At exactly 7:00 pm, as dusk settles gently over Halaga village in Karnataka’s Belagavi district, an unusual sound cuts through the everyday hum of rural life. It is neither an alarm nor a warning. It is a siren for silence. Within moments, television screens go dark, mobile phones disappear from curious hands, and homes that once glowed blue with digital light return to the softer illumination of tube lights and lamps. For the next two hours, Halaga collectively chooses books over screens, conversations over scrolling, and learning over leisure.
This is Karnataka’s first community-led 'No Screen Mode' experiment, an ambitious, quietly radical attempt to reclaim children’s study hours from the grip of digital addiction.
A village close to power, yet rooted in simplicity.
Halaga is not an isolated hamlet. Located barely two kilometres from the imposing Suvarna Vidhana Soudha, where the Karnataka Legislature convenes its winter session, the village houses nearly 8,500 residents. Of these, around 2,000 are children. Like most villages in contemporary India, Halaga lives in two worlds at once, deeply rooted in community life, yet fully immersed in smartphones, television serials, and social media feeds.
Over time, this digital presence began to raise quiet concerns. Teachers noticed declining attention spans. Parents complained about children avoiding homework. Ironically, the greatest distraction came not only from children’s mobile phones but also from adults glued to prime-time television serials.
The prime-time problem
“Seven to nine in the evening is the most critical time for children to study,” explains Asha H G, the Panchayat Development Officer of Halaga Gram Panchayat. “Unfortunately, this is also the time when televisions are loudest, and phones are busiest.”
This simple observation became the foundation of a bold idea: what if the entire village switched off screens during these two hours?
The proposal was discussed among Gram Panchayat members, School Development and Monitoring Committee members, teachers, and community elders. Eventually, a formal resolution was passed urging all households to voluntarily turn off televisions and mobile phones between 7 pm and 9 pm every day.
Inspired, but pioneering
The idea was inspired by a similar digital detox experiment in the Sangli district of Maharashtra. However, Halaga became the first village in Karnataka to adopt such a measure through a Gram Panchayat resolution.
The initiative was officially launched on November 14, 2025, marking Children’s Day. Symbolically, it is scheduled to run until January 24, National Girl Child Day, aligning with the 10-week Child-Friendly Gram Panchayat Campaign initiated by the Department of Panchayat Raj. Yet from the very beginning, the intention was clear: this was not meant to be a temporary social experiment.
More than a rule, a community movement
Implementing No Screen Mode required more than a siren and a resolution. It demanded trust, persuasion, and collective ownership.
Before the first siren ever sounded, the Panchayat launched an extensive awareness campaign. Teachers spoke to students in schools about the importance of focused study time. Panchayat members and volunteers went door to door, explaining to parents why the initiative mattered, not as a restriction, but as an investment in their children’s future.
Every evening at 7 pm, a siren announces the beginning of the screen-free window. During this time, Panchayat members and teachers walk through the village lanes, not as enforcers, but as reminders. There are no fines, no punishments, and no public shaming. Compliance is built on mutual respect and shared responsibility.
Reclaiming the golden hours
The immediate impact has been subtle but powerful. Homes are quieter. Children sit with textbooks. Some families read together. Others talk, sometimes for the first time in weeks, without the background noise of television debates or soap operas.
Parents, initially hesitant, are beginning to notice changes. “Earlier, even we were distracted,” admits one resident. “Now, when the TV is off, the whole house becomes calm. Children study, and we also sit with them.”
Teachers report better homework completion and increased attentiveness in class. While it may be too early for measurable academic outcomes, the social shift is unmistakable.
Breaking digital addiction together
Digital addiction among children is increasingly recognised as a serious concern across India. Smartphones reach rural households faster than libraries. Entertainment arrives instantly, but discipline does not. Halaga’s approach stands out because it does not place the burden solely on children.
Instead of telling children to study harder, the village chose to change the environment itself. By asking adults to switch off their screens too, Halaga acknowledges a hard truth: children imitate what they see. When parents put away their phones, children follow.
Leadership with vision
At the heart of this initiative is grassroots leadership. Asha H G emphasises that the idea was shaped collectively.
“This is not about controlling families,” she says. “It is about creating a learning friendly atmosphere at home. Once parents understood that this was for their own children, the response was overwhelmingly positive.”
She adds that while the campaign officially ends in January, the Panchayat plans to continue the practice even afterwards. Discussions are already underway to institutionalise the two-hour screen-free window as a permanent feature of village life.
A model for rural India
Halaga’s No Screen Mode raises an important question: can simple, low-cost community interventions succeed where policy directives often struggle?
There are no apps here to monitor screen time. No digital locks. No external funding. Just a siren, social consensus, and collective will.
In an era dominated by digital solutions to digital problems, Halaga’s analogue answer feels refreshingly grounded. It reminds us that technology, while powerful, must be guided by human values, and that sometimes, progress means pressing the off switch.
The sound that signals hope
As the siren sounds again at 9 pm, screens flicker back to life. But something has changed. The two-hour pause has already done its work. Lessons have been revised, homework completed, and conversations shared.
In the shadow of Karnataka’s legislative seat, a small village is passing its own unwritten law, one that protects a child’s right to learn in peace. Halaga’s experiment may be quiet, but its message resonates loudly: when a community comes together, even silence can speak volumes.
Dr Darshan B M is an Assistant Professor at Presidency University, Bengaluru.