Skip to main content

Move to 'intimidate, terrorize' entire Muslim community: PUCL on PFI ban, leaders' arrest

Counterview Desk 
India’s premier human rights group, People’s Union for Civil Liberties (PUCL), condemning the mass raids and arrests of the People’s Front of India (PFI) leadership and cadres, following the recent ban on PFI, has said that the whole idea behind night busloads of armed CRPF men “suddenly” setting up blockades in Muslim dominated residential localities of Jamia Nagar in Delhi, equipped with “weaponry and securith gear”, was “to intimidate and terrorize the entire Muslim community.”
Citing the types of FIRs being filed against PFI, PUCL said, the effort was to accuse youth of “running an anti-India WhatsApp group”, with police claiming to find documents “claiming that India would become an Islamic nation by 2047.”
However, the PUCL statement signed by V Suresh, general secretary, noted, “The fact finding conducted by the Bihar state PUCL branch found that prima facie no arms training, terror activities or radicalising youth.

Text:

The PUCL is deeply concerned about the implications for democracy and the constitutional rights of freedom of speech and association in the light of the ongoing `Operation Octopus’ which is being carried out against the Popular Front of India (PFI) and its affiliates, across the country as a joint operation of the CRPF, the home ministry, ATS, NIA, ED, RAW, State police, and other agencies. It has consisted of mass raids being carried out in two rounds, in more than 16 states of India over hundreds of locations and with over 300 arrests. The raids, which have been conducted as a media spectacle showcasing massive state power, bodes ill for a constitutional democracy based on rule of law, pushing the Muslim community further into fear, intimidation, alienation, and silence.

Undermining federalism

At the outset it should be noted that there are serious implications related to federalism in the way raids have been carried out and arrests made by the Central Agencies. The local police of non BJP states such as Tamil Nadu and Rajasthan were kept out of the operation. In fact, the TN police were in the dark about the raid and the arrests until the very end. Despite law and order being a state subject, the Centre arbitrarily used the NIA trampling the powers of the state government and undermining the Constitution.
These raids were followed by a notification of the Ministry of Home Affairs dated 27th September under the Unlawful Activities Prevention Act, 1967, which declares PFI ‘the PFI and its affiliates the Rehab India Foundation (RIF), Campus Front of India (CFI), All India Imams Council (AIIC), National Confederation of Human Rights Organization (NCHRO), National Women’s Front, Junior Front, Empower India Foundation and Rehab Foundation, Kerala as an “unlawful association” and hence banned.

Setting the stage for a ban on PFI : Might of the Indian state on display

In a massive show of force, the Ministry of Home Affairs, Government of India initiated and coordinated between 22nd and 27th September, raids in more than a hundred locations in 16 states and arrested 106 people on day one; The second round of Operation Octopus was carried out by the State police in 8 states, mostly ruled by the BJP. Officially it has been stated that more than 170 workers were arrested, with almost 30 in Delhi. However, according to the PFI, over three to four hundred of its cadre have been picked up with almost the entire top leadership at the central and state level of the PFI and the Social and Democratic Party of India (SDPI) being taken into custody. Many of the arrestees include professors, practicing lawyers, and community level organizers.
According to the press note put out by National Investigation Agency (NIA) on its website dated 22nd Sept, 2022, “…. these searches were conducted at the houses and offices of the top PFI leaders and members in connection with 5 cases (RC 14/2022/NIA/DLI, RC 41/2022/NIA/DLI , RC 42/2022/NIA/DLI, RC 2/2022/NIA/KOC, RC 3/2022/NIA/HYD) registered by the NIA following continued inputs and evidence that the PFI leaders and cadres were involved in funding of terrorism and terrorist activities, organising training camps for providing armed training and radicalising people to join banned organisations. RC 3/2022/NIA/HYD, was initially registered as FIR no.141/2022 on 04/07/2022 at Nizamabad PS, Telangana against over 25 PFI cadres”.

The raids: A means to instil fear in the Muslim community

The disproportionate nature of the response to the PFI was visibly seen in the ongoing mass raids undertaken all over India. Mostly late into the night busloads of armed CRPF suddenly set up blockades in Muslim dominated residential localities, closing access to streets where the raid was to happen, they were under siege for several hours. The idea was to intimidate and terrorize the entire Muslim community, by the display of weaponry and security gear. The police also promulgated sec 144 in some areas, like in Jamia Nagar, Delhi, where it is in force till mid-November 2022. This, in effect, ensures that protests and other democratic expressions of opinion are curtailed.

