Islamist organization PFI’s (Popular Front of India) plans to turn India into an Islamic nation by 2047 came to the fore when Bihar police arrested Mohammad Jalaluddin and Athar Parvez on July 14. The duo trained locals to use swords and knives and instigated the crowd using violent religious statements.
A picture of one such handwritten poster in the PFI training camp shared by blogger Ravi Ranjan reportedly read “Only Allowed NDTV, The Wire and BBC”. These media houses have often been caught peddling Hinduphobic fake news. These media houses are known for whitewashing crimes of radical Islamists using apologetic narratives such as ‘son of a headmaster’, ‘engineer’ etc. No wonder PFI chose them to peddle its agenda.
BBC’s anti-Hindu and anti-Bharat stances are well-known. The channel has also given air space to Khalistanis, who have abused PM Modi and his mother. In 2019, the media house ran an article claiming the reason for the death of 59 karsevaks was unknown. This was contrary to its 2011 report saying a Muslim mob had attacked the train. The media house also used selective interviews of those opposed to the current regime to target The Kashmir Files.
NDTV has repeatedly defended Islamists, the latest instance being during the hijab row. The CFI-PFI combine was aided by NDTV and other left-liberal media houses in its propaganda. In his debate, NDTV anchor Vishnu Som claimed speaking about Islamic terrorism would hurt the sentiments of ordinary Muslims.
In another incident, while reporting the anti-Hindu Delhi Riots of 2020, NDTV bluntly whitewashed how Islamists used a Muslim-owned school as an attack base. They had painted the Hindus as the aggressors while the ground reality was completely different. Rajdhani school, owned by Muslim Faisal Farukh, had supplies including stones, petrol bombs, acid packets, and even country-made grenades on its rooftop.
PFI choosing The Wire to spread its propaganda is also not surprising. The Hinduphobic portal had termed the Godhra train burning a ‘lie’. Even during the Karauli violence, attempts were made by the website to cover up for Islamists. The 2020 anti-Hindu Delhi riots are another case in point. In one of its reports, the portal alleged that Hindu aggressors set fire to a Muslim-owned school. However, the truth is that a Muslim mob gutted a Hindu-owned DRP school.
The media must report facts and not manipulate opinions by taking sides or indulging in propaganda. The Hinduphobic mainstream media indulges in Islamist propaganda. Therefore, it is unsurprising that PFI chooses to associate with these media outlets that often whitewash Islamist crimes.
“In reality, the vested interests of these media houses and how they had control over the governments make them do things that are deemed against the ethics of journalism. After all, who can forget the famous interview of Barkha Dutt where she expressed her pain that media personalities and journalists no longer have access to the inside news of the government. Of course, they have to run their propaganda to get hold of the positions they have lost”, says OpIndia.
According to a Nordic Monitor investigation, PFI officials met Turkish NGO, Foundation for Human Rights and Freedoms and Humanitarian Relief (Insan Hak ve Hurriyetleri ve Insani Yardim Vakfi, or IHH) on October 20, 2018. The IHH has been named the Al- Qaeda-linked Turkish charity accused of supplying arms to jihadists in Syria and Libya.
“Excerpts of the internal document marked ‘not for circulation’ states that the PFI is confident that even if 10 percent of the total Muslim population rally behind it, the organization would ‘subjugate’ the majority community to their knees and bring back the glory of Islam in India. To achieve this goal, this roadmap has been prepared to be kept in mind by all the PFI leaders and accordingly guide the PFI cadres. The Muslim community, in general, towards this goal”, an ANI report on the PFI ‘India Vision 2047’ says.
