 saw 270 people being sent to preventive detention in seven states.){kind=link}
Tuesday’s crackdown against the Popular Front of India (PFI) saw 270 people being sent to preventive detention in seven states.
Tuesday’s crackdown against the Popular Front of India (PFI), which saw 270 people being sent to preventive detention in seven states, was primarily aimed at those who are possibly involved in mass mobilization for the purpose of rioting, intelligence sources told CNN-News18.
Activist, Tehseen Poonawalla said, “Delighted that the Popular Front of India or PFI is finally banned under massive pressure from the opposition and people of India. But will the agencies investigate their links in creating tension, polarizing the country thus helping BJP win elections?
Delighted that the Popular Front of India or PFI is finally banned under massive pressure from the opposition and people of India. But will the agencies investigate their links in creating tension, polarizing the country thus helping BJP win elections?
— Tehseen Poonawalla Official 🇮🇳 (@tehseenp) September 28, 2022
He went on to say, “Let us be very clear PFI is banned because it is allegedly a terrorist organization. Not because it is a Muslim organization! Most Indian Muslims don’t even know what this organization stood for & almost every Indian Muslim did not want them to advocate for Muslims.”
Let us be very clear PFI is banned because it is allegedly a terrorist organization. Not because it is a Muslim organization! Most Indian Muslims don't even know what this organization stood for & almost every Indian Muslim did not want them to advocate for Muslims.
— Tehseen Poonawalla Official 🇮🇳 (@tehseenp) September 28, 2022
He also said, “Most Muslims did not know of what the PFI represented and hence almost every Muslim did not want them to advocate for Muslims. Baba only when u know what xyz organization stands for – can they advocate na!”
AIMIM Chief Asaduddin Owaisi doesn’t support the ban on the Popular Front of India because it will be used in the wrong context. Listen in to what he says.
#AIMIM Chief #AsaduddinOwaisi Doesn't Support Ban On #PopularFrontofIndia #PFIBan #PFI pic.twitter.com/BYsaX15nY0
— BNN Channel (@Bavazir_network) September 28, 2022
State police forces detained 56 people in Uttar Pradesh, 74 in Karnataka, 23 in Assam, 34 in Delhi, 47 in Maharashtra, 21 in Madhya Pradesh, and 15 in Gujarat, who were identified after the first round of raids.
On September 22, multi-agency teams spearheaded by the National Investigation Agency (NIA) arrested 106 leaders and activists of the PFI in 15 states for allegedly supporting terror activities in the country. The NIA is investigating 19 cases involving the PFI. As police teams fanned out across their respective states on Tuesday, seemingly synchronized, the action was swift.
Preventive detention cases have been filed against them under sections 107 and 151 of the Criminal Procedure Code (CrPC).
The detainees will be produced before the executive magistrate and will be asked to fill bonds that they would not indulge in rioting, said sources. They are likely to be released in the next two-three days, sources added.
After the first round of raids, the PFI was planning riots and communal tension, riding on the sympathy wave, said sources. One group was involved in mass mobilization to gain international sympathy and calls were made for legal assistance. These groups seem political, but they have terror links and wanted a repeat of the riots like in East Delhi, said sources.
Who is the PFI?
PFI is a fundamentalist Islamist organization founded in 2006 with the merger of a few regional Islamist groups namely the National Development Front (NDF), Manitha Neethi Pasarai, and Karnataka Forum for Dignity (KFD).
According to intelligence sources, the PFI runs three front organizations — India Fraternity Forum (IFF), Indian Social Forum (ISF), and Rehab Indian Foundation (RIF) in Gulf Countries.
Sources say the PFI trained the cadre to respond violently to anti-Muslim organizations and individuals.
Following the September 22 searches, the PFI said the raids are taking place at the homes of national, state, and local leaders of the outfit and that the state committee office in Kerala is also being raided. “We strongly protest the fascist regime’s moves to use agencies to silence dissenting voices,” it said in a statement.
Violent History of Riots Between Hindus and Muslims
Riots mostly Between Hindus and Muslims have been gory. Fake statistics are often spread around to spark communal tensions. While it is not easy to rake up the past because wounds get scratched, these are issues that most keep quiet about, while propaganda is being spread through WhatsApp groups. Fake literature ravages the right-wing masses.
In a brief nutshell, here are some of the most drastic massacres starting with the Partition of India with official records saying one million lost their lives, unofficial records saying six million Muslims were slaughtered and four million and seventy-five thousand Hindus were massacred. Nevertheless, it was humans who were killed, due to ignorance and hatred.
In the 964 Kolkata riots, 438 people were injured. In the 1983 Nellie massacre 1,800 Muslims were slaughtered by Lalung tribespeople. Most severe massacres since World War II with the majority of victims being women and children, as a result of the actions of the Assam Movement.
From 1969 to 1989 Gujarat riots” 630 people were killed and mostly Muslims died.
In 1980 in Moradabad, 2,500 people were killed were Muslims were killed. Local police were directly involved in planning the violence.
In 1989 in Bhagalpur, 1,000 were killed; carried out by VHP activists, who were rising in multitudes in a show of strength and to serve as a warning to the minority communities.
In the 1987 Hashimpura massacre where 42 Muslim youth from the Hashimpura mohalla (locality) of the city, took them in a truck to the outskirts, near Murad Nagar, in Ghaziabad district, where they were shot and their bodies were dumped in water canals.
During the 1989 Bhagalpur violence: 1,000 people were killed, which was the worst Hindu-Muslim violence in independent India at the time.
In the 1992 Bombay riots: 900 people were killed in mob rioting and firing by the police. Pre-planned and that Hindu rioters had been given access to information about the locations of Muslim homes and businesses from non-public sources.
The most shocking massacre of mostly Muslims occurred in the 2002 Gujarat riots: Estimated 2,000 Muslims were killed.
In the 2013 Muzaffarnagar riots: 42 Muslims and 20 Hindus were killed.
During the 2020 Delhi riots: 53 were killed and more than 200 seriously injured mostly Muslims killed and injured
Mass killings under communist regimes occurred during the 20th century through a variety of means, including executions, famine, and deaths through forced labor, deportation, and imprisonment. Some of these events have been classified as genocides or crimes against humanity and it would not be surprising if Muslim groups rose at these times to protect themselves.
In the last few years, Muslims have been particularly framed and attacked by various fringe groups. The lynching of many Muslims shot up due to the beef ban laws, and Muslims were falsely implicated for cattle smuggling when most of them had legal papers and all this could trigger extreme organizations like the PFI to rise.
Congress has praised the Central government’s decision to ban the PFI and its allied bodies. In the same breath though, the party has also sought a ban on the RSS accusing it of ‘spreading communalism throughout the country, to quote Mallapuram MP Kodikunnil Suresh. Speaking to the media on the PFI ban, Suresh who is also the Chief Whip of Congress in the Lok Sabha claimed that RSS also perpetuates communalism in the country. Making a comparison between the two outfits, he contended that nothing will be achieved unless RSS is also banned by the Centre.
He said, “We are also demanding a ban on RSS also. PFI ban is not a remedy. RSS is also indulging in communalism across the country. RSS is spreading Hindu communalism everywhere. RSS and PFI are equal. So, the government should ban both,” the Congress leader said.
It is not yet clear whether the crackdown on PFI is genuine or yet another political gimmick. A section of the opposition considers it as the usual pattern of the ruling party to try to win elections through polarization, though the investigation agencies link the PFI with the possible mass mobilization for the purpose of rioting.