Ban on PFI: Why its Political Arm, SDPI, Has Been Excluded From The Ban?

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Photo credit: The Indian Express.

While the government has banned the PFI and all its affiliates, it has excluded the Social and Democratic Party of India (SDPI), the political arm of the PFI. Political analysts say that this may have been done with a view to using the SDPI as a bargaining chip by asking it to field its candidates from Muslim-dominated constituencies during the forthcoming assembly and general elections, particularly in southern states, to polarize Hindu voters in favour of the BJP and help the saffron party to establish its foothold in Kerala where it is very weak. Such tactics have helped the BJP in many states. Will this time-tested tactic of the BJP work again? Only time will tell.

Syed Khalique Ahmed

NEW DELHIThe Government of India has banned the Popular Front of India and several other organizations connected with it for a period of five years. 

The ban has been imposed on the ground that the PFI and its affiliates have been indulging in “unlawful activities, which are prejudicial to the integrity, sovereignty and security of the country and have the potential of disturbing public peace and communal harmony of the country and supporting militancy in the country.” However, the ban order has not substantiated its allegations with concrete evidence.

The Ban was imposed after searches at the organization’s offices, residences, and other premises of its leaders and workers that spanned over a week. More than 200 persons, including senior office-bearers of the PFI and its frontal organizations, were also arrested before the ban order on September 27, 2022.

Previously, affiliates or fronts of a parent organization were never banned whenever a ban was imposed on an organization. Instead, there were allowed to function.

However, in the case of the PFI, the Ministry of Home Affairs has also extended the ban to all its affiliates.

Among the PFI associates that have been banned along with the parent organization are Campus Front of India, Empower India Foundation, Rehab Foundation, All India Imams Council, National Confederation of Human Rights Organization, National Women’s Front, and Junior Front.

Social and human rights activists say this has happened for the first time. 

The only affiliate of the PFI left untouched is the Social and Democratic Party of India (SDPI), PFI’s political arm. However, several of the SDPI leaders have been arrested.

Political analysts say nothing can prevent the home ministry from banning a political party. The UPA government, with Manmohan Singh as prime minister, had banned the Communist Party of India (Maoist) in 2009 by invoking the provisions of the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act against it.

Why the SDPI has been excluded from the ban?

According to political analysts, the government might have excluded the SDPI as a bargaining chip for political negotiations, particularly during the forthcoming assembly and parliamentary elections. Political analysts say SDPI may be used to field its candidates in assembly and parliamentary constituencies with sizeable Muslim populations to cut the votes of the secular party candidates and polarize the Hindu voters in favour of the BJP. Such tactics were employed in assembly elections in several states by using Muslim-led political parties. Experts say this paid good dividends to the BJP because the jumping of the Muslim-led political parties into the electoral fray resulted in the consolidation of Hindu voters favouring the BJP. As BJP has no foothold in Kerala and other South Indian states, except Karnataka, political analysts say that the BJP might use the same tactics in southern states, particularly Kerala, to acquire political power by using the SDPI as an agent to polarize Hindu voters. SDPI is reported to be having a strong political base in Kerala. Will this time-tested tactic of the BJP work again? Only time will tell.

Time to rethink for organizations having multiple affiliates

Many organizations have formed separate trusts to run their operations in the social service, education, health, publication, and media sectors. One of the reasons for floating separate trusts or NGOs is that all their activities will not suddenly halt with the ban on the parent organization.

But the development in the PFI case indicates that the government can ban even the affiliate organizations in case of a ban on the parent body even if the affiliate organizations have done nothing to invite the ban.

The government’s ban notification regarding the PFI says there are “clear linkages between the PFI and its associates or fronts”; hence, they were all banned simultaneously.

Explaining in detail, the ban notification says that “Rehab India Foundation collected funds through PFI members, and some of the members of the PFI are also members of Campus Front of India, Empower India Foundation, All India Imams Council, National Confederation of Human Rights Organization, National Women’s Front and Junior Front.” This must awaken the NGOs and human rights organizations operating in various sectors.

According to the government notification, PFI had floated different fronts to increase its outreach among different sections of the society “with the sole objective of expanding its membership, influence and fund-raising capacity.”

So, the PFI and its various fronts have a “hub and spoke” relationship. According to the notification, the PFI acted as a hub and utilized its fronts for mass outreach to strengthen its capacity for “unlawful activities”. The fronts or affiliates worked as “roots and capillaries” through which the PFI was fed and strengthened.

The notification said the PFI fronts operated as a “socio-economic, educational and political organization.” However, the Home Ministry accused them of “pursuing a secret agenda to radicalize a particular section of the society working towards undermining the concept of democracy and show sheer disrespect towards the constitutional authority and constitutional set up of the country.” 

No convincing evidence to substantiate arguments for the ban

However, the ministry has failed to provide convincing evidence supporting the allegations it levelled against the PFI. The only allegation with proof is that their cadres are involved in some cases of murder in Kerala. Still, other organizations in the same state have also committed such crimes, for instance, the cadres of the RSS and the Left parties, but no such action has been initiated against these outfits.

Its allegation that the PFI has emerged as a “major threat to the internal security of the country” does not seem plausible because the home ministry had not provided evidence of the involvement of PFI cadres in activities detrimental to the country’s internal security.

Moreover, in case any of the activists or cadres of the PFI were involved in any crime, the law and order agencies should have taken strong action against them, but the activities of a few do not justify banning an organization. 

Many media persons and religious groups are advocating genocide against Muslims in India. Still, the police have not taken any action against them what to talk about banning them. Is it so because the leaders and cadres of those organizations are not Muslims? As for foreign funding, several Hindu radical organizations are receiving money from abroad and are reported to be using those funds to radicalise the Hindu society.

There are also wild allegations that if the PFI is not banned, it might “continue its subversive activities”, “encourage and enforce terror-based regressive regime,” “continue propagating anti-national sentiments and radicalize a particular section of society to create disaffection against the country” and “aggravate activities which are detrimental to the integrity, security, and sovereignty of the country.” So, these fears are mere conjectures without any basis.

1 COMMENT

  1. This is a welcome move.
    The INC would have done it when we were in power. But the Muslim League was against the ban. Now they are OK because they have zero influence.
    The way they bully & blackmail INC is sensational and humiliating to people like me.
    Raja Rajeev Kumar, member, Congress Think Tank.

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