The PFI Challenge

Context:  

The nationwide searches and raids at various offices of the Popular Front of India (PFI) and arrests of its leaders have turned the spotlight on the activities of the organisation.

It’s Emergence:

• The PFI was formed in 2007 through the merger of National Democratic Front in Kerala, Karnataka Forum for Dignity, and Manitha Neethi Pasarai in Tamil Nadu.
• The PFI emerged from a radical strand in Muslim politics that found acceptance within a section of the community after the demolition of Babri Masjid in 1992 and the rise of Hindutva agendas.
• It was also influenced by ideas of political Islam that gained ground after the Iranian revolution in the late 1970s.