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The Popular Front of India is a confederation of minority society organisaitons which is active in southern India. Its slogan is Naya Karavan : Naya Hindustan, which means The new travelling group and the new India The Front was formed on November 22 2006 and is supported by the Karnataka Forum for Dignity (KFD), National Development Front (NDF), and Manitha Neethi Pasarai (MNP). These organisations are active in the states of Karnataka, Kerala, and Tamil Nadu, respectively.

Background

A common platform with the name South India Council was formed as the outcome of a Regional Discussion attended by Muslim social activists and intellectuals from all the South Indian States at Bangalore on 25th & 26th January 2004. South India Council has taken up various issues related to community empowerment, especially reservation in education and employment. South India Council, with the cooperation of Confederation of Muslim Institutions in India organized a two day Workshop on Muslim Reservation on 26th & 27th November 2005 at Hyderabad. Mr. K. Rahman Khan, Hon’ble Deputy Chairperson, Rajya Sabha inaugurated the same.

In the context of Central Government decision to introduce reservation in higher education, South India Council has organized three Regional Conventions on Reservation: at Calicut on 4th August 2006, at Bangalore on 5th August 2006, and at Chennai on 17th August 2006. A National Convention on Reservation in Higher Education was organized by the South India Council jointly with All India Milli Council at New Delhi on 29th August 2006. The dignitaries who addressed the convention include Mr. V. P. Singh, Hon’ble Former Prime Minister and Mr. Oscar Fernandez, Hon’ble Union Minister.

Confereration of Organisations

The following three state level organizations have proved their commitment to the common cause of social justice by actively involving in various programmes of the Council.

• Karnataka Forum for Dignity - (KFD)
• National Development Front - (NDF)
• Manitha Neethi Pasarai - (MNP)

It is felt that if these three independent state level organizations work with more cooperation and coordination, the results would be more evident. The Secretariat of the South India Council which consists of leaders associated with these three organizations gave serious thought to this matter in different meetings. The issue was discussed within the respective organizations also. All the state organizations have given the opinion that each of them will continue to work separately as independent organizations, but they would work together as constituents of a federation. To mark a successful turning point to the above efforts, a joint meeting of the Secretariat of South India Council and representatives of KFD, NDF and MNP held 22nd November 2006 at Calicut decided to launch Popular Front of India as a federation and approved the vision statement.

Popular Front of India declares that it will confine its activities to the South Indian States and presently this federation includes KFD, NDF and MNP.

Empower India Conference

• Empower India Conference : In February 2007, the PFI organised a three-day Empower India Conference in Bangalore, which ended with a public rally that gathered over 30,000 people..In the conference, one of the main guest, Alan Hart, British journalist specialising in West-Asian affairs, said that he had unlearnt many stereotypes about the oppressed classes in the course of making a film on global poverty.

The Dialogue Sessions

• The dialogue session held on the first day of the Empower India Conference. Speaking in the dialogue session on Human rights at the Bahadur Shah Zafar Hall, Prof. Hasan Mansoor, President PUCL, Karnataka opined that the development of any country couldn’t be possible ignoring the large majority of the people comprising of backward and minority communities.
• Another dialogue session on right for justice was also held as a part of the conference. So the legal awareness is the only antidote to tackle the problem. To undertake this Himalayan task, the session proposed an All India lawyers Forum under the Popular Front of India.

• On the Dialogue session on Reservation, Dr. Arshi Khan of Hamdard University said that the anti-reservation campaign can be contended with the provisions of the constitution itself.

• Speaking in the dialogue session on Media Intervention at Shaheed Kunhali Marakkar Hall, Mr. Sadathulla Khan, Editor of Islamic Voice, Bangalore, urged the to pay more attention in the field of Media. Mr. Safarul Islam, editor, Milli Gazette was of the opinion that the commercialization of the media has led to their anit-people stance.

Key Speakers in The Conference

• Mr. Alan Hart: "Real democracy exists nowhere on planet earth, the least in America and to exist real democracy, citizens of nations must be given participation in discussions about policy matters and hold their leaders accountable for. Americans, as others, are not informed enough and are not empowered to make democracy work".

• Dr. Arshi Khan: A well known academist from Aligarh Muslim University, gave the constitutional and human rights perspective of democratic entitlement of Indian Muslims.

• Dr. M. S. Jayaprakash: A well known historian and Dalit activist from Kerala, pointed out the dangers of history created by upper casts of India. "The Aryans fabricated new history for their new India through their scriptures in order to destroy all other communities. Dr. Ambedkar had observed that you can destroy a society by destroying their history".

• Mr. V. T. Rajshekar: Editor of Dalit Voice said "In India, thoughts are so tightly controlled by its micro-minority Brahminical Social Order. Brahmin influence on Marxism by taking over the leadership of Marxist parties, Marxism became the other name of Brahminism."

References

1. "Muslim bodies float front". The Hindu. 2006-12-12. Retrieved 2007-02-21. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
2. Popular Front of India floated
3. See the background section in site popularfront-india.com
4. Summery section : popularfront-india.com
5. "`Create broad-based alliance of all oppressed sections'". The Hindu. 2007-02-18. Retrieved 2007-02-21. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
6. Alan Hart addressing in Empower India Conference
7. Dialog Sessions in EIC
8. The key speakers of Conference.

External links

• Popular Front Of India
• Create broad-based alliance of all oppressed sections, The Hindu, Feb 18, 2007
• Video summarizing the Empower India Conference

• Human rights by country
• 2007 in India
• Politics of India