digital discipline,” she adds.

Pooja recalls how, in countries like Australia, such plans were phased-out. “The platforms were also asked to restrict children below a certain age, and fines were imposed in case restrictions were broken on the websites,” she says.

In the second part of the discussion, the hosts delve into the upcoming film The Kerala Story 2 and its polarising politics. The hosts are joined by professor, writer, and activist NP Ashley.

“This is a sure recipe for disaster to the republic. The Republic of India stays afloat on the equality promised to people of all faiths. The biggest problem is the lack of ability to conceive political opposition to certain violent fanaticism as different from demonising one whole community. This is dangerous, and we need to understand that when the Union government and its leadership endorse such a film, they openly embrace propaganda,” Ashley says.

Pooja recalls how, even with the first movie, when confronted with facts, the goalpost was changed. “Even here, even as the incidents are not from Kerala, the title has Kerala, claiming it is a ripple effect of what has been happening in the state. It is like what is happening in Kashmir,” she says.

Tara says that this is not about defence or offence, but about how this politics is being propelled further. “This will not be restricted to Kerala. It will come to Tamil Nadu and other states as well,” she adds.

Dhanya says that there is a clear connection with the RSS here. “An interview says the ideation was done with an RSS organisation, and the movie is also tied with a man named Manoj in Kerala, whose Yoga Centre allegedly aided in torturing women who fell in love with Muslim men. If these fascists are taking a leaf out of Hitler’s Germany, even there, at one point, the movies were so bad and propagandist that people went to theatres and hissed. So they banned hissing. But here, they have learned to make watchable movies,” she says.

Tune in to these two charged conversations here.

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Audio Timecodes

00:00:00 - Introduction

00:01:15 - Headlines

00:09:32- Mobile Ban