‘PFI flexing muscles to block cadre erosion’

Prashanth.MP@timesgroup.com

KOZHIKODE: It is learnt that Popular Front of India (PFI) is slowly returning to the aggressive and violent mode of its earlier incarnation – National Development Front (NDF) – to prevent the erosion of its cadres.

Former cadres of PFI, who have joined the Islamic State (IS), have hinted that there are many persons in the organization who were dejected with the outfit, especially after the formation of its political front Social Democratic Party of India (SDPI). They added that PFI had strayed from its objective and become just another political party in Kerala . This assumes significance in the wake of Abhimanyu’s murder at Maharaj’s College early on Monday.

NDF was formed to ‘defend Muslims from the aggression of fascist forces’. IS personnel said that those who joined PFI were taught that they are fighting for Allah and they will be rewarded, if they got killed in the endeavour. Those who were part of its classes were taught analogies from Islamic history with allusions to Muslim heroes.

But, after the formation of SDPI, attention was diverted to fighting elections and the machinations connected to democratic process. Sensing this ‘degeneration’, some members joined the IS and did a ‘Hijra’ to Afghanistan and Syria.

The IS cadres said that PFI did some cosmetic changes to block the erosion of cadres and even brought back founder leader E Aboobacker as its national chairman. They alleged that the murder of Bibin, the RSS worker accused of killing Faizal in Kodinhi, was an attempt to prove that PFI has not lost its earlier ‘vigour’.

It may be recalled that PFI has issued a statement asking its cadres to be vigilant against IS in 2015 itself when no Muslim organisation in Kerala was aware of its presence in India. It is assumed that PFI leadership feared that disgruntled elements within the organization might move over to IS as it had given a call for an ‘open Jihad’ while PFI had limited itself to ‘ defensive Jihad .’ Till date, 15 persons from PFI have joined IS. There could be more in the organization who are dejected with the ‘democratic turn’. They want PFI to regain its lost face, that of an aggressive Muslim organization which acts as the shield for the community.

PFI’s muscleflexing could be a strategy to pacify such persons, who may search for other avenues if PFI ceases to be a belligerent Muslim organization.

