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| Abbreviation | PFI |
|---|---|
| Formation | 22/11/2006 |
| Type | Voluntary Organisation |
| Purpose | Non-profit (minority development) |
| Headquarters | Deccan House, No. 5, 1st Main, 4th Cross, SK Garden, Benson Town Post, Bangalore - 560 046 |
| Location |
|
| Region served | India (kashmir to kanyakumari) |
| Official language | Tamil, Urdu,Bengali,Hindi, Kannada, Konkani, Malayalam, Meitei, Telugu |
| Chairman of the Front | E M Abdur Rahman |
| Main organ | State Presidents |
| Website | http://popularfrontindia.com |
The Popular Front of India is a Muslim umbrella group that describes itself as the largest Muslim organizations which is active in southern India. Its slogan is Naya Karavan : Naya Hindustan, which means The captain of caravan and the captain of India.These front decided to pool their resources together, combine their efforts and speak with one voice to safeguard the interest and ensure the progress and well-being of Indian minority peoples. The Front was formed on November 22, 2006 and is supported by the Karnataka Forum for Dignity (KFD), the National Development Front (NDF), and Manitha Neethi Pasarai (MNP).
History
Formation of South India Council
A common platform with the name South India Council was formed as the outcome of a Regional Discussion attended by Muslim peoples 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 (For example: educational improvement, economic upliftments of poors, Demolition of Dowry etc..), especially reservation in education and employment. KFD in Karnataka is the pioneering social movement founded by members of minority Muslim community striving to empower the community as well as fighting for the democratic rights of the people at large. The state wide Anti-Dowry Campaign and the Vidhan Soudha Chalo (State Secretariat March) are two programmes that demonstrated the reach of KFD. MNP in Tamilnadu has registered its presence in the forefront of human rights protection and legal defence through various mass awareness campaigns and peoples agitations. The monthly magazine Vidiyal Velli and the number of books published by MNP have helped in educating the masses about their rights and the growing threats to social harmony. NDF is working in Kerala since 1993 and now it has branches and cadres spread in all the 14 districts.
Conference 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.
- Manitha Neethi Pasarai - (MNP)
- National Development Front - (NDF)
- Karnataka Forum for Dignity - (KFD)
- Lillong Social Forum (Manipur)
- Andhra Pradesh Association for social justice (Andhra Pradesh)
- Community Social and Educational Society (Rajastan)
- 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.
Goals
Popular Front of India's goal is "to be an exemplary and unifying Islamic organization in India that contributes to the betterment of the Muslim community and society at large." PFI is an association of Muslim organizations and individuals that provides a common platform for presenting Islam, supporting Muslim communities, developing educational, social and outreach programs and fostering good relations with other religious communities, and civic and service organizations.
Services
PFI publishes information about Islam to be distributed with the intention of informing Muslims and non-Muslims about various issues in the religion. They provide a forum for discussing aging and mortality as well as domestic violence.
Role of Reservation for Minorities
Popular Front of India 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. 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) (Karnataka State) National Development Front (NDF) (Kerala State) Manitha Neethi Pasarai (MNP) (Tamilnadu State)
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.
Other Services
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.
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
- "Muslim bodies float front". The Hindu. 2006-12-12. Retrieved 2007-02-21.
- Popular Front of India floated
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