The Students Islamic Movement of India (SIMI) was the mastermind of the 2006 Mumbai blasts that killed over 209 people and the 2008 Ahmedabad blasts which saw the recent exoneration of its leader Safdar Nagori. The terror organization worked on the ideas of establishing Sharia and governing the country based on the Quran, propagation of Islam and carrying out “Jihad” for the cause of Islam.
However, when the government banned the terror outfit after almost four decades of its existence, it broke down and birthed another terrorist organization named Indian Mujahideen. Now, it appears that other offshoots of SIMI have sprung into existence with the Popular Front of India (PFI) leading the charge.
The active involvement of PFI in the anti-CAA riots and now the Hijab-Burqa controversy has led to growing voices, asking the government to ban the outfit. And it is high time that the Modi government takes decisive action.
Radical Islamist outfit Popular Front of India (PFI) accused of having ties with terror organizations like ISIS and LeT on Thursday held a meeting in West Bengal’s Murshidabad district. The PFI cadre workers clad in their ugly uniforms tried to show their strength whilst being ably supported by Trinamool Congress MLA Manirul Islam. Lately, the Islamist outfit has been trying to legitimize itself by performing such drills across the country.
During the rally, the PFI national secretary Mohamed Shakif spewed venom against RSS by calling it a “cancer” and accusing it of dividing India’s Hindus and Muslims amid slogans of Allahu Akbar and PFI zindabad.
Shakif was quoted as saying by The Print, “The RSS is a cancer. We are the only organisation in this country that stands as a thorn in their path. That’s why they target us. They call us ‘fringe’. We will die, but we will not bow our heads,”
He further commented on the Hijab-Burqa controversy by stating, “We saw how a few metres of cloth has become a danger in this country. The RSS created drama and sent their boys in saffron, and created pressure on the court. Hijab is our fundamental right. Don’t teach us the Qur’an. Hijab will be there till qayamat,”
Rajasthan Congress government kneels in front of PFI
It is pertinent to note that PFI’s show of strength in West Bengal comes on the heels of the Rajasthan government led by Congress leader Ashok Gehlot allowing the radical outfit to hold a protest in the state. A unity march was organized by PFI in the Kota district of the state on the occasion of its annual ‘PFI Day’.
Rajasthan | Popular Front of India (PFI) workers march to Nayapura Stadium in Kota ahead of a public rally there to mark the foundation day of the org. PFI is banned in some states of the country.
District admn has permitted them to organise a public meet at the Stadium today. pic.twitter.com/PCtYkwTCHv
— ANI (@ANI) February 17, 2022
Kota is the centre of JEE preparations in the country and the presence of such a rabid organization in the vicinity of impressionable students can have a negative effect. PFI has been infamous for brainwashing the young and luring them into the terror camps.
What is PFI?
PFI is an Islamic extremist organization known to stoke communal discord and subsequent violence across the country. It was formed in 2006, as a successor to National Development Front.
Based in Kerala, this political outfit is a top favourite of the secular parties and an eyesore to the legal authorities. Notorious for its strong links with ISIS, this organization has been given complete freedom in states like Kerala and Bengal, and the repercussions are for everyone to see.
During the anti-Citizenship Amendment Act protests back in 2020, the Uttar Pradesh government blamed PFI for the violent activities and protests in the state, followed by the Assam government which approached the Centre seeking a ban on the radical Muslim outfit PFI for their active involvement in the violent incidents and vandalism during the anti-CAA protests in the state.
Read More: After PFI and SIMI, Pakistan’s involvement emerges in Anti-CAA violence
The Kerala government in 2014 had submitted a report claiming PFI’s involvement in the murder and anti-national activities. The central investigating agencies had earlier even found links between PFI and Pakistani spy agency, ISI. Uttar Pradesh, Karnataka, Jharkhand have already demanded a ban on PFI by the Home Ministry.
Last year, the Enforcement Directorate (ED) had alleged that the PFI raised money through hawala channels for running terror camps in Kerala. Besides this, it has been accused by the National Investigative Agency (NIA) of being involved in the controversial ‘love jihad’ cases in Kerala.
Campus Front of India – PFIs student wing indoctrinating the youth
Campus Front of India, the student wing of PFI, is expanding exponentially in the campuses across Kerala with the rising number of Muslims in the state. CFI was responsible for indoctrinating the young Muslims into the agitation against the government.
It protested against the supposed “atrocities” against Rohingya people in India and wanted Muslim girls to be allowed to wear scarfs during the entrance exams. CFI and PFI have been actively working with Jamaat-e-Islami Hind to push the Muslim students to extend the Hijab controversy.
It was in September last year that Assam Chief Minister (CM) Himanta Biswa Sarma hinted at the possibility of the extremist Islamist group’s involvement in the violence that broke out during an eviction drive in Darrang district.
The Assam CM was quoted as saying, “The situation is normal now. As many as 60 families have to be evicted but there were 10,000 people, who brought them…Popular Front of India’s name is emerging in this but I’ll not give any comment till the judicial probe is completed,”
PFI is a threat to the secular and cultural fabric of India. It is a rabid, Islamist organisation that has been allowed to fester for long. And if allowed to fester unchecked, it could grow, if it hasn’t already into SIMI 2.0. The latter was a big menace to the country and became a monster. The Modi government with its zero-tolerance policy towards terrorism should pre-empt the threat and outrightly ban PFI, and erase it from existence.