The network of PFI, the new avatar of the previously banned SIMI, is spread over 22 states so far.
New Delhi: The forms of terrorist violence keep changing like demonic faces. Courts protecting the law of serious offenses and stringent punishment for terrorist activities ask for sufficient evidence when there is a case of a terrorist or his covert aides. It is not easy for the police or intelligence agencies to collect evidence of conspiracy secretly aided by domestic or foreign terrorist organizations or foreign forces. A few months ago, after the allegations of alleged Kerala journalist Siddiqui Kappan for aiding in terrorism came to light, the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court N.V. Ramana and Justice Surya Kant asked the Solicitor General of India Tushar Mehta whether the Popular Front of India (PFI) is banned. Mehta replied that “this organisation is banned in some states because it is associated with violence, killings, kidnapping and foreign terrorist organizations”. The central government is considering a ban.
There have been many cases like Kappan. It is a fact that the network of PFI is spread over 22 states so far. The Kerala government had also banned it. The Karnataka government recently told the court that it was considering imposing a ban. In this way, the affiliated organizations National Women’s Front and Campus Front of India are also active across the country. PFI is the new avatar of the previously banned SIMI (Students Islamic Movement of India). It has been accused of serious charges of murder, arms training, kidnapping, funding anti-India militant movements, and links to terrorist organizations such as the Taliban and Al Qaeda. Security agencies have also provided much evidence to the government. Therefore, when the incident of Jahangirpuri communal violence came to the fore in the past, it is natural to be concerned about some evidence of the suspected accused being linked to PFI. The activities of this organization are now expanding from the South Indian states to the North.
SIMI was formed long back in 1977 by Jamat-e-Islami Hind. Taking advantage of the democratic system and the cooperation of some political parties and leaders, its web spread and violent attacks continued. Then in 2001, the process of banning SIMI started. The five-year ban kept increasing every time. That’s why the PFI was raised. Some Kashmiri organizations taking help from Maoist Naxals or Pakistan have been creating organizations with new names in the same way. Such misuse of the right of law and democracy will probably not be seen in any country in the world. There are some anti-India terrorist organizations active in countries like Britain, America, Canada, but instead of taking the risk of spreading violence in those countries, they keep sending people to India by funding or other means such as by sending arms, drugs etc. They defame India by raising the flag of human rights or keep getting help from Islamic countries in the name of religion.
There is no doubt that the Indian sub-continent has been a geographical target by the Maoists and Islamic fundamentalist groups. These elements neither have faith in the land of birth nor any national boundary. This is the reason that instead of curbing terrorist activities, Communist China supports organizations including the Taliban of Pakistan and Afghanistan indirectly.
After the Marxist communists in India, the declared Maoist organizations created conditions of destruction by violent activities in the tribal areas. In the name of civil-human rights, such extremists have been getting help from a section of politicians, lawyers, doctors, journalists, NGOs, and social workers, sometimes openly and sometimes covertly. After coming to power, Prime Minister Narendra Modi has campaigned for strict action on these activities and organizations. When investigating agencies and police take any action in different states, there is a long chain of witness evidence in the courts. It is not taken into account how can there be eyewitness accounts of money and weapons being raised on the strength of remote forests or pseudo-companies-organizations or paper evidence available in the digital age? Yes, necessary rules and regulations should be amended or newly made to punish the accused arrested in a violent incident in Delhi, Mumbai or other areas with a time-bound manner. Leaders of political parties, who come to power in the states, create more problems. They indirectly protect those accused of violent terrorist activities by using the legislature’s discretion. That should be stopped.
The most interesting situation is in West Bengal. Ten to fifteen years ago, Mamata Banerjee publicly accused the Communist government of “Jungle Raj”. Now not only the Bharatiya Janata Party, but also the Communist parties are making serious allegations of harbouring criminals for hundreds of murders and political attacks during Banerjee’s rule. Marxist communists are continuously in power in Kerala and there are cases of foreign aid to radical organizations and there is no police action on the killings of BJP or Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh workers. Jammu and Kashmir is still a sensitive area. But in states like Delhi, Uttar Pradesh, Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh, and Punjab, there is a high need to curb the organizations and people associated with violence and terror.
The writer is executive director of ITV Network-India News and Aaj Samaj Dainik.