The Union government's move comes days after nationwide multi-agency raids against PFI and its political wing SDPI.
A KSRTC bus vandalised by PFI activists in East Fort in Thiruvanathapuram while protesting the arrest of its leaders on September 22. (South First)
Union Government on Wednesday, September 28, invoked the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act to ban the pan-Indian radical Islamic organisation Popular Front of India (PFI). Eight affiliate outfits of PFI, including its student wing Campus Front of India, have been deemed “unlawful” for five years.
The Social Democratic Party of India (SDPI) — the PFI’s political wing — has, however, not been deemed unlawful or banned. SDPI is a registered political party and only the Election Commission of India can initiate action against it.
The move to ban PFI comes barely a week since a multi-agency operation spearheaded by the National Investigation Agency (NIA) raided 93 locations associated with PFI in 15 states and arrested most of its frontal leaders.
When contacted by South First, PFI’s national spokesperson Ahmed Kutty said he has nothing to say on the ban as he received no communication from the higher-ups on the way ahead.
“I have been out of communication with the leaders since the raids and arrests began on September 22. I have no idea about the future of the organisation,” he said.
“Consultations are not possible in the given circumstances.”
An extraordinary gazette notification was issued in this regard early on Wednesday, curiously at a time when Prime Minister Narendra Modi was visiting Japan for the funeral of Shinzo Abe and Home Minister Amit Shah left for Gujarat to address election rallies.
The notification accuses the organisation of radicalising Muslim youth. The ban of PFI is expected to feature prominently in election rally speeches of BJP leaders.
With PFI finding its place in the list, India now has 42 banned “terrorist organisations” coming under Section 35 of the UAPA.
As per the Union Home Ministry notification, the ban is also extended to PFI’s associate organisations such as Rehab India Foundation (RIF), All India Imams Council (AIIC), National Confederation of Human Rights Organisations (NCHRO), National Women’s Front, Junior Front, Empower India Foundation and Rehab Foundation, Kerala.
The Union government in the notification has said that some PFI activists had joined the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria to engage in cross-border terrorism.
Within the country, the notification said, the organisation had engaged in violent activities, which even extended to the chopping off the limb of a college professor in Kerala for alleged blasphemy.
The notification also points out that many members of the PFI were members of another banned outfit, the Student Islamic Movement of India (SIMI)
However, observers point out that the organisation has a considerable mass base and military-like command structure across South India, and a formal ban alone would not curb its activities.
Talking to South First in Thiruvananthapuram, CPI(M) State Secretary MV Govindan said a formal ban alone will not help end any political or religious philosophy.
“We have to fight out PFI and similar organisations ideologically. The country has a long history of banning organisations which will later reappear in the social arena under other names.
“If the ban is for fanning the flames of violence and dividing the people on religious lines, the first priority must be the RSS,” said Govindan.
Kerala’s Opposition leader and Congress MLA VD Satheesan told South First when contacted that a formal ban alone would not help contain the threats posed by radical organisations like PFI.
He said PFI attempted to create an Islamic version of the RSS agenda to create divisions in the social fabric of society on communal lines.
Meanwhile, the Indian Union Muslim League (IUML), one of the largest minority-based parties in the country and the second-largest constituent of Kerala’s opposition UDF, has welcomed the ban, saying Islam does not approve of those who plot conspiracies against other segments of society using bombs and swords.
Party leader and MLA MK Muneer told South First that secular and democratic forces in the country are the sole options left before the Muslim community to associate with.
“Deradicalising the indoctrinated youth is the main task. IUML has an obligation to do so. On the other hand, the formal ban has many limitations. It will not address the larger question of fighting communalism and terrorism,” he said.
“The Union government’s decision to ban PFI is a welcome decision. NIA and other agencies have collected evidence against them. They are a divisive outfit that is pitting India’s youth against the country. This ban will help maintain peace,” Araga Jnanendra, Home Minister, Karnataka told reporters on Wednesday morning.
According to legal experts, the ban will prevent PFI’s leaders and cadres from openly identifying with the organisation. If they do so, they will face a jail term extending up to two years.
The ban was imposed a day after 270 PFI cadres were detained or arrested in a series of raids conducted in seven states, mainly in Karnataka. The ban will also adversely affect the functioning of the SDPI, the political party promoted by PFI.
The PFI was constituted in 2007 after the merger of three Muslim organisations in southern India, the National Democratic Front in Kerala, the Karnataka Forum for Dignity, and the Manitha Neethi Pasarai in Tamil Nadu.
The formation of the PFI was formally announced at a rally in Bengaluru during the ‘Empower India Conference’ on February 16, 2007.
The PFI, which emerged after the ban on the SIMI, has projected itself as an organisation that fights for the rights of minorities, Dalits, and other marginalised communities.
“And whereas, the Central Government, having regard to the above circumstances, is of the firm opinion that it is necessary to declare the PFI and its associated or affiliates or fronts as an unlawful association with immediate effect, and accordingly, in the exercise of the powers conferred by the proviso to sub-section (3) of section 2 of the said Act, the Central Government hereby directs that this notification shall, subject to any order that may be made under section 4 of the said Act, have effect for a period of five years from the date of its publication in the Official Gazette,” said the notification.
“There had been a number of instances of international linkages of PFI with Global Terrorist Groups, and some activists of the PFI have joined Islamic State of Iraq and Syria and participated in terror activities in Syria, Iraq and Afghanistan,” it further said.
“Investigations in various cases have revealed that the PFI and its cadres have repeatedly been engaging in violent and subversive acts. Criminal, violent acts carried out by PFI include chopping off limbs of a college professor, cold blooded killings of persons associated with organizations espousing other faiths, obtaining explosives to target prominent people and places and destruction of public property,” it said.
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