Popular Front of India exhorts Muslims to change political strategy

Posted January 29th, 2008 by Pervez Bari,

Bhopal: Muslims in India have been exhorted to change their election strategy of shifting supports among various political parties and to concentrate in the political empowerment of the community.
The Popular Front of India, (PFI), made this call to the Muslims in its two-day annual meeting of the National General Assembly held at Green Valley campus at Manjeri in Kerala on January 26 and 27.

The PFI in its Press release said that Muslims were supporting one secular party or other with the sole aim of defeating the fascist and communal parties in elections. This strategy has failed to establish their rights in the country’s policy setting and resource distribution. While in power, these parties not only failed to arrest communal fascist forces, but they even adopted pro-Hindutva policies as against the norms of equity and justice.

The Muslims have become just cannon fodder for the secular parties which promptly ignored the Muslim issues and their problems once the elections are over. This experience of the last six decades warrants serious rethinking by all the Muslim organizations and political groups. They should initiate steps to politically consolidate the Muslims in coalition with other equally deprived sections of the society for their rightful share in political power, the release said.

The pressure group tactics exercised so far by certain Muslim sections are no longer a solution to Muslim political deprivation. The success stories of some Dalit and backward castes in gaining political strength and exercising power in North India contain lessons for Muslim leaders and masses to learn. It is also noteworthy that in all the political formulations that have emerged in the name of Dalits-Backward Classes–Minorities political empowerment, Muslims have been denied equity and justice in sharing of power as well as resources, the release noted.
The meeting also requested all the citizens and social groups of this country to support the Muslim right to political empowerment through adequate representation.

Meanwhile, in another resolution the meeting strongly deplored the recent launching of an Israeli military satellite by ISRO. This is in effect a tacit approval of the inhuman acts Israel has inflicted upon helpless Palestinians under Zionist occupation. Israel is the only rogue state in the world which consistently trampled upon the basic civil and democratic rights of the Palestinians under its occupation and violated all international treaties and covenants.
"Our relationship with this client state of the US is against the basic morals and principles of the foreign policy set by our great leaders and thinkers", the release pointed out.

Popular Front appealed the Government of India to severe the unethical ties with this settled state with immediate effect.
The meeting expressed anguish over the imposition of severe bail conditions on certain under-trial prisoners in the Second Marad Case while granting bail after their prolonged imprisonment lasted for nearly five years. The under-trials in this case belong to very poor fishing community who do not have money or influence to raise the security or to arrange rented houses within three kilometers of the Special Court as stipulated in the bail order. The High Court of Kerala has just granted bail in purely legalistic manner without taking into account the inability of the under-trials to post bond or other securities.

The meeting observed that it contravenes the spirit of various orders passed by the Supreme Court of India to be lenient towards the under-trials when considering bail petitions.
The annual meeting started with the inaugural speech by the Chairman of the organization E. Abubacker. The General Secretary E. M. Abdurahman submitted the annual report. The report observed that the constituent state organizations of Popular Front in Karnataka, Kerala and Tamil Nadu have considerably increased their membership and gained much more public support.

Thanks
Aamir
PS: Article taken from some website