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The Popular Front of India is a confederation of Muslim fundamentalistorganizations 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), the National Development Front (NDF), and Manitha Neethi Pasarai (MNP). These organisations are active in the states of Karnataka, Kerala, and Tamil Nadu, respectively. As existing socio-economic models of development have failed to alleviate the poverty and backwardness of the people of the India, they decide to try for a confederation for underprivileged and the marginalized sections like dalits, backward classes and minority communities to come on one platform. Popular Front of India declares that they move towards co-ordination and management of such efforts for the achievement of socio-economic, cultural and political empowerment of the deprived and the downtrodden and the nation at large. It will try to establish an egalitarian society in which freedom, justice and security are enjoyed by all.
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 25 & 26 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 26 & 27 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 reservation in higher education, South India Council has organized three Regional Conventions on Reservation: at Calicut on 4 August 2006, at Bangalore on 5 August 2006, and at Chennai on 17 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 29 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)
- 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
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.
Social Activities
Popular Front and its allies actively involve fight against corruption and other social issues.
School Chalo Program
The organization conducts School Chalo program each year during the June-July period when the school re-opens. During this campaign, they conducted various awareness program and promotion packages to send the poor and discontinued students to school .
Reservation for Oppressed
Mass demonstration and rallies are conducted by Popular Front of India to make common people aware about their right to get education and Job. They have conducted parliament march . They conducted caravans and awareness campigns in Cities like Kokata.They has a focus that Reservation is the most immediate need of Muslims as reminded by the report submitted by the Prime Minister’s High Level Committee (Justice Rajindar Sachchar Committee) in November 2006. This report has identified the entire Muslim community as more backward than any Other Backward Communities, he said that enough discussion are going on about this report in closed doors but not in policy making places such as Assemblies and Parliaments.
Human Rights Movements
They work with diffrent Human Rights activists around india and work for bringing equal rights for people especially from deprived sectors like woman and down-trodden tribes and casts. There are many incidents where they face arrests during the protests and demonstrations when they led protests against police atrocities .
Health Awareness program
Popular front has conducted national wide health awareness programs in November 2009. This includes demonstrations on disease prevention, environmental protection,right food habits, need of yoga and exercises. Cultural programmes, cleaning of public places are also conducted. . They conducted different program in different rural areas around the nation .
Social Injustice
Popular Front of India continue fight for social injustice like Bhopal gas tragedy and the court judgment on this issue. For them, this protest is not only against the verdict on the Bhopal tragedy, but also against such atrocities on the common man.
Rescue Operations
Popular Front of India volunteers participated in rescue and relief operations in floods that struck north Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh, Bihar and Assam where large scale devastation and loss to life and property. During rescue operation, a volunteer named Salahuddin (50) lost his life in Kurnool district. Thousands of packets of food were distributed and many public facilities and educational institutes were cleaned by the volunteers. During the Mangalapuram plane crash tragedy, Popular Front volunteers actively involved in the rescue operations jointly with Police and firemen in hospitals and other rescue places. They also worked with expatriates to help families of Mangalore air crash victims with help lines and other supports.
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.
Freedom Parade on Indian Independence Day
Popular front of India and its allies conducts freedom parade on August 15th of every year from year 2004 as a part of celebrating Indian Independence Day with a slogan Be the sentinel of freedom. The national flag was carried in front of the parade by the volunteers. The parade was followed by public meeting with participation from public including woman.Orchestra bands that echoed patriotic songs were an added attraction to the parade.In 2010, they conducted the parade in Uduppi and Mettuppalayam . In the previous years they have conducted the parade in other cities of South India like Mangalapuram and Madurai
In 2010,Popular front parade in Mettupalayam, the Keynote Address was given by O.M.A Salam,National Secretary,Popular front of India. In his speech he said, "This is the right time to renew our determination to protect the freedom of our beloved country. Once we all Indians united and fought against British colonial Forces. Then we achieved the Freedom. But now the Independence of India is under threat".
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..
Attack on Professor T J Joseph
Main article: Attack on T. J. JosephOn July 4, 2010, two activists of the Popular Front of India were arrested in conjunction with an incident in which they hurled homemade bombs at and chopped the hand off a Kerala professor who allegedly attacked Muslim religious sentiments in class. At the time of the attack, Joseph was suspended from his duties at a private Christian college at Muvattapuzha and had been accused of blasphemy. The professor's wife and 83 year old mother in law were also attacked. The state police of Kerala claim to be "unearthing the vast network" of the PFI. After a series of raids performed by police at the houses of PFI members, the district secretary of the PFI "threatened the officer with dire consequences if he continued raiding the houses of its activists".. On July 9th, 2010, it was reported that PFI installations were being raided by police, and that they had found propaganda videos from the global Islamic terrorist network al-Qaeda in the possession of one alleged PFI member, and a rifle, fake SIM cards, and fake identity cards in the possession of another member of the PFI.
In a press conference, representatives of the PFI acknowledged that the attack was made by PFI members, but condemned the use of violence.
Connection with other terror networks
They also run Sharia Courts- Darul-Khuda with its chairman at Erattupetta and those various branches are also under police scanner.
