Pune-based RTI activist Prafull Sarda, who had filed a Right To Information (RTI) application seeking information and details about terrorist organisations active in India, has shared a response he received from Home Ministry that there is nothing like ‘Hindu terrorism’.
Sarda said that the information he got through the RTI shows that some politicians coined the term ‘Hindu or Saffron terrorism’ for appeasement politics. In his RTI application, Praffull Sarda sought names and details about the terrorist organisations operating in India and what measures have been taken to curb such terror organisations.
Prafull Sarda also inquired about the MHA’s records about the involvement of ‘saffron or Hindu terrorists’ in the 2006 Malegaon blast case. Besides, he also sought details on the term ‘Islamic terrorism’ and its involvement (if any) in such bomb blasts in India. The Home Ministry has dismissed any link or a term like Hindu or saffron terrorism, he said.
“I am deeply hurt not just as an Indian but as a Hindu as well. Just to collect the votes of a specific community, a few political leaders repeatedly defame crores of Hindus in this country and try to emboss fake terms of Hindu or saffron terrorism. Hindu terrorism does not exist but RTI reply clearly shows Islamic terrorism exists and troubles the world by killing so many innocent people across the globe,” RTI activist Prafulla Sarda said.
My sought info through #RTI is definitely tight slap on few political leaders who intentionally tried and invented #Hindu terrorism but the truth before the nation. THERE is NO #HINDU or #SAFFRON TERRORISM ! But #ISLAMIC TERRORISM DO EXIST ! @ANI @ani_digital @payalmehta100 https://t.co/zEMlgyci90
— Praafful Sarda™ (@prafful_sarda) January 14, 2023
The Ministry of Home Affairs, in its response to the RTI, said, “It is informed that 42 organisations have been declared as ‘Terrorist Organization’ under Section 35 of the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act, 1967 (UAPA). The various measures are taken by the Government to counter the menace of terrorism, which include augmenting the strength of the Central Armed Police Force, modernisation of police force, capacity building of special forces, tighter immigration control; effective border management; through round-the-clock surveillance and patrolling on the borders; establishment of observation posts, border fencing, floodlighting, deployment of modern and hi-tech surveillance equipment; up gradation of Intelligence setup and coastal security, etc.”
The Home Ministry further said the Government strengthened the legislative framework by amending UAP Act 1967 and NIA Act 2008 in 2019.
The banned terrorist organisations under section 35 of Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act, 1967 include Babbar Khalsa International, Khalistan Commando Force, Khalistan Zindabad Force, International Sikh Youth Federation, Lashkar-E-Talba, Pasban-E-Ahle Hadi, Jaish-E-Mohammed/Tahrik-E-Furgan, Harkat-Ul-Mujahideen/Harkat-Ul-Ansar/Harkat-Ul-Jehad-E-Islami or Ansar-Ul-Ummah (AUU), Hizb-Ul-Mujahideen/ Hizb-Ul-Mujahideen Pir Panjal Regiment, Al-Omar-Mujahideen, Jammu and Kashmir Islamic Front, United Liberation Front of Assam (ULFA), National Democratic Front of Bodoland (NDFB) in Assam, People’s Liberation Army (PLA), United National Liberation Front (UNLF), People’s Revolutionary Party of Kangleipak (PREPAK), Kangleipak Communist Party (KCP), Kanglei Yaol Kanba Lup (KYKL), Manipur People’s Liberation Front (MPLF), All Tripura Tiger Force, National Liberation Front of Tripura, Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE), Students Islamic Movement of India, Deendar Anjuman, Communist Party of India (Marxist-Leninist) and Maoist Communist Centre (MCC).
The other organisations on the list are Al Badr, Jamiat-Ul-Mujahideen, Al-Qaida/Al-Qaida in Indian Sub-continent (AQIS), Dukhtaran-E-Millat (DEM), Tamil Nadu Liberation Army (TNLA), Tamil National Retrieval Troops (TNRT), Akhil Bharat Nepali Ekta Samaj (ABNES), Communist Party of India (Maoist), Indian Mujahideen, Garo National Liberation Army (GNLA), Kamatapur Liberation Organization, Islamic State/Islamic State of Iraq and Levant/Islamic State of Iraq and Syria/Daish/Islamic State in Khorasan Province (ISKP)/ISIS Wilayat Khorasan/Islamic State of Iraq and Sham-Khorasan (ISIS-K), National Socialist Council of Nagaland (Khaplang), NSCN (K), The Khalistan Liberation Force, Tehreek-ul-Mujahideen (TuM) and Jamaat-ul-Mujahideen Bangladesh or Jamaat-ul-Mujahideen India or Jamaat-ul-Mujahideen Hindustan.
