In the most decisive crackdown yet on groups that uphold the cause of Muslims, central investigation agencies swooped down on the Popular Front of India (PFI) and tightened the perimeter of law against it. In a coordinated operation across 15 states on Thursday, the National Investigation Agency and the Enforcement Directorate, along with assistance from state police forces, raided 93 locations and arrested more than a hundred members of the organisation in five criminal cases where, they claim, the trail leads to its network. The PFI, which is headquartered in Kerala, called for a bandh leading to some tense moments on Friday.
The PFI and its office-bearers face a host of accusations, from money laundering with cash deposits made into its accounts to involvement in the anti-CAA protests and Delhi riots, among other incidents, and its money collection through district committees in Islamic nations. If the primary accusations are anything to go by, there is a lot that the organisation has to answer for. The PFI was involved in the horrific case of a professor’s hand being chopped off in Kerala; the NIA mentioned this and “cold-blooded killings” of people of other faiths in its statement. The PFI was formed in 2006-07 after the Dr Manmohan Singh government had banned the Students Islamic Movement of India (SIMI) for anti-national activities. Three Muslim organisations – National Democratic Front in Kerala, Karnataka Forum for Dignity, and Manitha Neethi Pasarai in Tamil Nadu – joined forces to form the PFI in Kerala’s Mallapuram to purportedly fight for the removal of the socio-economic and political backwardness of Muslims in India. It included former SIMI members.
There must be strong grounds for such a wide-ranging crackdown on an organisation whose leaders have largely stayed out of limelight, or so we must believe till the charges are read and cases decided in courts. It may well be banned too. That the Modi government is muscular – especially on Muslim organisations and individuals – and unabashedly displays its intent does not need to be underscored; that BJP governments in states like Uttar Pradesh demanded a ban on the PFI is also well-known. Precisely because of the anti-Muslim character of both the ruling party and its governments, its bias is bound to be read into this crackdown, however legitimate it might be. On terrorism and anti-national activities, no organisation should be given any quarter, of course, but the government seems to have proverbially killed two birds with one stone. Irrespective of the outcome of the legal procedure, which might take years, the backbone of the organisation is broken so that its voice for Muslims – legitimate and otherwise – is not heard.
Is Covid over?
The United Nations General Assembly had a question to answer that reflected the world-wide anxiety over Covid-19: Is the pandemic over? The best of minds, across domains that are dealing with the pandemic since the virus first struck in China’s Wuhan in the winter of 2019, are unable to come to a definitive answer to the question that’s on everyone’s lips these days. At the UN, the World Health Organisation’s director general copped out by saying that the pandemic is not over but the end is in sight.
Indeed, there are reasons to buy into this – the number of weekly deaths across countries continues to decline, two-thirds of the world’s population is now vaccinated though the spread differs greatly by country (African nations have a low vaccination rate) and within a country by geography and class (poor people in rural areas are less likely to be vaccinated), the immunity levels in populations appear to have increased, and most countries have shrugged off the restrictions placed two years ago to return to life as it used to be in the pre-pandemic days. US President Joe Biden, in fact, declared the end of Covid-19 only to clarify it later though what made him reach that conclusion when his country had nearly 4.25 lakh cases and a shade under 3,000 deaths in a week is up for dinner discussion. The coronavirus is killing three times as many Americans as the flu. Indians, in every sphere too, behave as if the pandemic is long over. There is a general acceptance that the coronavirus is here to stay, diametrically different from 2020, and people around the world will have to adapt to it.
The point is not whether the pandemic is over or will be over, but what its aftermath and lingering effects will be and for how many years would economies and people continue to deal with them. Long Covid is now recognised as a medical condition but there’s long Covid beyond medicine too – people’s jobs were upended, health infrastructure gave way, many cut back on their basic food intake, children’s education continues to be disrupted in many countries, farmers find it difficult to sell their produce and so on. In a recent survey covering 20 states, India’s agricultural community – the largest employer – reported that 21% were eating “less than usual” and 43% were “worried about food”. The virus’s end may or may not be in sight but it is high time to address its long-term impact on economy and society.
