Fifth-generation warfare and PFI

A ‘New Bharat’ is leaving its imprint globally. A sense of defeat has seethed in foreign powers which hatched a conspiracy and plot to see us in perpetual conflict. As one of the biggest markets and biggest youth workforces, we are making the optimum feasible utilisation of our conduct, capacity and courage to attain larger goals and register augmented targets.

But larger success always throws larger challenges. And we have identified some during this interregnum phase of transition. Recently, banned PFI is one organisation, which we can very well perceive and presume. Brainchild of foreign nefarious and noxious powers to obstruct and obfuscate the transition of ‘New Bharat’, its stated and obnoxious agenda was to rope in Muslim youth, focus on Muslim strength, fake Muslim strategy, Muslim welfare and Muslim unification. At the core, however, there was regimentation and extreme violence. And the same has been established and proven through their terrorised bonding with global terror outfits like ISIS. The PFI was basically an opportunity and ill designed plot for the so called bright minds of the country to understand the changing modus operandi of the terror outfits which had majorly switched over to the next generation warfare technique named 5th Generation Warfare (5GW).

5G warfare

The 5GW is warfare which is conducted primarily through non-kinetic military action, such as social engineering, misinformation, cyberattacks, coupled with emerging technologies such as artificial intelligence and fully autonomous systems. THE 5GW is basically a war of “information and perception”. With the changing nature of technology and rapidly mounting globalisation process, the world is confronting contabulations in different domains of its affairs and activities. With this we can also observe a generational change in the warfare tactics and gimmicks. There can be a revolution and upheaval in the warfare tactics. In the post-Second World War era, the role of state actors in different theatres of war has been diminishing and limited and the role and impact of non-state actors in the war platforms has mounted. But in the era of globalisation, now it can be stated that war can be fought and orchestrated without the use of guns and bombs. Now the adversaries know that they can achieve their goals through a variety of tactical war formats. They can deploy a flexible war approach. Simply, we can visualise that we have forayed into an era which is witnessing the rise of ‘Elastic wars’, where a rigid chain of commands is not followed, rather a pattern. In this pattern, it has taken care that devition activities are conducted in sync with the conditions of the theatre of War. In the US terminology this type of warfare is called ‘Hybrid War’. In 5th Generation Warfare (5GW), there has been a battle of perception and information. Social engineering through vague propaganda has been a common feature of this type of warfare.

There has been an imperative need to usurp this novice type of warfare and start to counteract the tactics used in this warfare through counter insurgency by breaking the bond between the combatant and the general public. There has been an urgent need to counter this warfare on the intellectual level. Islamic organisation Popular Front of India (PFI) is just a prototype of this type of warfare.

How did PFI operate?

The Popular Front of India was ill-established in Kerala in 2006 as a successor to the National Development Front(NDF). NDF was the same organisation which was criticised by the then Kerala state secretary of Communist Party of India (Marxist) Pinarayi Vijayan for their involvement in the Marad Massacre and that he referred NDF as a “terrorist outfit” which had executed a “planned mass murder”.

According to PFI claims, it worked as a social organisation stating that it worked for the downtrodden strata of the society. PFI was formed with the merger of organisations like Karnataka Forum for Dignity, Manitha Neethi Pasarai (Tamil Nadu ), Goa Citizen’s Forum, Rajasthan’s Community for Social and Educational Society, West Bengal’s Nagarik Adhikar Suraksha Samiti, Manipur’s Lilong Social Forum and Andhra’s Association for Social Justice. PFI used all banned sister organisations to work for its actual ulterior motive of destabilising the society. It claimed that its organisation Satya Sarini was an academic and charity organisation headquartered at Mallapuram.

Plot to kill the PM

It was on October 27, 2013, Prime Minister Narendra Modi, the then Chief Minister of Gujarat had a miraculous escape in Patna when the Indian Mujahideen terrorist, who had in its ranks members of the outlawed SIMI, bombed a rally which Shri Modi addressed. On July 12, 2022, PM Modi was scheduled to visit Patna and again a plot was hatched for his assassination was readied by the PFI which was a later avatar of SIMI. This conspiracy to kill PM Modi was unearthed due to the case of a mistaken identity by the PFI members.

Why PFI prospered?

Major terrorist outfits which were banned between 2001 to 2010, were SIMI 2001, Lashkar-e-Taiba(2001), Indian Mujahideen (2010). Like SIMI was basically a student-based organisation which added literate youths and supporters from the Hindi heartland like Uttar Pradesh & Bihar with PFI, while LeT used the funding channels from Gulf West Asian countries and IM network provid strength in, the coastal regions of Kerala along with other parts of south India like Tamil Nadu & Karnataka. The SIMI also provided its base to PFI at the old Muslim mohalla/ ghettos across the country. This nexus along with the merger of many regional extremist organisations made PFI, a pan India manpower network in a very
short span of time. There was a convergence of manpower & financial sources of SIMI, LeT and IM.

5GW is basically a war of “information and perception”. With the changing nature of technology and rapidly mounting globalisation process, the world is confronting contabulations in different domains of its affairs and activities

In the initial stages, Barelvis were not included because that is a perception about them that these UP-wallas are loudmouth and can make the organisation vulnerable because of their irresponsible behaviour. At first the Delhi office of PFI had office bearers mostly from South India and North East. The violence unleashed by PFI was strategic and focused towards attracting funding from West Asia. PFI was successful in misusing the ‘Crowd war tactics’, in the protests across the country. This training of protests was learnt by the communists of Kerala and West Bengal. The multi layered protests saw children being put at the front line. The second line was of women and the third line consisted of rioters or stone pelters lashed with arms and ammunition.

Anti-hindu vision

In July, 2022 Bihar police revealed an 8-page document of PFI titled “India Vision 2047”. This document, a revelation 5 GW, was made for internal circulation only. In this document, it was clearly mentioned that the Muslims had to teach a lesson to the “coward Hindus”. In this document they had asked for converting India into a Muslim nation. This document is a clear example of false propaganda, venomous spread and misinformation, leading to distort the perception of Indian society. It has claimed that cadre should work to create a firm belief among the Muslim community that the government is committing atrocities on them. Some of the excerpts from the document :

• Alas, once the ruling community of the country, Muslims have now been relegated as the second grade citizens.
• Should also question the other so called secular parties for their secularist leanings and discredit them among the masses. The “Stockpilling of weapons and explosives” should be done in this third stage only.

In the fourth and the final stage, it was recommended that party should become a sole leader and voice for the whole Muslim community and the party should also gain the trust of 50 per cent of SCs/STs/OBCs and emerge as their representative too. At this stage this vote share would be sufficient for the party to gain political power at national level. Once in power, all important positions in the executive and judiciary as well as in the police and Army are to be filled with their loyal cadres.”

If we analyse critically the “India Vision 2047” properly, we can clearly visualise that the PFI was working on an elastic & hybrid model of warfare, which was different from the previous avatars of radical terrorist organisations. If we are able to understand the PFI in totality, we can exactly forecast the future national security issues which India will be confronting as serious challenges.