The central agencies raiding Popular Front of India (PFI) is growing suspicious of rebadged version of SIMI. Switch to a different name is used as camouflage by radical outfits globally to escape actions and carry on with their activities. Whatever name they adopt to, their nefarious activities cannot be hidden for long.
Most of the states proposed for a ban on these organizations for alleged involvement in fundamentalism, propagating riots, murders, anti-national activities. It is said that most of the office bearers of the PFI have been associated with the SIMI in the past.
Religious fundamentalism is a cause for concern. The PFI reach has spreaded from Kerala to Rajasthan to Goa, West Bengal and even the northeast. SDPI is the political arms of radical PFI. Its website states it is a cadre-based social movement that aims to uplift the marginalised and backward sections of the society through various programmes.
Political killings in southern states of India have often been linked to PFI. A loophole in law that allowed banned organization to escape with a new name. The National Investigation Agency has labelled the PFI a threat to national security. In January 2018, the ministry of home affairs was reportedly mulling banning the organisation.
KG VILOP, Chorao