The Popular Front of India is also accused of blocking the wall construction of Naval Armament Depot, Cochin, Kerala in company of a local member of Kerala Legislative Assembly.
Anti - India rants
In 2006, the PFI brought out Thejas, which has its pet themes. The ‘Kashmiri militants’ are referred to as ‘fighters’. The newspaper carries dramatic stories about the “life of victims of police atrocities”, violation of human rights, fake encounters and regularly features anti-West rants
Investigation of Love Jihad
In 2009, the Kerala high court asked the state police to investigate allegations that the PFI was attempting to increase the number of Muslims by enticing young women to convert to Islam. late 2009, The Karnataka CID (Criminal Investigation Department) reported that although it was continuing to investigate, it had found no evidence that a "Love Jihad" existed. In early 2010, the State Government reported to the Karnataka High Court that although a large number of young Hindu women had converted to Islam, there was no organized attempt to convince them to do so. However, according to the Kerala Chief Minister V S Achutanandan, the PFI has plans to Islamize Kerala over a 20 year period using "money and marriages", attempting to influence "youth of other religions and converting them by giving money, marrying them to Muslim women and thus producing kids of the community”. PFI state unit president Nasaruddeen Elamaram responded by claiming that the charges were baseless, and BJP Mahila Morcha leader Sobha Surendran responded with doubts as to the Chief Minister's sincerity.
References
- Handsome Muslim men accused of waging 'love jihad' in India The Telegraph, 13 Oct 2009
- "Muslim bodies float front". The Hindu. 2006-12-12. Retrieved 2007-02-21.
- Popular Front of India floated
- PFI's 'Empower India Conf.', Dated: Feb 15,2007
- Implement Mishra committee recommendations: conference
- Popular Front talking about the mission
- The Hindu: 2005/11/17 - In Hyderabad
- Declare Muslims backward for quota
- Reservation to help overcome discrimination in society
- National Convention organised by All India Milli Council and South India Council
- Popular Front of India: About Page
- Manipur Lillong Social Forum campaign
- Citizens' forum exposes malpractice by Goa poll officers
- Romi Lipi Action Front - Letter to Chief Minister
- National Convention on Reservation in Education, New Delhi
- exposes malpractice goa poll officers
- Dharna in front of Passport Office
- school chalo program
- School Chalo Program
- Parliament March for Muslim Reservation
- Popular Front to Hold Parliament March for Muslim Reservation
- Parliament March
- National Campaign for Muslim Reservation programme in West Bengal
- CoastalDigest.com: Reservation is the right of Indian Muslims
- Demonstration
- Popular Front cadre court arrest
- Popular Front’s National Public Health Campaign in Nov 2009
- PFI Health Campaign 2009
- Popular Front activists come out to clean Bangalore streets
- PFI protests against verdict on Bhopal gas tragedy
- PFI running massive relief operations
- Popular Front of India Reaches Out to Flood Victims
- Popular Front of India reaches to flood victims in Karnataka and Andhra
- Popular Front of India expresses condolences for the Mangalore Plane Accident
- Emirates India Fraternity Forum to help Mangalore crash victim families
- "`Create broad-based alliance of all oppressed sections'". The Hindu. 2007-02-18. Retrieved 2007-02-21.
- Alan Hart addressing in Empower India Conference
- Aim for Empowerment through Constant Struggle - Advisor to South African
- Grand Start for Popular Front National Political Conference
- PFI Freedom Parade
- Freedom Parade held in Karnataka and Tamil Nadu
- Freedom parade at Mettupalayam
- Popular Front's spearheaded 'Freedom Parade'
- Parade in Mettupalayam, Tamilnadu
- Udpui: PFI celebrates Independence Day
- Freedom Parade at Mangalapuram
- 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
- 2 arrested in lecturer assault case Hindustan Times - July 5, 2010
- ^ Press Trust Of India (09 July, 2010). "Propaganda CD suspected to be that of Al Queda seized". Hindustan Times.
{{cite news}}: Check date values in:|date=(help) - Alastair Lawson (8 July 2010). "Family of Indian professor 'forgives' attackers". BBC News.
- "Gulf-bound persons under police scanner". Express News Service. 09 Jul 2010.
{{cite news}}: Check date values in:|date=(help) - HT Correspondent. "Kerala prof attacker now threatens cop". Hindustan Times.
{{cite news}}:|author=has generic name (help) -
Md Ali (2010-07=31). "We condemn attack on professor in strongest term: PFI". TwoCircles.net.
{{cite news}}: Check date values in:|date=(help) - http://www.kaumudi.com/news/071110/kerala.stm#12
- http://mangalam.com/index.php?page=detail&nid=320268&lang=malayalam
- http://www.indianexpress.com/news/blood-on-their-hands/644789/5
- ^ "Kerala CM reignites 'love jihad' theory". The Times of India. 2010-07-26.
- "Karnataka CID finds no evidence of 'Love Jihad'". The Hindu. 2009-11-13.
- Staff Reporter (2010-04-23). "No love jihad movement in State'". The Hindu.
External links
- Popular Front Of India
- Thejas Newspaper
- Create broad-based alliance of all oppressed sections, The Hindu, Feb 18, 2007
- Video summarizing the Empower India Conference