The Centre on Friday renewed the ban on the Islamic Research Foundation (IRF), the organisation founded by fugitive preacher Zakir Naik, for another five years under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA). Union Home Minister Amit Shah said the outfit has continued to propagate a “venomous ideology” of terrorism and separatism, and that the decision reflects the Government’s zero-tolerance approach to anti-national activity.
A gazette notification issued by the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) declared the IRF an unlawful association, saying it continues to engage in activities prejudicial to the country’s security and could disturb peace and communal harmony. The previous five-year ban (first imposed in November 2016) expires on 14th November.
Shah, on X, described Naik as a “fugitive terror preacher” whose organisation has been engaged in “sinister anti-India designs” (incitement to communal hatred, promotion of terrorism). He linked the extension directly to the Government’s policy of zero tolerance for terrorism and anti-national activities. The minister stated that the group has sought to foment violence, facilitate the re-grouping of fugitive terrorists and incite communal tensions.
The notification says the Centre has concluded that the IRF and its members (particularly its founder and President, Dr Zakir Abdul Karim Naik) have encouraged their followers to promote, on religious grounds, feelings of disharmony, enmity, hatred, and ill-will between various religious communities. Such activities are deemed prejudicial to the country’s integrity and security.
The Ministry has described Zakir Naik’s speeches and statements as objectionable and subversive, claiming that he has inspired young people in India and other countries to commit acts of terrorism. Extreme radical content linked to Naik has reached large audiences through international satellite TV, the internet, print, and social media.
The MHA has issued a warning that if left unchecked, the organisation would reorganise its absconding activists, erode the country’s secular foundation, foment anti-national sentiment and promote secessionism through the propagation of militancy.
On that basis, the Government has decided that it is necessary to declare the IRF an unlawful association with immediate effect. The order is under Section 3 (1) of the UAPA, 1967. The UAT previously upheld a similar order.
Naik hails from Maharashtra, was outside India at the time of the initial ban in 2016, and has been in Malaysia since. His Indian passport was cancelled in 2017 at the NIA’s request, after it registered a case against him. India has taken both legal and diplomatic steps since the initial ban. India requested a Red Corner Notice in May 2017, which the Commission deemed premature because no charge sheet had yet been filed.
A fresh court warrant was issued on 24 November 2017 and India re-submitted its Red Corner Notice request on 3 January 2018 (response still pending). On 19 January 2018, India also forwarded to Malaysia’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs a provisional arrest and extradition request, having ascertained that Naik had in fact been granted permanent residency in Malaysia.
The extension maintains the restrictions which prevent the IRF from operating, raising funds or carrying out any activity in India. It is part of the ongoing effort to deal with the allegations of radicalisation and incitement to communal violence which were the basis for the original ban some 10 years ago. Naik is still outside India and is still subject to Indian warrants.