Ban on Popular Front

The constitution of India has given the freedom of like-minded people to come together and form organizations to fulfill their shared vision. However, the constitution does not allow anyone to insult others or to work against the well-being of any community.

The Central Government has banned the Popular Front of India (PFI) and its eight affiliated organizations for five years. The National Investigation Agency (NIA) conducted a countrywide raid on 22 September. The reports submitted by the NIA in the courts reveal that they recovered many materials related to terrorism in the raids.

The ban on PFI followed quickly on the heels of the NIA raids.

It is necessary that any organization that indulges in terror activities must be banned. It doesn’t matter if they are from the majority or minority community. Whoever indulges in terrorist activities in the garb of political work will, in the end, harm the country and also the very community they say they represent.

The leaders of the banned outfit have the right to question the ban in legal and democratic ways in courts. If they have not indulged in terror activities, they can prove it in a court of law. These leaders must now resort to this legal way.

The majority of people believing in Islam do not approve of terrorist activities. However, a handful of people, who are led more emotionally than rationally, have always tried to create divisions within the society for certain vested interests.

People like these are present in every community. Our country has suffered the consequences of such activities for a long time. Still, our country has never rejected any religion or belief system. Our history is filled with examples of how we accepted people of different faiths that were exiled from their own lands.

Hindus, Muslims, and Christians have lived cordially with each other for centuries in this land. Every organization that tried to work against that unity has been banned under many circumstances.

There is a likelihood that the ban on PFI by the Central Government will be interpreted as anti-Muslim. To prevent such interpretation, the central government must clear the doubts of the community and build trust among them.