RTI activist Prafull Sarda, who had filed a Right To Information (RTI) application seeking information about terrorist organisations active in India, has shared that there is nothing like ‘Hindu terrorism’ as per the RTI response he received from Home Ministry. He further added that the term is coined by politicians for appeasement politics.
In his RTI application, Praffull Sarda sought names and details about the terrorist organisations that are operating in India, along with information about what all measures have been taken to control such organisations.
Furthermore, Sarda sought information about ‘Hindu or saffron terrorism’ (if any). Sarda also inquired about the Home Ministry’s records about the involvement of ‘saffron or Hindu terrorists’ in the 2006 Malegaon blast case. Besides, the RTI activist also sought information on the term ‘Islamic terrorism’ and their involvement (if any) in such bomb blasts in India.
The RTI activist said that the Ministry of Home Affairs has dismissed any link or a term like Hindu or saffron terrorism.
“I am deeply hurt not only as an Indian but also as a Hindu. Just to garner the votes of a particular community, political leaders continuously defame Hindus by highlighting fake terms like Hindu or saffron terrorism. However, RTI’s reply clearly states that while a term like Hindu terrorism is non-existent, Islamic terrorism exists and troubles by killing millions of people globally,” 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
— Praffull Sarda™ (@prafful_sarda) January 14, 2023
In its response to the RTI, the Home Ministry stated, “It is informed that under section 35 of the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act, 1967, (UAPA), 42 organisations have been declared as ‘terrorist organisations’. The government has taken various measures to counter the menace of terrorism, which include augmenting the strength Central Armed Police Force (CAPF), capacity building of special forces, tighter immigration control, and modernisation of police. Effective border management through patrolling and round-the-clock surveillance on the borders, setting up of observation posts, border fencing, floodlighting and deployment of modern and hi-tech surveillance equipment as well as upgradation of intelligence setup and coastal security, etc.”
Furthermore, the Home Ministry stated that the government has bolstered the legislative framework by amending UAPA, 1967, and NIA Act, 2008 in the year 2019.
As per the information available on the website of the National Investigation Agency (NIA), these are banned terrorist organisations-
• Babbar Khalsa International
• Khalistan Commando Force
• Khalistan Zindabad Force
• International Sikh Youth Federation
• Lashkar-E-Taiba/Pasban-E-Ahle Hadis
• Jaish-E-Mohammed/Tahrik-E-Furqan
• Harkat-Ul-Mujahideen or Harkat-Ul-Ansar or Harkat-Ul-Jehad-E-Islami or Ansar-Ul-Ummah (AUU)
• Hizb-Ul-Mujahideen/ Hizb-Ul-Mujahideen Pir Panjal Regiment
• Al-Umar-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 (SIMI)
• Deendar Anjuman
• Communist Party of India (Marxist-Leninist) – People’s War
• Maoist Communist Centre (MCC), all its formations, and Front Organisations
• Al Badr
• Jamiat-ul-Mujahideen
• Al-Qaida/Al-Qaida in Indian Sub-continent (AQIS) and all its manifestations.
• 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 Organisation
• 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 the Sham-Khorasan (ISIS-K)
• National Socialist Council of Nagaland (Khaplang) [NSCN(K)], all its formations and front organisations
• Khalistan Liberation Force
• Tehreek-ul-Mujahideen (TuM)
• Jamaat-ul-Mujahideen Bangladesh or Jamaat-ul-Mujahideen India or Jamaat-ul-Mujahideen Hindustan and all its manifestations.
