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A common platform called South India Council was formed as the outcome of a discussion attended by social activists and intellectuals from all the South Indian States at Bangalore on 25th & 26th January 2004. Later the Council took up various issues related to community empowerment, especially reservation in education and employment. With the cooperation of Confederation of Muslim Institutions in India, the Council organized a two day workshop on Muslim reservation on 26th & 27th November 2005 at Hyderabad.
When the Central Government decided to introduce reservation in higher education, the Council 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 jointly with All India Milli Council at New Delhi on 29th August 2006
Karnataka Forum for Dignity (KFD) (Karnataka) National Development Front (NDF) (Kerala ) Manitha Neethi Pasarai (MNP) (Tamil Nadu ) were the constituents of the Council
The leadership of these organizations gave serious thought to the benefit of better coordination among them. The issue was discussed by the rank and file of the organizations. To mark a successful turning point , a joint meeting of the Secretariat of South India Council and representatives of KFD, NDF and MNP held on 22nd November 2006 at Calicut decided to launch Popular Front of India as a federation and approved the vision statement.
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)
- Lillong Social Forum (Manipur)
- Andhra Pradesh Association for social justice (Andhra Pradesh)
- Community Social and Educational Society (Rajstan)
- Nagarik Adhikar Suraksha Samithi (West Bengal)
- Goa Citizens Forum (Goa)
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 22 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.
Events
- 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.
- National Political Conference
The Grand Public Meeting at Calicut beach on 17 February 29 which marked the conclusion of National Political Conference witnessed the merger of social organizations in eight states in to Popular Front of India. Along with the states presidents of NDF Kerala, MNP Tamil Nadu and KFD Karnataka which have already merged with Popular Front, heads of social organizations in Andhra Pradesh, Goa, Rajasthan, West Bengal and Manipur joined hands on the dais with the Popular Front chairman.
Involvement in violence and terrorism
The PFI is alleged to be a front for Islamic terrorist organizations and is seen by many quarters as the political facade for Radical Islam in India. The organization has been involved in a large number of communal incidents in Karnataka, Kerala and Tamil Nadu. In particular the PFI's activities in instigating Muslims against Hindus came into sharp focus during the religious riots that rocked Mysore city during 2009 when PFI organized riots resulting in the deaths of 3 people and injuries to scores of innocent citizens and policemen..
On July 11, 2010 Police has seized bombs, weapons from a Popular Front of India office at Kannur
Attack on Professor T J Joseph
Thousands of people staged protest marches today under the banner of Popular Front of India against police who are torturing Muslim youths in the guise of investigation into the assault against controversial professor T J Joseph, an accused in a blasphemy case. Following the assault on the professor, the state police are haunting innocent Muslim youths, conducting raids at their houses and spreading rumors and trying malign the Popular Front through base less allegations. Certain sections of the media work in connivance with them. Popular Front had organized marches to protest against these attempts to create communal divide in the society Popular Front activists held protest marches in the cities and towns across Kerala. Hundreds of people participated in each marches, giving strong warnings to the authorities who are indulged in vilification campaign against Popular Front and its activists. They shouted slogans against certain vicious elements in police force and media organizations. Instead of arresting real culprits behind the attack on teacher, state authorities are targeting the community as a whole, the protesters alleged. They warned those who are in vain hope of intimidating Popular Front activists through these means that they would withstand all their heinous attempts and come victorious as in earlier cases.
National Development Front and not the PFI as previously believed
References
- Summery section : popularfront-india.com
- "`Create broad-based alliance of all oppressed sections'". The Hindu. 2007-02-18. Retrieved 2007-02-21.
- Alan Hart addressing in Empower India Conference
- http://www.timesofindia.com/2009/34580100.htm
- " Police unearths links between Islamic Terrorists and PFI " http://www.hindu.com/2009/02/18/stories/200702165634580100.htm
- http://mangalam.com/index.php?page=detail&nid=320424&lang=malayalam
- Jayaran, V. R. (July 24, 2010). "It was NDF job, admits accused in prof attack case". The Pioneer. Kochi.
Yunus, an accused in the case of the July 4 attack on Prof TJ Joseph of Muvattupuzha, has confessed to the police that the attack was carried out by none other than Islamist Popular Front of India (formerly NDF) even as yet another activist of the outfit was arrested. Rejecting the theory that the assailants were hoodlums hired by the Popular Front, he said that all the perpetrators were the outfit's activists.
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External links
- Popular Front Of India
- Thejas News
- Create broad-based alliance of all oppressed sections, The Hindu, Feb 18, 2007
- Video summarizing the Empower India Conference