Hindu terrorism does not exist: RTI activist

New Delhi [India], January 14 : Activist Prafulla P Sarda, who filed an RTI application seeking details of terrorist organisations operating in India, has said that some politicians coined the term 'Hindu or saffron terrorism' for appeasement politics.
In his RTI application, the activist sought information that how many terrorist organisations are active in India. He asked for the names and details of these organisations. Sarda sought the details about steps taken to control active terrorist organisations in India. He further sought the details about the term 'Hindu or saffron terrorism (if any)'.
Sarda also sought details if 'Hindu or Saffron' terrorists were involved in 2006 Malegaon bomb blast or any bomb blast, as per Home Ministry records. The RTI activist asked for the details about the term 'Islamic terrorism' and if such organisations were involved in any bomb blast in India.
The activist said the response shared by the Union Home Ministry clearly dismissed any connection or term of Hindu or saffron terrorism.
"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," Sarda said.
The Ministry of Home Affairs in its response to the RTI, said, "It is informed that 42 organizations 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, modernization 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 MHA further said the government has also strengthened the legislative frame work by amending UAP Act, 1967 and NIA Act, 2008 in the year 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 in 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.