Past record of the FIRs not bearing critical scrutiny: The example of the Bihar Arms Training case of the PFI

In July of 2022, the Bihar police registered two FIRs naming 26 Muslims under “anti-national and terror activities” charges of the IPC in Phulwari Sharif in Bihar. The arrests were carried out just before the visit of Prime Minister Narendra Modi to Patna. The case is now with the NIA. One of the FIRs accused a member of the Popular Front of India (PFI) of “running arms training in the garb of martial arts.” The other FIR named one Muslim youth who was “mentally ill”, accusing him of “running an anti-India WhatsApp group”. The police also alleged that they found a PFI document claiming that India would become an Islamic nation by 2047.
The fact finding conducted by the Bihar state PUCL branch found that “prima facie no arms training, terror activities or radicalising youth was being undertaken in Phulwari Sharif area of Patna district.” The report also deplored the vilification by the media of the Muslims living in Phulwari Sharif. For instance the Hindi daily, Dainik Bhaskar which repeatedly called “Phulwari Sharif”, the sacred garden as “Aatank ki Phulwari” the garden of Terror. They concluded that the Bihar police’s charges were baseless. The false narrative of terror was built up by the media in support of the Bihar Police’s fabrication of the FIR and false arrests.

The unconstitutional ban on the PFI: Examination of the notification

If the FIR’s do point to cognizable offences, the resort to a ban by notification is disproportionate and arbitrary in nature. This sweeping response takes within its ken all activities of the PFI and its affiliates regardless of whether those activities fall within the framework of the Indian Constitution. The right approach in a constitutional democracy is to respect a plurality of forms of speech and association, including organisations and voices which express disagreeable opinions.
The notification for example states that, ‘they have been pursuing a secret agenda to radicalize a particular section of the society working towards undermining the concept of democracy.’ A democratic state’s response to perceived radicalization cannot be in the language of ban, which is a means of betraying the very values of the Constitution which we are claiming to uphold.
It is not the PUCL’s case that criminal acts should not be punished. Our emphasis is that the due process should be administered in an unbiased, non-discriminatory, fair and firm manner. In the incidents of the murders of specific individuals named in the Notification, viz., Sh. Sanjith (Kerala, November, 2021) or Sh. Praveen Nettaru (Karnataka, 2022), the due process of law should be followed and the guilty (whether they happen to be PFI members or not) should be punished in accordance with law. To link these murders as a justification for a ban is perverse and an arbitrary state response.

The consequences of the ban

The UAPA is a law which criminalizes guilt by association. Ordinary Muslims can now be arrested under Section 10 of the UAPA on the grounds that he or she is a ‘person who is and continues to be a member of the association’ or that he or she ‘contributes to or receives or solicits money for the purpose of such association’. This is not an idle speculation but borne out by the two decades long history behind the ban on a range of Muslim organisations from SIMI onwards resulting in many innocent Muslims youth and leaders being surveilled, criminalised, detained and arrested under UAPA in the name of being members of either SIMI, the Indian Mujahidin or Daesh (IS) based on flimsy evidence.
The world’s largest democracy should not resort to the politics of banning when it comes to organisations and viewpoints which it considers as ‘anti-national’. Instead India should demonstrate that as a functioning democracy there is no discrimination on grounds of religion. That is the only sustainable way of preserving ‘unity, integrity and fraternity amongst Indians’. The unity of India depends upon how Indian state and society ensure that the promise of a plural and inclusive nation is delivered to all its citizens. Bans are no solution.

The PUCL demands that

  • The ban be revoked, and a dialogue be established with the PFI.
  • All the arrested persons be released.
  • Desist from an arbitrary utilization of the power of arrest to target Muslim youth on grounds of membership or support of PFI and its affiliates.
  • Repeal the unconstitutional Unlawful Activities Prevention Act and also the NIA Act, in toto. In the interim, the NIA Act should be amended to ensure that the concerned State Government is consulted, and consent obtained before the NIA and MHA, Government of India chooses to launch a raid or arrest a resident in the concerned state.

Comments

Post a Comment

TRENDING

A comrade in culture and controversy: Yao Wenyuan’s revolutionary legacy

By Harsh Thakor*  This year marks two important anniversaries in Chinese revolutionary history—the 20th death anniversary of Yao Wenyuan, and the 50th anniversary of his seminal essay "On the Social Basis of the Lin Biao Anti-Party Clique". These milestones invite reflection on the man whose pen ignited the first sparks of the Great Proletarian Cultural Revolution and whose sharp ideological interventions left an indelible imprint on the political and cultural landscape of socialist China.
Post a Comment
»

Gujarat Information Commission issues warning against misinterpretation of RTI orders

