By Abdul Basith MA, TwoCircles.net,
Kozhikode: Eminent citizens, community leaders and intellectuals have strongly condemned smear campaign launched by a section of press against Popular Front of India (PFI) after the last month’s Israeli embassy car blast in Delhi. Some English dailies have tried to implicate PFI in the case citing the organization’s recent resolution wherein it had reportedly criticized Indo-Israel relations.
Eminent citizens including Syed Shahabuddin, former MP and diplomat, Thirumavalavan, MP, Dr. Zafarul Islam Khan, President, All India Muslim Majlis-e- Mushawarat, Dr. John Dayal, Member, National Integration Council, Abdul Khalique, General Secretary, Lok Janshakti Party, Prof A Marx, President, People’s Union for Human Rights (Tamilnadu chapter), Adv. Bhavani P Mohan, human rights activist (Tamilnadu) and Muhammed Umer Khan, Bengal Educational and Social Trust (BEST) have condemned the malicious media campaign against PFI and alleged it is driven by saffron forces.
Talking to TCN Dr. Zafarul Islam Khan, President, All India Muslim Majlis-e- Mushawarat said, “Mediapersons having links to saffron elements are busy carrying out smear campaigns against Muslim based organisations like Popular Front of India and a section of the media like Pioneer is targeting Muslim organisation without any proof.”
Dr. Khan, who is also Editor, The Milli Gazette English fortnightly, said they seem desperate to discourage any organised empowerment movements from the part of the community and as part of their propaganda and insidious conspiracies they are carrying out media trials on baseless grounds in a country where the Police and the courts are functioning.
Though not a PFI member, he said that until now there isn’t any thing to be suspicious of PFI as the group is carrying out social services, health camps and several such relief activities. So it is clear that these media sections and their Saffron bosses are intolerant towards such empowerment of Muslims and this has forced them to take on Muslim organisations like PFI.
English daily Pioneer had recently published a report on Page1 alleging that the security agencies are investigating the role of PFI in the car bomb blast at Chanakyapuri in which an Israeli diplomat was injured. The reason, the report said curiously, was a resolution passed by the recent national general assembly meeting of the organisation held in Kottakkal, Kerala against the Indo-Israel relations. Later the same story was picked up with slight changes by Dainik Jagran, Nav Bharat Times, The Inquilab, Deccan Chronicle and CNN IBN.
Prof P Koya, Chief Editor of Malayalam daily Thejas, while talking to TCN, termed it a well orchestrated campaign for tarnishing the image of PFI. He said that news dailies like Pioneer, Asian Age and Deccan Chronicle were keen in presenting the resolution passed at the national general assembly meeting of PFI against the Indo-Israel relations as something like a conspiracy.
He said it is quite funny seeing them relating the PFI resolution with bomb blast. “Indian Express recently did a story named ‘Fundamental Pride’ where they took extreme care to associate all violent activities in Kerala to PFI. This is moral degradation of the media and it could be attributed to Hindutva influence over them,” said Mr Koya.