By A Representative   The Gujarat Information Commission (GIC) has issued a press note clarifying that its orders limiting the number of Right to Information (RTI) applications for certain individuals apply only to those specific applicants. The GIC has warned that it will take disciplinary action against any public officials who misinterpret these orders to deny information to other citizens. The press note, signed by GIC Secretary Jaideep Dwivedi, states that the Right to Information Act, 2005, is a powerful tool for promoting transparency and accountability in public administration. However, the commission has observed that some applicants are misusing the act by filing an excessive number of applications, which disproportionately consumes the time and resources of Public Information Officers (PIOs), First Appellate Authorities (FAAs), and the commission itself. This misuse can cause delays for genuine applicants seeking justice. In response to this issue, and in acc...
2 comments
»

Job opportunities decreasing, wages remain low: Delhi construction workers' plight

By Bharat Dogra*   It was about 32 years back that a hut colony in posh Prashant Vihar area of Delhi was demolished. It was after a great struggle that the people evicted from here could get alternative plots that were not too far away from their earlier colony. Nirmana, an organization of construction workers, played an important role in helping the evicted people to get this alternative land. At that time it was a big relief to get this alternative land, even though the plots given to them were very small ones of 10X8 feet size. The people worked hard to construct new houses, often constructing two floors so that the family could be accommodated in the small plots. However a recent visit revealed that people are rather disheartened now by a number of adverse factors. They have not been given the proper allotment papers yet. There is still no sewer system here. They have to use public toilets constructed some distance away which can sometimes be quite messy. There is still no...
Post a Comment
»

Uttarakhand tunnel disaster: 'Question mark' on rescue plan, appraisal, construction

By Bhim Singh Rawat*  As many as 40 workers were trapped inside Barkot-Silkyara tunnel in Uttarkashi after a portion of the 4.5 km long, supposedly completed portion of the tunnel, collapsed early morning on Sunday, Nov 12, 2023. The incident has once again raised several questions over negligence in planning, appraisal and construction, absence of emergency rescue plan, violations of labour laws and environmental norms resulting in this avoidable accident.
Post a Comment
»

'MGNREGA crisis deepening': NSM demands fair wages and end to digital exclusions

By A Representative   The NREGA Sangharsh Morcha (NSM), a coalition of independent unions of MGNREGA workers, has warned that the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA) is facing a “severe crisis” due to persistent neglect and restrictive measures imposed by the Union Government.
Post a Comment
»

Rally in Patna: Non-farmer bodies to highlight plight of agriculture in Eastern India ahead of march to Parliament

P Sainath By  A  Representative Ahead of the march to Parliament on November 29-30, 2018, organized by over 210 farmer and agricultural worker organisations of the country demanding a 21-day special session of Parliament to deliberate on remedial measures for safeguarding the interest of farm, farmers and agricultural workers, a mass rally been organized for November 23, Gandhi Sangrahalaya (Gandhi Museum), Gandhi Maidan, Patna. Say the organizers, the Eastern region merits special attention, because, while crisis of farmers and agricultural workers in Western, Southern and Northern India has received some attention in the media and central legislature, the plight of those in the Eastern region of the country (Bihar, Jharkhand, West Bengal, Orissa, Chhattisgarh and Eastern UP) has remained on the margins. To be addressed by P Sainath, founder of People’s Archive of Rural India (PARI), a statement issued ahead of the rally says, the Eastern India was the most prosperous regi...
Post a Comment
»

India's health workers have no legal right for their protection, regrets NGO network

Counterview Desk In a letter to Union labour and employment minister Santosh Gangwar, the civil rights group Occupational and Environmental Health Network of India (OEHNI), writing against the backdrop of strike by Bhabha hospital heath care workers, has insisted that they should be given “clear legal right for their protection”.
Post a Comment
»

As 2024 draws nearer, threatening signs appear of more destructive wars

By Bharat Dogra  The four years from 2020 to 2023 have been very difficult and high risk years for humanity. In the first two years there was a pandemic and such severe disruption of social and economic life that countless people have not yet recovered from its many-sided adverse impacts. In the next two years there were outbreaks of two very high-risk wars which have worldwide implications including escalation into much wider conflicts. In addition there were highly threatening signs of increasing possibility of other very destructive wars. As the year 2023 appears to be headed for ending on a very grim note, there are apprehensions about what the next year 2024 may bring, and there are several kinds of fears. However to come back to the year 2020 first, the pandemic harmed and threatened a very large number of people. No less harmful was the fear epidemic, the epidemic of increasing mental stress and the cruel disruption of the life and livelihoods particularly among the weaker s...
Post a Comment
»

Targeted eviction of Bengali-speaking Muslims across Assam districts alleged

By A Representative   A delegation led by prominent academic and civil rights leader Sandeep Pandey  visited three districts in Assam—Goalpara, Dhubri, and Lakhimpur—between 2 and 4 September 2025 to meet families affected by recent demolitions and evictions. The delegation reported widespread displacement of Bengali-speaking Muslim communities, many of whom possess valid citizenship documents including Aadhaar, voter ID, ration cards, PAN cards, and NRC certification. 
Post a Comment
»